FAQs
Planning a wedding comes with plenty of questions, especially when you're trying to work out how much support you need and who will actually be looking after everything on the day.
I'm Nicole, the wedding planner and coordinator behind The Wedding Hand. I help couples plan beautifully personal weddings across Manchester, Cheshire, Yorkshire and throughout the UK.
Whether you're just starting out, already have most things organised or simply want someone you trust to take care of everything on your wedding day, here are some answers to help.
Finding the right wedding planning support
1. What is the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator?
A wedding planner supports you in creating and organising your wedding, from developing a vision, sourcing suppliers and managing budgets to bringing all the details together.
A wedding coordinator focuses on delivering the wedding you've planned. I step in before the day to understand your plans, then manage the suppliers, timings, guests and everything happening behind the scenes.
At The Wedding Hand, I offer both wedding planning and on the day coordination, so you can choose the level of support that feels right for you.
2. What wedding planning and coordination packages do you offer?
I have four packages, designed around how much of your wedding you'd like to plan yourself.
The Finishing Touch is for couples who've confidently planned their wedding and want to hand everything over for the day.
The Gentle Hand offers more dedicated support in the months leading up to your wedding, giving us time to get to know each other, review your plans and bring everything together.
The Supportive Hand is my bespoke partial wedding planning service, where you keep the parts of planning you enjoy and I take care of the areas where you'd like more support.
Hand in Hand is my full wedding planning service, where I lead the planning from the earliest stages through to your wedding day.
You can explore all four options on my wedding planning and coordination packages page.
3. Do I need a wedding coordinator if my venue already has one?
I believe so, yes.
There's an important difference between a venue coordinator and an independent wedding coordinator.
Your venue team looks after the venue, its facilities, staff and the services they provide. My focus is on you and the whole wedding you've planned.
That means coordinating your different suppliers, managing the timings, overseeing the details, helping your guests and making sure the things that matter most to you are looked after.
I work alongside your venue team, not instead of them. Having someone who knows your plans and priorities, and is there specifically for you, can make a real difference to how relaxed you feel on the day.
4. What's the difference between The Finishing Touch and The Gentle Hand?
Both packages include professional wedding day coordination, but the difference is how much we work together beforehand.
The Finishing Touch is my more straightforward coordination package. We have a detailed 90 minute handover meeting in the final weeks before your wedding, and I take responsibility for bringing your plans together on the day.
The Gentle Hand gives us much more time together, including dedicated support over four months, planning meetings, a venue walkthrough and supplier briefings. It's a lovely option if you'd appreciate having someone to ask questions, talk through decisions and build a really good understanding of your wedding before it arrives.
Both include up to nine hours of wedding day coordination.
5. What is included in partial wedding planning?
Partial wedding planning is perfect if you want to be involved in planning your wedding, but don't necessarily want to organise every part of it yourself.
Through The Supportive Hand, I create a bespoke package around what you've already planned and where you'd like my support.
That might include finding and comparing suppliers, managing your budget, developing your ideas, organising logistics, coordinating suppliers or bringing together the final details.
Wedding day coordination is also part of the service, so the person helping you plan your wedding is there to bring it all together on the day.
6. What is included in full wedding planning?
My Hand in Hand package is for couples who want an experienced wedding planner leading the process from beginning to end, while still being involved in the decisions that make their wedding personal.
I can take care of venue research, supplier sourcing, budget management, design guidance, guest and RSVP management, logistics, timelines and all the finer details.
I'll also coordinate your wedding day, bringing everything we've planned together.
You'll always be involved in the decisions that matter to you. My role is to take care of the organisation and responsibility, giving you more time to enjoy the experience.
Planning your wedding
7. We've already started planning our wedding. Can you still help?
Absolutely! You don't need to be at the beginning of your wedding planning journey to work with me.
Some couples come to me before they've even booked a venue. Others already have their suppliers organised and just need someone to help bring everything together.
We'll look at what you've planned, what's still to come and where you'd find my support most valuable. From there, we can decide which package would be the best fit.
8. When should we book a wedding planner?
For both full and partial wedding planning, I need a minimum of three months before your wedding date to give you the level of support your plans deserve.
For full wedding planning, I'd always recommend getting in touch as early as possible, ideally before you've even booked your venue. This means I can support you from the beginning, helping you explore venues, manage budgets, source suppliers and bring your ideas together.
For partial wedding planning, you might already have lots organised and simply need some extra support with the remaining details. As long as we have at least three months before your wedding, we can explore how I can help.
My diary can fill up well in advance, so it's always worth enquiring early. But even if you're working to a shorter timeframe, please get in touch and we can see what's possible.
9. When should we book an on the day wedding coordinator?
I generally receive bookings 12 to 18 months in advance, so I'd recommend getting in touch as soon as you've secured your wedding date.
Although we won't necessarily start working closely together straight away, booking early means you can relax knowing someone will be there to take care of all those important details on the day.
With The Gentle Hand, our dedicated support begins around four months before your wedding, giving us time to review your plans, meet with suppliers and bring everything together.
With The Finishing Touch, we'll have a detailed handover meeting in the final one to three weeks before your wedding, before I take responsibility for coordinating the day itself.
Getting married sooner? Please don't let that stop you enquiring! Even if your wedding is only a few months or even days away, it's always worth checking whether I'm available for your chosen date.
10. Do you plan and coordinate marquee, tipi and dry hire weddings?
Yes, and these are some of my favourite weddings to be involved in!
