Wedding Planning
The Difference Between a Wedding Planner and a Day-of Coordinator
These two terms get used interchangeably all the time — in Facebook wedding groups, on vendor lists, even in some planners' own marketing — but they're genuinely different roles, with different scopes, different timelines, and different price tags. Knowing which one you actually need can save you both money and a lot of confusion during vendor research.
Wedding planner
A full wedding planner is involved from the very beginning, often 9 to 18 months before the wedding. They help you find and book your venue, build your supplier team from scratch, manage your budget from the first dollar, guide design and styling decisions, and coordinate every stage right through to running the day itself. It's the most comprehensive — and most hands-on — level of support, which is why it's also the highest investment (at The Kept Aisle, Full Wedding Planning starts from $6,500).
Full planning suits couples who want someone else driving the process — either because they're genuinely time-poor, planning from interstate or overseas, want a real creative partner, or simply don't want to spend the next year buried in spreadsheets and vendor comparisons.
Day-of coordinator
A day-of coordinator steps in once your planning is largely done — usually around four weeks out. They review everything you've already booked, confirm details with every supplier, build a final run sheet, and then manage the entire day itself: timeline, vendors, and any last-minute hiccups. At The Kept Aisle this starts from $1,000 for an 8-hour wedding day plus travel.
Day-of coordination suits couples who've genuinely enjoyed the planning process, or who are confident organisers, but want a calm, experienced presence to execute it so they're not fielding vendor questions during their own reception.
Partial planning
Somewhere in between is partial planning — from $2,800 at The Kept Aisle. You've booked the big vendors already, but you want support finishing the details, sourcing what's left, and getting real guidance in the lead-up, on top of everything included in day-of coordination. It typically starts around six months before the wedding, with a handful of dedicated planning meetings built in along the way.
The quickest way to tell them apart
A wedding planner builds your wedding with you from nothing. A day-of coordinator takes the wedding you've already built and runs it flawlessly. Partial planning is genuinely both — a bit of building, a lot of running. If you're not sure which camp you're in, the honest test is this: could you hand someone a fully organised wedding today and just need it executed? If yes, you need a coordinator. If there's still a lot to figure out, you need a planner.
At The Kept Aisle, all three options are available across NSW, including Tamworth and the surrounding New England region. Most couples from regional NSW choose day-of coordination or partial planning, since venues and vendors in these areas are often more accessible to source independently than in Sydney. Enquire to find out what's right for your wedding.