How much does day-of coordination cost?
Most couples pay $800-$2,000. Here is what moves that number, what you get at each level, and where to spend less without regretting it.
Day-of coordination commonly runs $800 to $2,000 - and the name is misleading in a way that matters. A good coordinator starts four to six weeks before the wedding: confirming every vendor, building the timeline, and running the rehearsal and the day itself. It is the cheapest tier of wedding planning and the one couples most often say they would not have gone without.
What you get at each price
Minimal
$500-$800
Someone present on the day to execute a timeline you wrote. Better than nothing, but you are still doing the coordination.
What most couples pay most couples
$800-$2,000
A month-out handover: vendor confirmations, a built timeline, a rehearsal run, a full wedding day on site, and managing setup and strike.
Premium / complex
$2,000-$4,000+
Two coordinators or a coordinator plus assistants, multi-day events, or weddings with complicated logistics across sites.
These are what couples actually pay, not quotes we can make on a vendor's behalf. Every coordinator sets their own prices, and the ones on Lazo publish theirs where they choose to.
What actually drives the price
- When they actually start
- Four to six weeks out versus the morning of is the entire difference in this category. Ask directly.
- Guest count and venue complexity
- Two hundred guests, two locations, or a bare site all need more hands.
- Team size
- An assistant is typically $300-$600 and is what allows one person to be at the ceremony while another sets the reception.
- Hours on the day
- Most packages cover 10-12 hours. Setup starting at 8am and strike ending at midnight exceeds that.
- Rehearsal attendance
- Usually included at this tier, but confirm.
How to spend less without regretting it
- This is the saving
- Coordination is the line that protects every other line. The alternative is not saving $1,200 - it is your mother or your maid of honour working your wedding instead of attending it.
- Check the venue's offer honestly
- Some venues include real coordination. Most include a building manager. Ask what they do about your florist being late, and listen to the answer.
- Take the single coordinator if the day is simple
- Under 100 guests at one venue rarely needs a second person.
- Do your own design
- Coordination does not include styling. If you have that covered, you do not need to move up a tier.
When to book
Four to eight months out. Coordinators book later than full-service planners, but the well-regarded ones in each market still fill peak Saturdays a year ahead.
What to ask before you book
- When exactly do you take over, and what happens between now and then?
- Do you contact and confirm all of my vendors, or do I?
- How many hours on the day, and does that cover setup and strike?
- Will you run the rehearsal?
- How many weddings do you have that weekend, and who is my backup?
More questions to ask a coordinator — and what a good answer sounds like →
Common questions
How much does day-of wedding coordination cost?
Day-of coordination commonly costs $800 to $2,000. Minimal execute-only service starts around $500; complex weddings needing multiple coordinators run $2,000 to $4,000 or more.
What does a day-of coordinator actually do?
Despite the name, most begin four to six weeks before the wedding - confirming every vendor, building and distributing a timeline, running the rehearsal, then managing setup, the day itself and strike. They are the reason nobody in your family has to work your wedding.
Do we need a coordinator if our venue has one?
Often yes. A venue coordinator is responsible for the venue - its staff, its spaces, its rules. A day-of coordinator is responsible for your wedding across every vendor. Ask the venue what they do if your florist arrives late, and judge from the answer.
Why our prices aren't sponsored
Most wedding sites earn money from the vendors they list, which is why their "recommended" day-of coordinators and their cost advice tend to point the same direction. Lazo takes nothing per lead and nothing per booking, and rankings can't be bought at any price. Every review comes from a couple who proved they actually got married with that vendor. So the ranges above are what we believe couples pay — not what anyone paid us to say.
Day-Of Coordinators near you
We index 6,900+ day-of coordinators across 108 markets — every review verified, rankings never sold.