Destination and Northeast Ohio Wedding Photographer Blog

Corey Talks: Wedding Planners/Day of Coordinators

By far, the biggest tip I can give to future brides-to-be is to hire a Wedding Planner or Day of Coordinator (of course beyond hiring a great photographer *cough*). I know it’s not exactly related to wedding photography, there is a trickle down effect and it is related in a way – you’ll understand in a bit I promise!!! Why is this the biggest tip?? You spend so much time putting your wedding together, picking out details, choosing your cake and so forth that when the day of the wedding comes, you NEED to be the bride and groom!!!! The day of the wedding should not be spent sorting out the last minute crisis of why Aunt Betty suddenly refuses to sit next to Uncle Bob, why the cake is an hour late or why your ceremony now won’t allow votives. Those are easy ways to quickly ruin your day – and things you shouldn’t have to be concerned with the day of your wedding! While I am not trying to encourage bridezilla like thoughts, it truly is your day to celebrate this amazing love you’ve been so lucky to find and the minor details shouldn’t be what makes that day less perfect.

How does this effect me as a photographer? Since I am the vendor that is with you the longest day of your wedding (typically), sometimes coordinator type things fall onto my shoulders. I am also helpful by nature and it goes against everything about me to stand aside and not do something when it would only take me a few moments to help and make the day that much smoother for you. I’ve done hair, I’ve fixed a million veils, I’ve pinned many flowers on tuxes, I’ve put together bouquets, I’ve lit candles at a reception and I’ve bustled many a gown! I do NOT mind whatsoever helping out with these sorts of items, however having a coordinator there to help with these as well as a multitude of other things is priceless! Even if you’ve got the planning down pat, I still highly recommend hiring a DOC (Day of Coordinator) to help make the things the day of go smoothly.

Beyond the professional aspect of things, I can speak from experience! While not one to air my dirty laundry, I will fully admit that I was married before when I was younger. Heck, you Google sleuths probably already found it out! Anyways, I planned that wedding entirely myself and had no one but me the day of the wedding to solve the millions of issues that came up. From the priest loosing all the notes he’d taken about our ceremony leaving us to recreate everything minutes before the rehearsal, to a minor fire during the ceremony on my fingers (nail polish and unity candles = bad) to a hurricane moving through where our cruise was supposed to leave the next day – I had all kinds of problems! Had I of had a Wedding Planner/DOC I would have not been worried about any of this much (well save for my finger going up in flames). Instead I didn’t so I spent much of the evening on the phone with our travel agent and cruise line, running around trying to find everything I had already put together for the ceremony that the priest LOST and so forth.

The second wedding was SO MUCH BETTER! I hired a coordinator and she was wonderful – Nannette of The Proper Setting in North Carolina was amazing. Not only did she help me pick out a reception location when my original choice fell through nearly last minute, but she was the front man the day of the wedding and took care of literally EVERYTHING for me. I had the best wedding day ever – I would relive every minute if I could. However, it wasn’t without faults, trust me! My hairstylist got sick the day of and we had to get a replacement. The caterer dropped and broke a slew of rented dishes and glasses during the toast. My flower girl darn near brought down the arch on the beach during the ceremony. There are more trust me – but I never stressed once – actually laughed about it because I knew that Nannette would take care of it and it wasn’t going to be a worry for me or something else I had to deal with.

So this all leads to me telling you that my biggest tip is to find and hire a Wedding Planner/DOC!!! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Local Wedding Planners
Here’s a few planners that are local that I either know and can vouch for or have worked with!
Heidzillas
Kirkbrides
The Savvy Bride
Always Eventful

For my first wedding of the season, I got to be a part of Averel and Jeffrey’s amazing wedding in North Canton, Ohio. The day started out perfect, however there was that pesky High Wind Warning that put a bit of a new spin on our plans for outdoor pictures!!! Luckily though, the rain held off for most of the day after a few spurts in the morning and the winds were the only worry! The reception at Shady Hollow Country Club was nothing short of fantastic and boy, these guests could DANCE! Most of the dancing was ballroom dancing and my Dancing With the Stars lovin’ self was in awe of all the talent!

Thanks to you both for allowing me to take part in your day!

Vendors:
Second Shooter: John from Red Moments in Green, OH.
Salon: The Hair Shoppe and Spa in North Canton, OH
Ceremony: St. Paul’s Church in North Canton, OH
Florist: Seifert’s Flower Mill in North Canton, OH
Limo: Thomas Limousine in Akron, OH
Reception + Catering: Shady Hollow Country Club in Massillon, OH
Cake: Liddy’s in New Philadelphia, OH
DJ: Steve with Russell Sound Lab in North Canton, OH

One of the bridesmaids explaining to another what the bride’s hair looks like.

This may be one of my favorite shots of the day, I love the daylight reflecting in Averel’s eye.

A gorgeous bubble exit from the church!

The bride wanted some pics downtown before heading to the country club and really wanted some shots of the bridal party walking together, however we didn’t realize how hard the bride’s dress would be to walk in!!