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Colorado Wedding Planners - Why Hire a Wedding Coordinator?

5/13/2018

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What does a day of coordinator do? 

Why hire a day of coordinator? If you're reading this, you are probably planning your own wedding, and love handling all the details of designing and creating your event... from the cake flavors to the flower colors... to the cute succulent wedding favors you're giving your guests. You have Pinterest pulled up on every device you own all day long, and love all the ideas that you run across on all the wedding blogs and in those gorgeous magazines. You have this planning thing down, and that means your wedding is going to be lovely and memorable! But do you really want to be handling the details on the day of your event? Stressing about vendors being on-time and your bridesmaids walking down the aisle at the right time while you're hiding in the wings for your turn to come down the aisle? You deserve a break after all the planning and choosing. THIS is what a day-of-coordinator is for. HERE is another article from Huff Post on day-of coordination. 

First things first - Lets straighten out some language. A "day-of" planner is a total misnomer. Your wedding coordinator should be so much more than that! A wedding coordinator usually starts work on your wedding 30 days out from your big day at the walkthroughs. We actually start about 6-8 weeks out at Sweetly Paired - to take more of the stress of planning off of you. See our services page for more detail! 

Your wedding coordinator or planner is the person in your day who has your best interest at heart in EVERY decision they make. Your other vendors care about your day, of course, but they have the best interest of their part of the day in the forefront of their mind. The photographer is not worried about your salad being wilty, they want you to have the best photos possible. Your DJ is focused on entertainment. Flowers are not important to him. Your caterer doesn't care if you get that perfect lighting for that bridal portrait... they are focused on making sure your guests eat on time. The venue coordinator has the venue's best interests at heart. That's what they are SUPPOSED to be doing. All of them have their area of expertise, and they excel in that area. You need that day of coordinator to balance all of those experts and make sure things run smoothly and balanced between them.
  • Your coordinator takes over so you can stop worrying about the details. You should be getting lost in the moment, not worrying about where the guestbook should go! 
  • Your "day of coordinator" actually takes over your logistics at 2-6 weeks out, depending on the coordinator.
  • She will assume the role of vendor management, answering questions, handling details, and filtering small questions away from you so you can focus on your mental health the few weeks before the big event.
  • The wedding coordinator will handle the timeline generation and facilitation, manage the schedule, work with your vendors to create the best schedule that benefits all the players. She will make sure you and your vendors know where to be, and when to be there. 
  • Your family, your maid of honor, and YOU should not be working at your wedding. You should be GUESTS at your own event. Your coordinator should make sure that you feel that way! 
  • Your coordinator can help with all your items - from setting up place cards to picking up the cupcakes. Sometimes that comes with additional charges, sometimes not! Just check to make sure your needs are covered. 
  • Your coordinator is NOT your caterer. They shouldn't be setting up every chair filling water glasses, or clearing plates. They are the manager. Not the waiter! Most coordinators (us included!) have staff they can bring in to help with whatever you need! We have staffers we hire in for $25-50 an hour that help with whatever setup, tear-down, and service we need. 

If you have more questions - reach out! We're happy to help. We coordinate weddings all over Colorado!  love@sweetlypaired.com


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WE ARE WINNERS! aGAIN!

1/10/2018

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Wedding Wire announces Couples Choice Awards

"The WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards® recognize the top five percent of local wedding professionals on WeddingWire who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism. Winners are determined by reviews from over a million WeddingWire newlyweds."
-Wedding Wire 

Colorado Wedding Planner, destination wedding planner, vail wedding planner, beaver creek wedding planner
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! 
We had an incredible year in 2017 growing our business and serving all of our wonderful couples.  We are so thrilled and honored to be in the top 5% of local wedding professionals serving our community for the second year in a row. Thank you to Wedding Wire for honoring us and showcasing our work on your website and a huge thank you to all the amazing couples we had a chance to meet, work with, hug it out with, and share the love with over 2017. We made so many incredible memories working with each and every one of you and it has only taught us how to better our services so we can help create lasting memories for each and every one of you. We are looking forward to 2018 and have been diving head first since the year started. We can't wait to see what comes our way along with all the couples we get to meet and the love we get to share. Thank you!
-The Sweetly Paired Team

Contact us today!

Top Colorado Wedding Planners.

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You should be a guest at your own wedding - not just the host!

10/27/2017

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Sweetly Paired's philosophy puts you, the couple getting married, first. 

