Have you recently got engaged and started planning your destination wedding in Croatia? First steps during wedding planning can be quite vague. Not sure which items to pay more attention to? Or are you wondering if you will be able to fully carry out the whole wedding plan without any compromise?
The first piece of advice is to turn to an experienced professional such as a wedding planner. But even after browsing through various available wedding planners in Istria, it is not entirely clear which service you need. In this blog we will take a closer look at the difference between the wedding planning and wedding coordination services.
Newlyweds are usually unaware of the difference between wedding planning and wedding coordination services
Through our experience as wedding planners, we meet different types of newlyweds:
- newlyweds who do not have enough experience in organizing a wedding, and therefore seek professional help,
- newlyweds who have already researched everything about wedding planning or have already helped someone organize their wedding, and have a lot of self-confidence, but lack the time to indulge in details at the every step of their own wedding planning
- and lastly newlyweds (and foreign wedding planners) who have experience in organizing weddings, but lack the local knowledge of Istria and do not want to leave anything to chance.
Regardless of the newlyweds’ experience and self-confidence, they are often unsure how to present their requirements to us. They are most often unaware of the difference between wedding planning and wedding coordination. Most newlyweds approach us with general information about their wedding, such as the guest count or the desired venue. That is more than enough to make the first contact. From this starting point we begin to communicate and get to know the newlyweds’ situation and their demands.
The difference between organizing and coordinating a wedding in Croatia
In essence, the newlyweds’ needs are boiled down to wedding planning and/or wedding coordination. Below we will explain the difference between these basic wedding planner’s services in more detail.
1. Wedding planning and organization
The wedding planning boils down to organizing the overall wedding plan and its stylistic design. The wedding planning service includes finding and preparing the wedding venue in Croatia, sourcing the vendors and communicating with them, creating the wedding timetable, finding accommodation for guests and many other logistics services.
Contact the wedding planner as soon as you decide to marry in Croatia
It is recommended to contact the wedding planner regarding this service as soon as the newlyweds get engaged, i.e. as soon as they decide to get married in Croatia. After the newlyweds contact us and let us know their needs, we start preparing tips and instructions. We adjust the wedding planning to the guest count, the desired wedding location and the newlyweds’ planned budget.
After choosing the wedding date and venue, the wedding planner suggests you various vendors: decorator and lighting technician, photographer and videographer, musicians and DJ, hairdresser and makeup artist, catering and pastry chef, etc. The planner also helps you gather the necessary documentation, whether you have decided for a church or civil wedding. Wedding planning is still not over even after choosing the venue and vendors. The wedding planner continues to communicate with vendors until the beginning of the wedding, keeps records of the payment due dates and prepares a wedding schedule.
Priorities during the wedding planning process
We have recently published an article on priorities during the wedding planning. Find tips on which items to prioritize while choosing a venue and vendors. Newlyweds easily get carried away during their wedding planning and exceed their budget. Visit our article on the wedding budget and find out which items will make the largest dent in the budget. You will also find out where to spare, to optimize other wedding aspects that are more important to you!
Benefits of the wedding planning service
If you entrust the planning to a wedding planner, you will save a lot of time that you would otherwise spend searching for available wedding venues in Croatia and eliminating those that do not meet your criteria. You will also not have to contact each vendor to check if they understand your wedding vision. Wedding planning service is comparable to a remote controller – you convey us only the items that are most important to you, such as design and venue, and we handle everything else to achieve requested wedding style and realize your vision. Of course, during the wedding planning you have an insight into all our actions and proposals. You always have a chance to accept or reject our suggestions and make adjustments. Your wishes are our guiding light.
The wedding planning service includes everything related to the wedding preparation, but excludes services related to the wedding execution. Therefore, newlyweds looking for a wedding planning service usually take a services package which also includes wedding coordination.
2. Wedding coordination
In contrast to the wedding planning service, wedding coordination refers exclusively to the wedding execution. During wedding planning, the venue and vendors are booked, documentation is prepared and all other wedding preparations are done. On the other hand, wedding coordination ensures that the established timetable is followed and that everything takes place on time during the wedding. The wedding coordinator is responsible for the realization of your wedding plan.
Newlyweds who are willing to single-handedly organize their wedding, find and check the wedding venue in Croatia, source vendors, negotiate and continuously communicate with them, will choose a wedding coordination package. Wedding coordination service ensures that the agreed wedding plan achieved without the need for the newlyweds to supervise vendors. Wedding coordinator cares for the wedding course and supervises the vendors since the morning until the end of the celebration. The newlyweds are free to enjoy every moment of their wedding. They can dedicate themselves to sharing love and joy with their guests and family members carefree!
We recommend newlyweds to contact the wedding coordinator at least one month before the wedding. This way, the wedding coordinator will have enough time to align with the vendors and make her own time synopsis.
Choosing the wedding planner’s service
Newlyweds from abroad usually hire a local wedding planner in Istria. They often purchase a package that includes both wedding planning and coordination services. But sometimes they have more confidence in a foreign wedding planner, outside of Croatia. In case of a demanding wedding with many guests, then the foreign planner contacts a local wedding planner in Croatia. She expects the local planner’s advice about the venue and local vendors. Foreign wedding planner purchases the wedding planning service from the local planner. In such case a foreign planner is responsible for the wedding coordination.
We recommend wedding coordination to all newlyweds. Coordination allows newlyweds to leave their hands free during the wedding ceremony and celebration. It ensures that they do not miss any key moments of their wedding. No one wants to miss the fireworks at their wedding because several guests were late due to poor coordination.
Newlyweds who are planning an elopement – wedding only with best man and maid of honor, need help with planning their wedding, but due to the simplicity of the execution, they usually do not require coordination or the coordination is limited only to the wedding ceremony. We have prepared a separate services package for elopements. This package includes a limited organization and coordination service.
Are wedding planning and coordination services considered as expenses?
Wedding planning and coordination services come at a price, so it is intuitive to classify them as wedding expenses. This is a common misconception, as the opportunity cost of avoiding these services is far higher.
The wedding planner will often arrange better terms for you or lower prices. The planner will also be able to anticipate hidden costs. She will warn you about a detail that seems insignificant, but could end up very embarrassing. A common example are kids. If many guests come with young children, then those children could easily distract parents and other guests. The planner will recommend hiring an animator to keep the kids busy and looked after the whole time. In addition, the wedding planner in Croatia will always be aware of time, financial and other constraints. For example, she will help you not to overload the wedding schedule.
The cost of a wedding coordination service in Croatia is most easily justified by the cost of your time! If you leave out the wedding coordinator, then you will have to supervise the vendors since the early morning, check if the venue is ready and take care of the guests yourself. There will be little time left to let your hair down and enjoy the wedding. The wedding coordinator will ensure that vendors and guests follow the schedule and that everything runs smoothly. The coordinator will fix any problems without your concern. Most important of all: the coordinator ensures that you do not take a smile off your face throughout the wedding! Does that have a price?
Wedding planning and coordination service price
Complexity of the wedding determines the price of planning and coordinating a wedding in Istria. Weddings with more guests require more expensive planning and coordination. Flammeum is a wedding planning and coordinating agency in Croatia. Wedding planners at Flammeum have organized weddings for newlyweds from UK, Germany, Austria, USA, newlyweds from India, newlyweds from South Africa and from many other countries. View prices of our wedding planning services and contact us to help you organize the wedding ceremony and celebration you dream about!