Congratulations! You're Engaged!

I wanted to take a chance to introduce a friend of mine and fabulous wedding coordinator, Brandi Reiland with Soiree. Brandi is amazing at what she does and I wanted to hear what she had to say about the importance of hiring a coordinator for your wedding. Thank you Brandi!

Congratulations- you’re engaged! Now it’s time to start planning- still on the fence about a wedding coordinator? Let’s look at the facts: you’re planning a special day that showcases your love and your union, but you can’t overlook the fact that you are also planning a gathering for hundreds of guests and it will inevitably be the biggest party you’ll ever throw in your lifetime. You wouldn’t build a house with out at least some guidance would you?

A lot of brides are confused with what a wedding coordinator will do for them, and the first myth to nix is that we take the planning away from you. Depending on the level of service you choose, we can either simply guide and advise you in your decision and budget planning, or we can be very hands on- in either case we are never there to make your wedding into anything other than a reflection of you and your relationship. A better analogy of what a wedding planner can be to you would be a broker, financial planner, counselor, and designer all in one. We’ll find the lighting specialist to create the perfect ambiance and we’ll make sure you know about all of the gluten-free pastry chefs in town. On a tight budget? That’s our job too- a good wedding planner will create a realistic budget to ensure you know exactly what you can afford to spend. Here at Soiree the budgets we create even include a projected and a high cost column, so when you meet with a vendor you’ll know just how high you can go and still stay within your budget.

Finally, there’s the wedding day. A good wedding coordinator will spend at least 20 hours on your wedding plans before the day arrives. Confirmations on vendor arrivals and departures, contract review, layout preparation, and overall planning of all of the logistics involved will and should take that many hours. Did you know that our finalized timelines are normally anywhere from 8-16 pages long? That’s because we take the necessary time to document everything that will happen in detailed order. On the actual day we come early and stay late and often wear several hats: Hostess, Director, Manager, Family Advisor, and Personal Assistant. Basically, we become your eyes and ears because you should be doing nothing but being a bride and a guest at this life changing event.

If you’re still on the fence as to whether having a wedding coordinator is the right choice for you, we invite you to sit down with us in a complimentary, no-obligation consultation. We are confident that when you leave, you’ll realize that whether you choose a package or even just a few planning hours for guidance, involving a wedding coordinator is one of the best plans you can make to ensure a smooth, budget-friendly event.

Happy Planning!