The prep from a month out, the vendor handoffs, where every sign goes and the exact lines to say at each cue. Build a timed run of show below and print it for the team.
Quick answer
A day-of coordinator reviews the plan about a month out, confirms every vendor, and builds a timed run of show. On the day they run setup, place the signs, line up the processional, call each cue from the entrance to the toasts, take every vendor question, then manage teardown so the couple’s things go home.
Whether it is a paid pro or a friend with a clipboard, the job splits the same way.
About a month before, a full pass over every contract, vendor and decision, to find the holes while there is time to fix them.
Directs vendors to the right spots, sets up DIY decor, then gathers the couple’s items and checks the venue is left clean.
Lines up the processional, makes sure glasses are poured for the toasts and that there is never a gap where guests wonder what is next.
Handles what goes wrong without the couple hearing about it. Every vendor question goes to them, not to the couple or the family.
Cost figures: The Knot Real Weddings Study (10,474 US couples married in 2025). Prep timing and team size: planners quoted in The Knot’s day-of coordinator guide. Checked November 2026.
Enter the ceremony time, its length, cocktail hour and when the venue ends. Every cue gets a clock time, an owner and the sentence to say. Change any offset to match your vendor contracts, tick cues as you call them, then print the sheet.
20 cues, 0 called. Ceremony 4:00 pm, reception 5:30 pm, venue ends 11:00 pm.
The offsets are a starting point, not a standard. Swap in the arrival times from your vendor contracts and the venue’s rules before you print.
This is what a guest sees after scanning the QR card the coordinator puts on the tables: an upload screen in the phone browser and one shared album, no app or account. The names below are an example.
SHARED GALLERY
Maya & Daniel
The day goes the way the prep went. Planners quoted by The Knot start with a full review about a month before the wedding; the rest is turning that review into one sheet everyone can follow.
Arrival times live in the contracts, so they are not listed here. What every coordinator needs is the same three checks per vendor: what to confirm when they arrive, what to hand them during the day, and what has to happen before they drive off.
| Vendor | Confirm on arrival | Hand off during the day | Before they leave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florist | Every arrangement on the order is there, boutonnieres and bouquets delivered to the right rooms | Which pieces move from ceremony to reception | Rental vases and stands, pickup time |
| Rentals | Count chairs, tables and linens against the order before the company leaves | Where everything stacks at the end of the night | Pickup window from the contract |
| Caterer | Meal counts, dietary cards, the vendor meals, the couple’s plated cocktail food | Toast pour timing and cake cutting | Leftovers, the top tier, their equipment out |
| Photographer | Shot list, family photo list and the name of the relative who calls the groups | The cue sheet, so they are in place before each moment | Final balance or tip, if one is due |
| DJ or band | Sound check, mic for the officiant and the speakers, the do-not-play list | Entrance names, toast order, last song and send-off time | Tip envelope, gear out by the venue cutoff |
| Officiant | License, pen, the order of service and the unplugged request if the couple wants one | Signing spot and witnesses right after the ceremony | Who files the license and by when |
| Baker | Cake placement, stand, knife and server | Cutting time on the run of show | Stand or display returns |
| Transportation | Pickup times, addresses and the driver’s number | Where the couple’s overnight bag goes | Final run at the end of the night |
Signs are the coordinator’s quiet helpers: every question a sign answers is one less guest asking you. Place them during setup and check them again before the doors open.
If the couple wants guests’ photos in one place, the QR cards are part of the coordinator’s setup list. With Pix Wedding, guests scan and upload from the phone browser, no app or account.
The free tier covers up to 20 guest uploads, enough to test the card at the rehearsal. Paid plans are one-time payments of $44, $54 or $84.
Print the cards with the free QR sticker designer, and scan one yourself during setup to check it opens.
A cue is only as good as the sentence that starts it. These are the calls a coordinator makes out loud, plus a common processional order to line people up by.
Toasts: upload line done
QR on every table
Set up the couple’s guest album, put a QR card on every table and give the MC the upload line. Guests add photos from the phone browser, no app or account. Start free with 20 guest uploads.
From Mom
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
SCAN TO TRY
pix.wedding/
your-wedding
The morning after we sat in bed with a cuppa scrolling through 700 photos we'd never seen. Moments our photographer wasn't even near. My favourite is my dad trying to do the Macarena, the man has zero rhythm and it's all on camera now
Two words: audio guestbook. The messages people left us are the most precious thing. My gran told a story about my grandad and I've listened to it at least 30 times 🥲
Ski lodge wedding in December. Everyone was taking mountain photos all weekend. The album has chairlift selfies, apres-ski drinks, and then the ceremony and reception. It reads like a vacation album and a wedding album combined and I'm here for it
Agree this split with the couple before the day, and name their point person, usually a parent or the maid of honor. The goal is that the couple makes as few decisions as possible on their own wedding day.
