If you were lucky enough (and smart enough!!) to hire an amazing wedding coordinator or planner, you are probably feeling pretty safe, stress-free, and excited for your wedding day (rather than freaking out about all the details!!!) right now. You've handed over the reigns and it's going to be smooth sailing right up until you say 'I do'. While having a wedding coordinator is what I consider to be one of the best things to do during your wedding planning, there are some things that you should probably handle yourself. These decisions will go much smoother without a 3rd party being the go-between and you will be a lot happier knowing you handled them yourself.

The Relationship With Your Wedding Photographer:

Getting to know your wedding photographer is super important. Even if you live in a different state, having a few phone conversations with the people in charge of making sure the ONE item you take with you to preserve your wedding day memories is what I consider KEY to making sure you love your images. Everyone's personality changes in front of the camera, whether you want to admit it or not and being in sync with your wedding photographers will ensure that they know you well enough to bring out your best side, most flattering features, and that natural smile! If you have your wedding planner or coordinator handle all the corespondance with your wedding photographers you are going to be missing something on the day of.

Make sure you meet your wedding photographers in person, via skype, or at least chat over the phone. If you are taking advice on which wedding photographer to hire from your wedding coordinator, that's great!! But don't let your wedding coordinator try to take control of the decision making processes, the scheduling for your engagment session, or the 'must have' photo list. The more you work with your wedding photographers, the happier you will be with the end result.

Map Out Your Seating Chart:

Where your guests sit is an important job. Having a seating chart, in my opinion, is important as it makes guests feel secure. There won't be that "lunchroom cafeteria" jittery feeling for any of your wedding guests if they know that has been decided for them. But is this a task you should hand over to your wedding coordinator? No. You know your guests ... they are family members, friends, co-workers ... you know their quirks, who their friends are, which ex they probably shouldn't be seated next to ... this is a job that really only you can do.

Feeling crazy busy and feel this task will put you and your fiance over the edge? Split up the work! Ask your parents to group together their friends into tables of 8 and ask your fiance to do the same. Once all the tables are set, you can deal with those 'out of the ordinary' circumstances, like singles and kids. Your wedding coordinator can be there for you to complain to about this task ... but he or she should not be the ones to decide who sits where.

Being The First To Explain Your Vision To Each Vendor:

Nobody will ever know the vision you have for your wedding better than YOU. I agree that your wedding coordinator can help make it come to life and organize the details, but I suggest that you be the one to explain your vision to each wedding vendor that you hire. Why? Because you are passionate about it! You have been dreaming about this day FOREVER (most likely) and you know what you want. You should sit down with your wedding stationery designer, your florist, your event linen specialist and look them in the eye so they can see it from your perspective. You should be able to touch and feel the different types of paper for your invitation suite, hear about the different flowers and be able to say "no, I hate Callas" or "yes, I love roses" ... and each wedding vendor you hire should hear that straight from you.

Your wedding professionals want to please you! They want to make it happen for you. If they hear it from you, it will mean so much more, because there won't be any question. They will know what you want and they won't have to second guess a wedding coordinator/planner. They will have the opportunity to ask the questions they need to make sure it's all good to go ... then, after that first meeting, if you want your coordinator to be the go between, be my guest! :)

Do All The Signs Point To Yes?

Choosing a wedding coordinator will be the decision that either makes or breaks your wedding planning journey. Choose wisely. As a lot of my adored members like to tell me: There are a lot of really bad wedding coordinators out there ... and there are a ton of amazing ones. Be sure and interview until you feel completely comfortable and that all the right signs are there. It's not a decision you should rush into :)

XO~ Heather