What’s the difference between hiring a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator?

Your wedding planner will be involved in every single one of your plans from the moment you book with us. Dealing with suppliers on your behalf, handling all the questions, calls and finer details. Dealing with RSVP’s and the over all look, style and design of your wedding day. They would then continue to be there throughout all your pre wedding events, set up and the wedding day itself, usually ending with a pack down service.

Your wedding coordinator steps in right at the end. You plan, book and organise the suppliers, guests and logistics. Your coordinator turns up on the day to set the scene, light the candles and coordinate the running of the day and time line.

We also offer a middle package - the perfect mix of coordinator and planner allowing you to be in control of each plan with our back up, suggestions, support and ideas from the moment you book us and right through the wedding events as well.

My venue has a coordinator - can I still hire you and is it worth having a wedding coordinator or wedding planner?

Absolutely! I (Laura Beth) spent 7 years as an in house venue coordinator running and hosting all the events for Buckland Hall in Brecon, Powys. Having transitioned to a private planner and coordinator, I love regularly working with in house venue coordinators to together make your day extra special.

A venue coordinator will always be concerned with the internal running of the venue, perhaps their accommodation and ensuring the day runs smoothly for them and their team. A private wedding planner and coordinator is there for you, your guests and all your suppliers. We will be checking the details in advance, booking in suppliers and coordinating all the logistics around that. We’ll make sure you have your lipstick to hand, glass always full and ensure each of your guests are equally having the best time as well! We are the producers and fire fighters, making sure everything is where you want it, on time, and any issues only come as far as us!

What areas or venues do you cover? Do you travel? How far do you travel?

We are based in South Wales, but absolutely love to travel all across the UK. We’ve planned and coordinated weddings right across Wales, the cotswolds, Gloucestershire, Glastonbury and even over to London. Our prices are based on wedding venues located within an hour or so from South Wales, BUT we adore exploring new places and venues. Always get in contact and we will be able to advise on additional travel and accommodation costs where needed.

We love to work in all sorts of venues from barn weddings to stately homes, modern hotels to back garden marquees. Every wedding, no matter the location needs someone to coordinate!

How much does a wedding coordinator or wedding planner cost to hire?

We’ve got a our packages listed here. However we know each wedding has different needs and we love to be flexible on what we provide to suit your plans. Are packages start at £1400 (although we do offer discounts for our regular venues Tall Johns House and Llantilio House due to the number of weddings we are involved in at both locations each year). But please get in contact to discuss your wedding day plans and we can build the perfect bespoke wedding planning or on the day coordination package just for you.

Do you travel abroad?

We will be totally honest - we haven’t done a wedding abroad (yet!). We love to travel so we for sure have some destinations on our bucket list and would love the opportunity to do a destination wedding.

If you are getting married in France, Spain, Italy or beyond in Europe we would love to talk!

Do you plan elopements and micro weddings?

Yes, we work with couples planning weddings of all sizes. We adore the personality and freedom with smaller weddings.

What is discussed on a consultation call?

The complimentary consultation call is a discovery call, your chance to get to know us, and us to get to know you and your wedding day plans. The call or zoom usually lasts around an hour. We discuss your plans so far, what your hopes for the big day are, and suggest ways in which we might work best with you. It’s a really informal call and absolutely no pressure to book following the call. We want to ensure we are the right fit for each other, as going forward you will be putting a lot of trust in us and spending plenty of time with us in the lead up to and on your wedding day!

What is the process when I book you?

Once we have had your consultation call, we will follow up with a quote and contracts. To book you simply sign and send over the deposit.

For the Sparkler package we will then be in contact 4 weeks prior to the wedding day to discuss your plans, finalise everything we need to do and arrive on your wedding day to make it all happen!

For our other packages our first step will be a planning call. A chance to ask us all the questions, check or create a timeline. Offer recommendations, table plan layout ideas and make you an organised plan going forward.

With full planning there will of course be numerous meetings, but with ‘the side kick’ package you’ll be able to access us as often as needed to discuss options along the way. We love collaborating with you like this as it offers the best of both world!

Do we get any supplier discounts when working with you?

I never take commission direct from a supplier. If I receive any discounts as part of my on going arrangement with that supplier this will always be passed on to you as a saving. A little bonus and extra money back on your wedding budget to spend elsewhere!

Can you help with last minute weddings? How early can I book you as my wedding planner or wedding coordinator?

Of course! For the side kick and full planning packages we love to work with you for as long as possible, for you to get full use of our service and professional wedding planning support. But we can step in at any moment and offer our help going forward to the wedding day. We’ve planned one wedding in as little as 3 weeks and also worked with some clients for 3 years!

Our sparkler package can only be booked 5 months prior to the wedding and is subject to availability.

What is the typical budget of clients you work with as a wedding planner or wedding coordinator?

This varies hugely and really hard to put a figure on. As a guide:

For our full planning clients, budgets are usually from 70K+. We charge a minimum £8000 or 10% of the wedding budget (12% for marquee or back garden weddings)

For our sparkler or side kick clients budgets are usually from 30K to 100K+ with prices starting at £1400.

Will I meet my wedding day of coordinator before the wedding day?

Yes! Unless there was some extreme circumstance you would always be working with myself (Laura Beth) or my associate planner Sam. For larger weddings (over 150 / multiple location days/ large expansive venues) we work together on the day or you will be assigned to one of us for the planning / smaller weddings.

How long have you been planning weddings?

I’ve been in the wedding industry for almost 15 years! You can read all about my background in the ABOUT ME section. I’ve worked in all areas of the industry from running full wedding venues to now privately planning weddings and venues for the last 6 years.

Is it just the two of you or do you have a team?

We have a full team at your disposal! Weddings are a huge system with so many small parts needing to work seamlessly on the day. For larger weddings, multiple locations or vast expansive venues, you would always be assigned 2 on the day coordinators. We also have the full Laura Beth Team available for installs, set ups, pack downs, room turnaround and movements on the day. Everyone is in house and on the payroll. Nothing is out sourced, so we know you have all the best support and experience on the day.

Are you insured?

Yes, I carry full insurance and public liability which I am happy to provide a copy of should it be needed. This also covers any additional planners or staff I bring with me on the day.

What happens if my wedding planner or wedding coordinator is ill on my wedding day?

We would be absolutely devastated to be ill on your wedding day! But we also need to be ready for any situation (we are wedding planners after all!). Sadly this did happen on a wedding day in 2024, but thankfully this also shows we can get through everything. The Laura Beth Team are all fully trained and experienced to step up. Our notes and systems are detailed and accessible to numerous people on the team. With a few simple messages, we can hand over and carry on like nothing has happened - except being sad we aren’t there to celebrate with you!

Do you plan back garden weddings / marquee / tipi weddings?

Yes, we have planned many over the years, from fields and farms to back gardens, and even on the grounds of stately homes. The logistics involved in these days are always more complicated so this does come with a premium surcharge, but it is very much worth having that additional support in these wedding venues as anything can happen!!

What are your hours of work for us to be able to contact you throughout the wedding planning process?

We aim to be as flexible as possible. Need evening or weekend meetings, we can work around you. Living the other side of the world and early morning suits the timing best, we can arrange that.

We try to communicate through WhatsApp and email as often as possible and ask that phone calls are always pre arranged so we can plan and give you our full attention.

We don’t work a fixed 9-5, wedding planning works around you.