Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a wedding planner and day-of coordinator?
A lot of people use these terms interchangeably, but at Piece of Cake we think of a planner as someone who helps you throughout your planning journey to plan your wedding. A day-of coordinator refers to what we’re doing on your wedding day; we’re coordinating the details so your wedding day runs seamlessly. Truth be told, we prefer wedding planner because we think it’s a more accurate description of what we really do! We can’t just show up on wedding day and ask what you need; it’s the planning that goes into your wedding day that makes the day run beautifully. It’s also why you don’t see a “Day-of Coordination” service. Our most comparable service is Wedding Management, which involves some pre-wedding planning, help and expertise so we can truly rock your wedding day!
My venue has a venue coordinator or event manager. Do I really need a wedding planner?
YES! Venue coordinators are VERY important, but a wedding planner fulfills a very different role. Venue coordinators manage your venue and are experts of their specific spaces. Depending on the venue, some may help with timeline questions, design ideas or small décor set-up on wedding day. But we work with you to create your full wedding day vision, create a timeline that encompasses every detail of your day from start to finish, coordinate logistics between all vendors both before and during your wedding, set-up and tear-down all of your personal décor, and execute the wedding day timeline. Many local venues now require a planner or day-of coordinator because there is so much to handle on wedding day. We work together to make wedding magic!
My mom/aunt/cousin/friend offered to help me plan and be my coordinator. Is that good enough?
This question is tough. We will never tell you that a loved one can’t be involved or help you, but they will miss out on being a guest during your wedding celebration if they’re working your wedding. The benefit of having a professional planner is that we’re a vendor. We’re there to work for your wedding day and make it perfect for you, while your guests can just be guests and fully enjoy! And once your wedding day is upon us, they really just want to enjoy and celebrate with you. And they should! Just because they can help and coordinate, doesn’t mean they should. We love finding jobs for family and friends who want to help! Someone can set-up bathroom baskets, pick-up lunch, plan your bachelorette or bachelor party. This lets them be involved but isn’t committing them to an entire day of wedding coordinating and the endless behind-the-scenes tasks, questions and set-up that goes along with that.
By having a professional, we’re also very familiar with the planning and wedding day process and know what needs to be done and when. Someone removed from this industry may not have that knowledge base so they’ll be turning to you with questions or for direction on wedding day, which we want to avoid so you can enjoy!
Plus, a true (scary) story for you. A DJ was a no-show for one of our weddings. We had talked with him the week of, everything was planned, and all pre-event communications were positive, but we could not get a hold of him on the wedding day. Luckily, because of our amazing network, we got on the phone and had another DJ there in 30 minutes, and we had the couple’s song choices to share with him. And this solution was in place before the couple even had a chance to worry. At another wedding, the groom left his pocket square at home, and we had another one to him in 20 minutes. We have a network, a fabulous community of wedding professionals surrounding us who can help us out in a jam, which you otherwise may not have.
What happens at the complimentary consultation?
Some people are reluctant to meet for a consultation. Don’t be! This is a no pressure, zero commitment meeting, and a chance for us to talk! We always love meeting to chat with our couples, and we encourage you to do this with any vendor you’ll be working closely with. We’ll be working together a lot and want to ensure it’s a good fit! The consultation is typically one hour. We typically do these via Zoom, but can also do phone or in-person if you prefer. We’ll talk about you and your fiancé, your wedding and the planning help you’re interested in. We also share a bit about us and walk through our Piece of Cake services so you can fully understand our offerings, and what is the best fit for you!
What are your packages and how much do you charge?
We offer three planning packages that have been curated based on years of experience based on what most couples are looking for in a wedding planner. We do offer a few add-ons that can be added to our services as well, if you choose. We discuss the specifics of each service during the complimentary consultation. Learn more here!
Complete wedding planning, $6,300
Partial wedding planning, $3,000
Wedding management, $1,900
Do you offer custom packages?
In a way. Our three services offer a great base-line, and we find that our couples strongly resonate with one of the three. But each service has add-on options if you want to customize further. Some couples love the partial planning package but want to add-on wedding design and styling management. Some want to add in bachelorette or bachelor party planning or rehearsal dinner planning. The free consultation is the perfect time for us to chat about your wedding and your specific planning needs. Following that meeting, you’ll receive a personalized contract for your review and consideration.
Do you have a preferred vendor list?
Yes! Once we have your signed contract and retainer payment, you are officially a Piece of Cake couple! You’ll then receive your welcome email, including our preferred vendor list. Our couples aren’t required to use any listed vendors, but these are people and businesses we’ve worked with for multiple events, who have our full trust and confidence. Many also offer discounts for Piece of Cake couples!
Do you have rental items?
We have a very small inventory of some decor pieces, which Piece of Cake couples get to use for free. We’ll share this with you prior to the complimentary consultation. The inventory does not include linens, large items or any tableware pieces. We recommend working with a rental company for those items! And we have some fabulous ones to recommend!