Wedding Q&A: How To Handle the Wedding Day Without a Month of Coordinator

Q: Everyone says that I should hire a month of coordinator. My sister, in particular, keeps pushing me to hire one. While I would love a month of coordinator, I can’t afford one. I just don’t have a few thousand dollars in my budget. So, my question is, what do I do?

I love this question because it’s such an important and honest question to ask. Month-of coordinators are great. Wedding planners are even better. But, let’s be honest, not everyone can or should hire one.

Your wedding budget is a budget for a reason. You thought it through and came to that number because that is what made sense for you. So, you don’t want to blow it.

Instead, you have to compromise and find solutions to help you work with your budget.

The big reason why month-of coordinators are so great is because they allow you to let go. You have someone handling the wedding day and wedding vendors for you so that you don’t have to worry or handle any issues.

So, if you can’t afford a month of coordinator, you need a someone who can take on the most important part of that role. You need someone who can handle any issues.

And what you need is a day of manager.

(Photo credit: Strotz Photography)

So you’re probably asking yourself, ok, what is a day of manager? Well, it’s a term I made up, but it’s someone you know who can handle any issues that come up on your wedding day. This person is not someone you hire but is a friend or family member.

The idea here is that you’ll be taking care of all of the planning leading up to the wedding day. You’ll make sure everyone is set and has all the info they need and the details are all taken care of.

Then you’ll pass all the information off to your day of manager.

(Photo credit: Chrissy Lambert Photography)

Now, it’s important to note that this person is not your month-of coordinator. They won’t be handling all your vendors and setting everything up for you. But, their role is to be your wedding day contact for anyone who needs something. So, if someone has a question or if there is a problem, your day of manager would be the one to handle it.

Because you’ve taken care of all of the planning upfront, your day of manager is just there to take calls or iron out any surprise issues. What this means is that it’s not a super taxing job.

Yes, it has responsibility and it’s important to choose someone who is responsible. But, they aren’t schlepping everything for you or running around all day. They are still a guest and they still get to enjoy the wedding as well. They just have an extra role.

This solves your problem of handling the wedding day and allowing yourself to enjoy it without blowing your budget. Awesome right?