There’s no other way around it, someone will feel obligated to run your wedding day if you do not have a coordinator. Someone will cue the big moments, make sure guests are being attended too, and will keep the day on a timeline. If a coordinator is not hired, often times this falls on mom. Or sometimes, if no one is assigned this duty, the photographer has no choice but to take on this role – which you don’t want, they don’t want, and neither do we!
Your mom should get to soak in every moment as a mom, not as the host.
Your mom is feeling a lot of emotion leading up to your wedding day. As a mom, she has a natural “host” tendency. The mother of the bride helps prepare this day, so they will feel the need to run it, and clean up afterwards – it’s just what mom’s do. Instead, let your mom relax and be present on your wedding day. She wants to remember this day as much as you, and these moments are so much bigger than her hosting a dinner with family and friends. Let someone else manage so she can look back on your day and remember it with you!
Your photographer wants to capture the moments, not cue them. The more they coordinate – the less photos they take.
Your photographer is there to help you remember and celebrate every detail from your day – start to finish. They will want to photograph some candidness, and some of those candid moment will not come from timelines. Real and raw elements are what they love to see. But, if they are sending people down the aisle, they aren’t capturing that sweet moment between you and your father right before walking down the aisl. If they are telling you and your groom to go cut the cake, they are not taking pictures of you interacting with your guests. Their focus will become making the moments happen, not capturing them – which is not what they want do. Help them do what they do best by keeping their eyes behind the lenses, and less on the timeline.
“As a photographer, I try to focus on good lighting, posing, and capturing timeless candid moments. However, when there is no day of coordinator, I try to take on that role as well. And it typically results in fewer photos for my clients due to trying to multitask.” – Jessica Simonton
Owner of Jessica Simonton Photography
We don’t want this for you! And that is why you should consider the benefits of a day of coordinator from a different perspective . . . or shall we say, through a different lens.
Hear from Jessica Simonton and one of our Mother of the Brides on why they recommend hiring a coordinator.