Our philosophy is that our clients are not JUST the host of the event, but they actually feel like guests the day of. This level of service puts ahead of our competitors, because the taken-care-of feeling that our clients end the evening with is such a great experience! We make sure you and your family are not working the day of the event... not even to move decor, handle gifts and personal items at the end of the night, or make sure food and beverage service is flawless for the guests. We work with you throughout the planning process to make decisions that impact guest (and host!) experience the day/week/weekend of the wedding. We've outlined the steps below for ensuring the wedding day is as smooth as possible, and stress-free for the couple and their family, friends, and guests. 
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Photo by Caitlin Coar
Step 1: Figure out how much work you want to do before the wedding and hire a planner to help with the rest. A wedding planner can make or break your wedding planning experience. They need to be experienced, know your needs, communication style, and get your vision.  Decide whether doing most of the work leading up to the wedding is doable with out causing major stress in your life, or whether it would be easier on you, your family, and your relationship to have someone else guide you through the process of planning. 
Step 2: Find the right planner for you. You have to like, trust, and want to spend time with the wedding planner you choose, because even if they're only handling month-of-coordination - You're going to have a ton of communication and face-time with that person or team. You have got to like each other, got to get along. Interview a few - see who you connect with the best. Have they worked at your venue? Do they travel well to the area you're planning your wedding? All for these things are very important. Do they know vendors that are good in the area? Experience in the industry is paramount for planners. 
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Photo by Aldabella Photography
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Step 3: Spill it. You have to treat them like your best friend - spill all your secrets. The more information they have, the better they can execute your wedding and guest experience. They can make it so that you have exactly the experience that you want at your wedding - as long as they have alllllll of the information. There should be no holding back. If your budget is strained? Tell them. If your mom is making you crazy? That wedding planner should be the person you immediately reach out to. Tell them about it so they can help! 

Want help planning and not sure where to start? Start with our services page - we describe the different levels of colorado wedding planning and outline our prices.

Check out our services page here!
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What to do with my MOTHER? - A guide to mom-zillas.

10/15/2016

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You don't have to divorce your mom just to marry your love! 

Often the Mother of the Bride (and sometimes the groom!) is the most emotional person in the room. Managing her needs not just the day of, but all the way through the planning process is something wedding planners have a ton of experience doing. 
  • "You have to use the same caterer your father and I did!" (even though it's been 30 years.... they're probably still totally on point, right?)
  • "You don't need a NEW wedding dress! You should take my wedding dress... and have it re-made to fit you!" (The balloon sleeves from the 80s are fine! Just move some buttons around...)
  • "People have to have CAKE! No cupcakes, macaroons, and candy! I had a 5 tiered cake for MY wedding.. people loved it!" (Oh, and grandma's cake topper from the 50s? For SURE!)
  • "What do you mean you're getting married at the top of the mountain? What will the priest say?" (...but my fiance's Jewish... and the church doesn't recognize my same sex marriage?! and we LOVE Vail weddings!)
  • "Fall colors? Wedding flowers should be WHITE!" (What, so my bouquet can blend completely in to my dress?)
  • "You want to play WHAT music?! You have to play piano music at dinner!" (...SIGH...)
  • "I bought another dress... just in case the four fittings I've had for my first two choices don't quite fit me after I've lost all my winter weight... You know..." (The winter weight from 2005? Mom, you've been a size 14 since I was in middle school.)

How do I manage my 'MOB's at my weddings... Well, here you go. Here's some advice that will help you through it... and let you AND your mother stay sane! 

My first bit of advice is simple. COMMUNICATE. Your mom truly wants you to have a fabulous day! She's worried you'll make mistakes, have stress on your big day, and wish you had made different decisions. She IS concerned about your happiness and well being. She is just trying to help you get the most out of the experience in the best way she knows how. 
  • Talk about the budget up front... make sure you know what she wants to spend (assuming she's paying for this big ole day!) and be respectful of it. 
  • BEFORE you book anything (except maybe a wedding planner) - Sit down with all your major players - moms, dads, fiancee, etc... and come up with a list of the most important things to all of you. Figure out what those non-negotiable line-items are before you get too deep. That way you can predict things as they come up! If she absolutely MUST have cake - and you and the fiancee are gluten free - you'll know what the issues are before you get into a dessert throwing match at the bakery!
  • Ask her how she's feeling. She's probably stressed about things from HER wedding 30 years ago... and doesn't even know it! Take her to happy hour, have a glass of wine - and TALK about it!
Why hire a wedding planner, colorado wedding planner, vail wedding planner, wedding advice mom, momzilla
Emily Sacco Photography
Why hire a wedding planner, colorado wedding planner, vail wedding planner, wedding advice mom, momzilla
Greg Roe Photography
Why hire a wedding planner, colorado wedding planner, vail wedding planner, wedding advice mom, momzilla
Nicole Lenzen Photography
Why hire a wedding planner, colorado wedding planner, vail wedding planner, wedding advice mom, momzilla
Searching for the Light Photography

Click over there ---> to read more! 


