Does Your Elopement Need a Wedding Planning Helper?

When you envision your wedding day, what do you see? You and your partner in a beautiful location, hand-in-hand exchanging vows with huge smiles on your faces (and maybe a few happy tears). Maybe you are surrounded by a few friends and family members, too.

What you don’t envision is being stressed out, right? Avoiding stress is one of the main reasons people consider eloping. After all, an elopement allows you to simplify so that you don’t have to worry about corralling guests or stress out about coordinating vendors.

At Simply Eloped, we believe your wedding day should be nothing short of bliss. That means no stress — nothing but you and your lover, making the promise of a lifetime and having a blast while you’re at it.

If you are thinking about having guests at your elopement, planning a destination wedding, or just don’t want to worry about anything but showing up at your ceremony, a on-site helper may be a good choice for you.

What exactly does a on-site helper do? It is exactly what it sounds like: a wedding planning helper that is dedicated to making sure everything goes according to plan on your wedding day. They are there to help you by taking the responsibility off of you. Your coordinator will become your point of contact for you, your vendors, your guests, and anyone else that is part of your wedding day.

Essentially wedding planning helpers become the go-to person for all logistics of your special day, so all you have to focus on is getting married to the love of your life.

What kind of things would a on-site helper do?

Make sure all guests know when and where to be for your ceremony. That way you aren’t waiting for Aunt Karen to arrive fashionably late, per usual. This is especially helpful if you are having your ceremony in a location that requires some travel to get to, like Rocky Mountain National Park or Yosemite.

Manage your wedding day timeline. Having a wedding planning helper there to manage the timing of events can be incredibly helpful, especially if you have multiple wedding day events or are on a set time schedule. For example, if you are having a small reception or celebration after your ceremony and need someone to usher your guests to head that way. Or if you are having a sunset ceremony and need to make sure that you and your vendors arrive at the ceremony location with enough time to catch the golden hour.

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Oversee setup of chairs. If you have a specific vision in mind for how you want your ceremony to look, a on-site helper will be your new BFF. Since you will likely be getting ready, you won’t be around to direct the setup of chairs or other elements of your ceremony. A wedding planning helper won’t be the one to actually set up/break down the chairs, but they can be the person directing on your behalf so that everything is just how you envisioned it when you walk down the aisle.

Can be in charge of flowers. If delivery isn’t an option, you are going to need someone to pick up your flowers and bring them to the ceremony. And even if delivery is an option, your on-site helper can be the dedicated point person to receive the delivered flowers and make sure they get to you and wherever else they need to be.

Tech support for live streaming or personal photos. Are you planning to live stream your ceremony? Did you promise your mom you would send a video of the ceremony right after it happens? Your on-site helper is that person for you. You simply do not have the time or brain space to handle either of those things and get married. Allow yourself to be fully present by handing those off to your wedding planning helper.

A few things that your on-site helper does NOT do:

Act as your wedding planner. They won’t do any of your planning, facilitating, or hiring of vendors. They are simply there to ensure the operations of the day go smoothly.

Be an assistant to your photographer. While they will be there to make sure you get awesome photos, they aren’t the person who will hold your family’s jacket while you get your photos taken.

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Be your primer. A wedding planning helper will not do your hair or make-up or even be around while you are getting ready. Instead, they will likely be at the ceremony location making sure that everything is set up and ready for your arrival.

Perform duties similar to a travel agent. If you have to travel to your elopement, that is the one piece that you are responsible for figuring out on your own. Your on-site helper’s job begins once you arrive. They are there to help all the details come together for the actual wedding day, but they aren’t responsible for getting the planning of those details.

Ready to hire a on-site helper?

You can easily add a on-site helper to your Simply Eloped ceremony. The rate includes on-site help at your ceremony location. You can expect your wedding planning helper to be there a half-hour early, help throughout the ceremony, and stay until your portrait session beings. From start to finish, your coordinator will be there for about an hour.

Sound like a dream come true? Let’s start planning! Get in touch to book your elopement with Simply Eloped.

Written by Janessa White

Janessa White is the co-founder of Simply Eloped and has helped thousands of couples plan elopements. As an expert in the field, she has been featured on Martha Stewart, Brides.com, Vox, and HuffPost. Janessa thinks elopements are the ultimate way to tie the knot.