Your photographer is ready for family portraits, but two people on the list have gone to cocktail hour. At the same time, the caterer wants to know whether to start seating guests, and your DJ needs someone to cue the introductions. Every vendor is ready to do their job. Someone still has to make the pieces fit.

That’s where a wedding coordinator comes in. You make the plans, and the coordinator learns how they’re supposed to work together. On the wedding day, they’re the person vendors can turn to when a decision affects more than one team.

The handoff starts before the wedding

Ask when the coordinator officially takes over. One package might include a final meeting and wedding-day coverage. Another might include several weeks of vendor communication, a venue walkthrough, and rehearsal. The start date tells you how much time you’ll have to bring them up to speed.

At the handoff, share your vendor contacts and agreements, the latest timeline and floor plan, and any arrangements you made directly with a vendor that the rest of the team may need to know about. Include the details that matter to you personally. Maybe your dad is giving a toast before he leaves early, or you want ten minutes alone together after the ceremony. A coordinator can protect those moments once they know to plan around them.

Ask when they’ll send vendors the final timeline and who will handle questions that come up after it goes out. That gives you a clear point at which you can start directing those texts and emails to someone else.

A coordinator checks where one vendor’s plan meets another’s

Suppose your florist plans to start setting centerpieces at 2 p.m., but the rental company has the tables scheduled for delivery at 2:30. Both times may work perfectly for the individual vendors. Together, they leave the florist waiting on an empty room.

During the handoff, a coordinator can spot that conflict, check which delivery can move, and confirm when the tables will actually be ready for flowers. The same kind of check applies to ceremony microphones, cake delivery, and who’s bringing the easels for your signs. Ask who owns each task and what has to happen first.

If your package includes rehearsal, use it to walk through the cues people will need on the day. Show everyone where to line up, who signals the first person to walk, and where the wedding party goes after the ceremony. Tell family members who are needed for portraits where to meet so they can head straight there.

On the wedding day, agree on which decisions they can make

Say family portraits are running 15 minutes late. The coordinator can check with the photographer on what’s left, ask the caterer how much flexibility there is, and give the DJ an updated cue for introductions. If dinner needs to start on time, the coordinator might have the photographer finish the remaining group portraits later, provided that works for you and the photographer.

Talk through those decisions ahead of time. You may be happy to let the coordinator adjust the order of introductions but want to weigh in before a speech is moved or an extra charge is approved. For decisions that need your input, agree on how they should reach you or who can speak for you.

Compare the coordinator’s role with the venue team’s

If your venue includes a coordinator, ask that person to walk you through the parts of the day they handle. Their role might cover building access, venue staff, and the room change between ceremony and dinner. They may also run the rehearsal and cue the ceremony. The scope varies by venue and package.

A quick way to find gaps is to ask who you would call in a specific situation. If the shuttle is late, who updates the ceremony start? If a guest takes a centerpiece that belongs to the florist, who checks which items still need to be returned? Those questions tell you more than comparing job titles.

Ask these questions before you book

  • When do you take over vendor communication, and what should we have ready by then?
  • Do you lead the rehearsal and cue the ceremony?
  • What setup and cleanup tasks are included, and who handles cards, gifts, and personal décor at the end of the night?
  • How many people will be on-site, and what happens if setup and guest arrivals overlap in different spaces?
  • When does your coverage end, and who takes over anything that’s still happening after you leave?

Before the wedding, give your vendors one day-of contact and tell your family where to direct practical questions. When someone asks where the cake knife is or whether the shuttle has arrived, they’ll know who to call. You can stay right where you are.