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What do wedding planners really do? - Colorado wedding planner

10/1/2015

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What do wedding planners do? Why do they cost so much? 

Wedding planners are some of the hardest working people in the world! A wedding planner's wedding day starts at the moment the clients open their eyes, and finishes long after they leave the wedding! Our pedometers often read 15 or more miles, walking around the venue, moving from ceremony site to ready rooms, to reception site, back around again, making sure all of the people working to make the event go smoothly have all the info they need to be successful. But it doesn't start or end there!  You should expect to spend $1500-2500 on a month-of coordinator, nation wide. For a full wedding planner, you can expect to spend TYPICALLY 10% of your budget... Usually $6000-10,000 plus, depending on your event and its needs! 

Is it Scale-able? 
An average wedding in Colorado is about $31,000, according to The Knot. Weddings that have a wedding planner are typically $40,000+. Sweetly Paired's average wedding for our full planning clients is about $60-70k. Our Day of clients range from about $30k, to 50k, typically. When the budget is higher than that, you need someone for more help than a day-of typically gives. 
​
Get the word 'perfect' out of your vocabulary. 
Nothing's perfect. Your wedding won't be perfect. Your day will be lovely. Exciting. Memorable for you and your guests, no matter how many or few there are. As soon as you wrap your mind around that, you can relax. Now that we've said that... a big piece of what your wedding planner does is shield you, and your guests, from those imperfections. We may have had a fire, a flood, or a plague... our clients don't know about it! That's really the goal of the day. ​We try to make your guests have the 'perfect-est' day they can! 
​
colorado wedding planner, denver planner, highlands ranch mansion day of coordinator
Elevate Photography
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Photo - AD Benson
Be YOU!
From picking a venue that's right for the couple, to helping them navigate menus and caterers... choosing photographers to suit their budget and style... to helping to design the event from top to bottom... so it isn't like any other wedding, it's reflective of the clients! That's really important with all those inspirations out there on the web. We help you take that scattered Pinterest board, and use it for inspiration instead of plagiarism. ​Whether you're downtown Denver like the couple here, or having a Vail or Winter Park wedding, we can plan your wedding to be intrinsically reflective of you. 
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We work SO many hours!
​
Our average wedding takes us MANY hours to plan. An average wedding for us for 100-200 guests is about 100-150 man hours to plan. We like to give full service assistance to our clients, and we're involved in the event design, the vendor selection, and the overall guest experience. We have a staff of 10 at our beck and call, and they all have concierge service, world-class design, and guest experience at the front of their mind. We can handle the most intimate gathering to the large, 500 person event with grace. THIS is a big part of what planners do. ​We offer complementary consultations that help you understand what level of service YOU need for your event. We offer just coordination, which is really a month-of service. We offer a la carte planning consultation hours, and we offer full service planning. YOU pick what you need, we execute. 
​
denver wedding planner, vail wedding planner, colorado wedding planner
Nicole Lenzen Photography

Some things we do... just for day of coordination! Wedding planning - That's another level!

  • Initial Consultation 
  • Email/Phone Support
  • Timeline Generation
  • Timeline Facilitation
  • Vendor Coordination
  • Contract Management
  • Create Wedding Agenda for All Vendors
  • Day of Coordination - 10-12 hours
  • Processional Facilitation
  • Usher Instruction
  • Pre Wedding Day Planning Session
  • Collection of Decor, Guest Registry, etc
  • Transportation of your items
  • Managing Event Schedule Day-Of
  • Wedding Emergency Kits!
  • Final Payment Distribution
  • Tip Assistance and Distribution
  • Budget Assistance
  • Transportation Arrangement
  • 30 Day Walk Through Assisitance
  • Wedding Night Accommodations
  • Seating Chart Assistance
  • Pack up Personal Items and Gifts
  • Break Down Coordination
  • Day-of Coordination Assistance
  • After Wedding - returning rental items. 

Sweetly Paired is a Colorado wedding planning firm, working in Denver, Boulder and (loving to plan in...) the mountains! We work very often as a Vail wedding planner, and even work in Aspen and Beaver Creek. We love working at the Donovan Pavilion in Vail! We offer full service wedding planning, as well as day of and month of wedding coordination. Don't hesitate to reach out to us at lilli@sweetlypaired.com or 303.995.2867 if you have questions! ​
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    Author

    Lilli Black is a wedding coordinator, planner and designer in Denver Colorado. She works in Denver, as well as all over Colorado. She has been in the wedding industry for many years, and has planned more than 1000 weddings in Colorado. 

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