Heya Gang,

I want to introduce you to a couple of our wedding clients (and friends) Jamie & Zak.

Could they be more ridiculously adorable??

We were insanely excited because they hired us as their photographers AND their day-of coordinators! And as I got to thinking about what I wanted to say about these wonderful people, and about their event, I wondered if this might be a good time to talk about Hiring a Day-Of Coordinator (DOC) and is it right for you??

First, allow me to let Jamie, in her own words, tell you about herself and her sweetheart…so you can fall in love with them like we did!

Derek : “Where are you guys from”?
Jamie: “I am from Long Island, New York and Zak is from San Antonio. I moved to Georgetown, Texas in August of 2012.”

D : “There was a little distance between you guys, how did you end up meeting?”
J : “We met online and our first date was in Austin. Zak told me he was going to marry me that night. I loved that he was so confident, charismatic and driven. We dated for 5 months after that and were engaged for 2 years.”

D : “So…how does a guy like Zak propose to a girl like Jamie?”
J : “Zak wrote a beautiful email to my dad, asking his permission to marry me (as they were in New Zealand and unable to talk on the phone). We were hanging out one weekend and he wanted me to read something; it was the emails between him and my dad. It was such a beautiful exchange and my dad finished the response with “Now its up to Jamie”, and that is when he asked me to marry him. It was perfect. I do not love PDA and to be the center of attention so that fact that he remembered all of that and made it a very private moment meant the world to me.”

D : **wiping away a tear** “OK, so then you started planning your wedding. Looking back, what did you spend the most time on?”
J: “It was a crazy process and required a lot of coordinating and follow-up with various vendors. It took a lot of time to compare prices and value in order to finalize who we wanted to use.”

Fortunately for her, Jamie’s personality and giftings lent themselves wonderfully towards handling details and keeping up with her vendor team.  By the time she got to us, her vendors were already chosen and MOST of the details were set in place.  We were pretty excited to see that she had chosen some of our fav people in the biz!

• The ceremony & reception would be held at The Pearl Stable (we love that place – if you’re still looking for a venue, get a tour booked immediately!! See more of our work at The Pearl HERE.)
• Photos and Coordinating by the wonderful, charming, fabulous, and spectacular team at Moments & Milestones!!
• For catering they chose the ALWAYS amazing Jessica at The Spice of Life.
• Brandon from Platinum Entertainment, a seasoned DJ in the events industry, handled the music and the emcee duties.
• The one and only Ashley from Blush NAILED the bride’s & bridal party’s hair & makeup!
• And Elias from Southern Charm Films who created THIS amazing video

Looking at this list, this is a team full of Pros in the event industry – some of the best of the best!!  Now, I know what you’re thinking…why the hell did she need a coordinator?  That’s a good question!!

D : “Jamie! Why the hell did you need a coordinator?!?!”
J : “I knew that I wanted to ENJOY my wedding day. I am a very anxious person with a slight type-A personality so I knew that I needed someone good to put me at ease. I also knew that if I did not hire a coordinator that even if I tried to enjoy the day, my mom or mother-in-law would step up and not be able to relax.”

D : “OK, so what were you expecting from your coordinator?”
J : “I was expecting the coordinator to confirm start times for all vendors and ensure that schedule ran on time.  I expected them to connect with all of my vendors, be present for the rehearsal, and have any questions/concerns from vendors the week/day of to be addressed to her.”

D : “Sounds reasonable…so, moment of truth – did the coordinator meet your expectations?”
J : “Absolutely! Not only did she ensure that the schedule ran smoothly, but also made sure that our families were taken care. She made sure that we ate, our parents ate, and Zak’s grandpa got into his car service. She went as far as running out onto the dance floor to bring us new drinks…I was blown away. Zak and I were able to eat, drink and dance all night without worrying about a thing.”

D : “Out of curiosity…was there anything that they did or didn’t do that surprised you?”
J : “Again, running drinks out onto the dance floor; plus she helped my cousin figure out what she was able to eat on the menu as she has a couple of severe allergies. She also helped us settle a problem with the hotel that we had our guest stay in. They were going to charge us $2 for every welcome bag we made to distribute and that was definitely not something stated in our contract. She called the corporate office for that hotel and got the charge dropped. It was amazing!”

D : “Nice, sounds like you’re happy then?”
J : “YES!!! I felt so care free the day of my wedding because I did not have to worry about a thing. Our coordinator was always 10 steps ahead of what needed to be done. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.  It was perfect.”

“It was perfect.”

That is what every bride wants to remember on her wedding day, right??  And while a good DOC is a HUGE part of that, we have to have a good team of vendors around us in order for things to run smoothly.

D : “I always like to ask, how did you find your vendors?”
J : “We mostly used The Knot and Wedding Wire. We were extremely fortunate that all of our vendors took the time to build a rapport with us and ensure they understood out wants and needs for the day of.”

D : “Were there any that stood out to you, or went above & beyond?”
J : “Moments and Milestones went above and beyond for both coordination and photography. Everyone was so genuine and personable; they put you at ease and made you smile when things were coming down to the wire. They build such a fantastic rapport that you were excited to be working with them and always happy to hear from them.”

D : “Awww shucks…”  *blush*  “Jamie before we let you go, do you have any advice for brides considering hiring a DOC?”
J : “Do you want to relax and enjoy your wedding day? If so, get a day-of coordinator.”

Well there you have it.  Thank you Jamie & Zak for taking the time to talk this out with us.  For those of you reading and still on the fence about whether hiring a coordinator is right for you, please reach out to us.  We are happy to talk out your details so that you can make an educated decision based on your needs and your budget.

Thanks for reading!!  I’d love it if you would leave a comment – let us know what you think!  Cheers everyone…