The first move matters most: it buys time for everything after it.
Make the call at the time agreed in advance, not at the last minute. Tell the venue, the officiant, the musicians and the photographer in that order.
Call, get an arrival time, and shift only the cues that depend on them. The couple hears about it afterwards, if at all.
Check the best man’s pockets, the getting-ready room and the day-of bag. A spare plain band in the kit keeps the ceremony moving.
Agree a signal with the MC before dinner. A hand on the shoulder of the next speaker is usually enough.
Read groups from the shot list, call the next group while the current one is posing, and send everyone else to cocktail hour.
Find the venue’s on-site manager first, they know the breakers. Keep a battery speaker in the kit for the ceremony music.
A battery speaker, a spare plain band, umbrellas, a stain pen and printed copies of everything. The full list is in the coordinator emergency kit.
Plenty of small weddings run fine with a friend in charge. The difference shows up when something goes wrong and vendors need one person with the authority to decide.
| A friend | A paid day-of coordinator | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, or a thank-you gift | The Knot puts the average at $1,600 for day-of help |
| Prep | Usually only the last week | A plan review about a month before |
| On site | One person, who is also a guest | Often a team of two or more |
| Vendors listen? | Sometimes, if the couple tells them first | Yes, it is part of their job |
| When things go wrong | Calls the couple | Fixes it, tells the couple later |
| Enjoys the wedding | Partly | Not their job to |
Wedding planner Emily Summer explains how a coordinator differs from a planner, and walks through seven things a day-of coordinator will and will not do. Useful to watch with the couple before agreeing on the job.
Video: Emily Summer, "7 Things Your Day-of-Coordinator Will (and WON’T) Do." (YouTube, January 2021).
Cost from The Knot Real Weddings Study, team size from The Knot. Checked November 2026.
The couple leaves at the send-off. The coordinator leaves when the venue is clear, the rentals are counted and nothing of the couple’s is left behind.
Card box, gifts, guestbook, the top tier and any decor they own, into the named car before the last song.
Stacked where the rental company expects them, counted against the order, pickup window confirmed.
Chairs, restrooms, the getting-ready rooms and under the head table for phones, jackets and shoes.
Last shuttle loaded, rideshare pickups pointed to the right door, nobody left without a ride.
The QR cards placed during setup lead here with Pix Wedding: guests upload from the phone browser, no app or account, and every photo lands in one shared album. The names are an example.
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
Illustrative example
647 photos · 95 guests
A day-of coordinator takes over a finished plan and runs it. A month-of coordinator starts a little earlier and does more of the vendor follow-up. A full planner helps make the decisions in the first place, from venue to vendors.
For the couple’s own side of the day, the wedding day checklist covers what the two of them do and bring, phase by phase. This page is for whoever runs the day around them.
Vendors use these words on the day. Knowing them saves a lot of back and forth.
Sources checked November 2026: The Knot, day-of wedding coordinator, The Knot, how much wedding planners charge, Zola wedding coordinator checklist.
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Straight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
They review the whole plan about a month before, confirm every vendor, build the run of show, then on the day run setup, line up the processional, cue the entrance, toasts and cake, handle every vendor question and problem, and manage breakdown so the couple’s items go home and the venue is left clean.
Despite the name, most start about a month before the wedding with a full review of contracts, vendors and the timeline, according to planners quoted by The Knot. The last two weeks are for the run of show, vendor confirmations and the rehearsal.
The Knot Real Weddings Study found that 37% of couples who hired a planner booked help for the wedding day only, paying $1,600 on average, against $2,100 for wedding planners overall. Prices move with region, guest count and team size.
Yes, for a small or simple wedding. Give them the run of show, the vendor contact sheet and the authority to decide small things without asking. Pick someone who is happy to miss part of the party, and tell the vendors before the day that this person speaks for the couple.
Printed copies of the run of show and the contact sheet, a charged phone and power bank, safety pins, tape, scissors, a stain pen, a lighter for candles, pens for the license, a battery speaker, snacks and water, and spare tip envelopes.
No. A venue coordinator works for the venue and looks after the space, staff and venue rules. A day-of coordinator works for the couple and manages every outside vendor, the timeline and the couple’s items. Ask your venue in writing what their coordinator does and does not cover.