I specialise in marquee, tipi and dry hire weddings, including celebrations at family homes, private estates, farms, village halls and other blank canvas venues.
These weddings give you so much freedom to create something personal, but they can also involve more suppliers, more logistics and plenty of decisions that affect one another.
From access and power to catering, supplier timings, guest experience and wet weather plans, I help make sure everything works together.
Whether you need support planning the whole wedding or an experienced coordinator to run the day, I'd love to hear what you're creating.
11. Where do you offer wedding planning and coordination services?
I'm based in Saddleworth, near Manchester, and plan and coordinate weddings across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, West Yorkshire and the wider North West.
I also work with couples getting married further afield throughout the UK.
Whether you're planning a city centre wedding in Manchester, a country house celebration in Cheshire or a tipi wedding in the Yorkshire countryside, I'd love to hear about it.
Travel requirements can be discussed as part of your personalised proposal.
12. Can you help if we're planning our wedding from another city or country?
Of course. Planning a wedding away from where you live can make arranging venue visits, meeting suppliers and keeping on top of all the details more challenging.
We can hold planning meetings online, and I can support you with supplier research, communication, venue visits and the practical arrangements that are harder to manage from a distance.
The aim is for you to feel involved in your wedding without needing to be physically there for every decision.
13. What happens during our wedding planning meetings?
Our meetings are shaped around you, your wedding and what you need at that stage of planning.
We'll look at your priorities, what's happening next and any decisions that need making. That might involve reviewing budgets, discussing suppliers, exploring ideas, working through logistics or simply making sure everything is moving in the right direction.
I also want you to feel comfortable talking about the things you're finding difficult. Sometimes that's a practical planning challenge and sometimes it's about balancing different opinions or working out what really matters to you.
I bring the structure and experience, but your wedding and your priorities always lead the conversation.
14. Can we use our own wedding planning spreadsheets and documents?
Absolutely. If you've already created a budget, timeline or planning spreadsheet that works for you, there's no need to start again unnecessarily.
I'll review what you've put together, identify any information we need and help make sure your plans are clear and easy to manage.
I also use my own planning tools, including That's The One and building a Behind the Scenes Guide, to bring the important details together and make sure everyone understands the plan for your wedding day.
15. How will we keep track of our wedding planning and progress?
I use That's The One, a dedicated wedding planning platform, to help keep everything organised and in one place.
Depending on your package, you'll have access to your own wedding planning space, where we can manage things like your budget, supplier details, planning checklists, guest lists and wedding day timelines.
It gives us a shared place to keep track of what's been agreed, what still needs doing and what's coming up next, without having to search through endless emails, messages and spreadsheets.
Of course, the platform doesn't replace our conversations, planning meetings or the personal support I offer. It's simply another way I help make the planning process feel organised, collaborative and easy to follow.
Coaching & Personal Support
16. Do you offer wedding coaching as part of your planning services?
Yes. Alongside my wedding planning and events experience, I have trained in life coaching, and that approach is something I naturally bring into the way I work with couples.
Wedding planning can involve plenty of decisions, different opinions and sometimes a little uncertainty about what you really want.
Rather than simply telling you what I think you should do, I can help you explore your options, understand your priorities and find decisions that feel right for you.
Coaching can be incorporated into our planning sessions when it's helpful, alongside the practical advice, organisation and support you'd expect from your wedding planner.
17. Can I book a standalone wedding coaching session?
Yes! You might not need a wedding planner or coordinator, but perhaps there's a particular decision or challenge you'd appreciate having some dedicated time to work through.
That could be navigating family expectations, feeling stuck between different options, setting boundaries or trying to get back to the things you were excited about when you first started planning.
We can arrange a standalone coaching session focused on what's important to you, helping you find your own way forward with greater clarity and confidence. Just get in touch with Nicole.
Wedding day details, costs and booking
18. Will you set up our wedding decorations and manage suppliers on the day?
I'll coordinate your suppliers, oversee the setup arrangements and make sure everyone understands what needs to happen and when.
I can also help oversee smaller personal details, such as place cards, reserved seats and guest books, where we've agreed this as part of the plan.
For larger styling installations, furniture setup or packing everything away afterwards, we'll establish who is responsible in advance. My main role is to manage the wedding as a whole, making sure everything comes together while you enjoy your day.
19. How much does a wedding planner or on the day coordinator cost?
My wedding planning and coordination packages offer different levels of support, depending on how much you'd like me involved.
The Finishing Touch: Wedding day coordination from £900.
The Gentle Hand: Wedding coordination with dedicated support beforehand from £1,250.
The Supportive Hand: Bespoke partial wedding planning from £3,200.
Hand in Hand: Full wedding planning from £5,000.
The final investment will depend on your wedding, the services required and any additional support or travel arrangements.
I'm always happy to talk through your plans and help you understand which option makes the most sense for you.
20. How do we book The Wedding Hand for our wedding?
It all starts with a conversation!
You can get in touch through my website and tell me a little about your wedding, where you're getting married and what kind of support you're looking for.
We'll arrange an initial consultation so I can get to know you, understand your plans and talk through how I can help.
From there, I'll share the package details or a personalised proposal, depending on the support you need.
I want you to feel confident that I'm the right person to have by your side, so there's plenty of opportunity to ask questions before making a decision.
Let's talk about your wedding
Whether you've planned every detail or you're still figuring out where to begin, I'd love to hear what you have in mind.
Get in touch with Nicole and let's explore how The Wedding Hand can help you enjoy both the planning and the day itself.