Your wedding is one of the best days of your life. It can also be one of the most complicated.
Planning a Virginia wedding can be overwhelming at times, and understandably so. Most people have never organized a large, elaborate party for their closest friends and family before. There is much to consider between guest lists, seating charts, wedding color palettes, budget, food, music, photography, floral arrangements, and the list goes on. That’s where the professionals come in.
Because there are so many factors to consider before your big day and lots of moving pieces to coordinate on the day of your wedding, working with professionals who have been down this road before can make a huge difference. Both wedding planners and Novela concierge act as trusted guides that can help you execute the wedding you're envisioning without any unnecessary stress or last-minute hiccups.
So what’s the difference?
The Role of a Virginia Wedding Planner
As anyone who has ever organized a family holiday or coordinated a group vacation with friends can attest, getting people to be in the right place at the right time, fed, and entertained can be a challenge.
Wedding planners are experts at coordinating people. They work behind the scenes to ensure the photographer catches special moments, flowers get delivered to your venue, guests find their seats, and so on. They've coordinated weddings before, and they know what to expect. That’s why so many couples turn to them for help on their big day.
The Three Types of Wedding Planners
The role of a wedding planner takes many iterations. Some wedding planners have a significant involvement in the planning process from start to finish, while some can be hired for the day to help coordinate the big event.
- Full-Service Wedding Planners: These professionals are deeply immersed in every aspect of your wedding journey, from inception to celebration. They typically come on board early in your wedding planning process and begin to assist you by actively scouting and securing vendors and venues, managing invitations, and crafting floor plans and timelines. When your big day arrives, they shift into coordinator mode to ensure all your goals are accomplished, allowing you more time to focus on enjoying the moment and less on things like, does the DJ have the right song playing when my guests take their seats?
- Partial-Service Wedding Planners: These experts join the wedding planning process much closer to the event, usually about six months in advance. They often become the main point of contact for the vendors you've already hired, ensuring logistics are confirmed, schedules are set, seating plans are in order, and handling last-minute tasks with precision, all while orchestrating a seamless wedding day. However, partial-service wedding planners typically don’t take a leadership role in helping make vendor selection decisions, especially not the big choices like your venue, photographer, caterer, or floral designer.
- Day-of Wedding Coordinator: Frequently recognized as "wedding coordinators" or "event managers," day-of planners are the most commonly chosen professionals in the wedding planning arena. Wedding venues sometimes offer day-of planners as part of their wedding packages, although at Novela we always recommend hiring your own coordinator for your wedding day. These experts focus on coordination rather than creative planning. They act as the stage managers for your big day, directing vendors on setup, guiding wedding participants, maintaining the schedule, and resolving any hiccups that arise along the way.
Read next: Choosing the Best Wedding Planner for Your Charlottesville Wedding
What is a Novela Concierge?
"Novela is a 'Matchmaker' for weddings, connecting couples with vendors. The personal touch was surprising. Novela has the personality of a large company – very professional – but you get quality one-on-one attention"
-Amanda and Jared, Novela clients
A Novela concierge is an experienced wedding professional who works with couples to design, organize, and streamline their wedding planning journey.
Your concierge will meet with you and your partner to understand your vision for your wedding day. Based on your feedback, they'll create a custom style guide to help you on your wedding planning journey. Your style guide is filled with aesthetic (e.g., wedding color palette, fonts), venue, and vendor recommendations based on your taste and goals for your wedding day. Your style guide acts as a blueprint to help you create a consistent experience for your guests, simplify vendor communications, and keep you aligned with your budget. After you determine your shortlist of venues and vendors, they'll schedule tours, consultations, and tastings. When you're ready to say "I do" to your favorites, your concierge will organize your bills into a single no-interest payment plan.
The concierge service is one of the free perks offered by Novela to couples who use our services. Novela can best serve you in the early stages of planning and can be brought on at any point in your journey to offer expertise and guidance.
The Collaborative Approach: Wedding Planners and Novela Concierge Working Together
So, wedding planner or Novela concierge? In truth, you don’t have to choose. Both professionals work together to help you and your partner bring your wedding celebration to life. In fact, Novela even helps couples find the wedding planner that best suits their needs.
A Novela concierge works closely with wedding planners to ensure that every aspect of the wedding is handled accordingly. They assist with booking venues, vendors, and more, freeing the wedding planner to focus more on crucial day-of details. This collaboration results in a seamlessly planned wedding, reducing stress for the couple and ensuring an unforgettable experience.
The collaborative approach between a wedding planner and Novela concierge gives you an efficient and stress-free way to plan your dream wedding. It's a partnership that ensures every detail is taken care of, giving you more time to soak up all the beautiful moments your big day has to offer.
If you're planning a Charlottesville or Virginia destination wedding, consider this collaborative approach for a truly unforgettable experience.
A Friend in the Industry
Working with Novela is like having a trusted friend — one with copious insider knowledge and industry connections — by your side every step of the way. We’ll match you with an expert wedding concierge to customize your wedding day plan, including venue and vendor recommendations, detailed pricing options, a high-level budget framework, and a customized checklist just for you.
Find your perfect Charlottesville venue, book all your vendors, and finance your wedding at 0% interest. Novela is the first wedding planning company that helps couples to design, book, and pay for their wedding all in one place.
