Loading Forever Farrah…
By Forever Farrah Published 2026-10-20.
A day-of coordinator checklist from handover to load-out: what to collect, confirm and print before the wedding, and what to run, check and pack up on the day.
A day-of coordinator's checklist has four parts: a handover meeting about six to eight weeks out to collect every contract and decision, vendor confirmations in the final two weeks, a printed packet (run of show, vendor contact sheet, seating chart, floor plan) the day before, and on the day itself, running setup, the timeline, the vendors and the pack-down so the couple never has to. The work is mostly done before the wedding; the day goes well because the paperwork did.
Day-of coordination is usually sold as a smaller package than full or partial planning, and many planners call it month-of coordination because the work starts weeks before the date. Zola's guide to planner costs describes it as a review of the couple's plans, confirming every vendor's details, a minute-by-minute timeline and overseeing setup. In Australia, Easy Weddings lists timeline management, supplier communication, setup and pack-down, problem-solving on the day and guest flow.
What it does not usually cover is choosing vendors or designing the day. Write that boundary into the contract, because a couple who books day-of coordination in March and asks for a florist in May is asking for partial planning.
This is the meeting the rest of the checklist depends on. Send the client questionnaire beforehand and ask the couple to bring:
Leave with one list of open questions and a date for each answer.
A coordinator does not handle the legal side of a marriage, but should know it is done, because a missing license is the one problem nobody can fix on the day.
| Market | What has to happen first | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | A marriage license from the county or state, with rules that vary by state | FindLaw |
| England and Wales | Notice of marriage given at least 29 days before the ceremony | GOV.UK |
| Canada | A license from the province or territory; Ontario's is valid for 3 months | Ontario.ca |
| Australia | Notice of Intended Marriage to the celebrant at least 1 month before | Attorney-General's Department |
Sources: FindLaw on US marriage license requirements, which notes each state sets its own rules for identification, waiting periods and expiry; GOV.UK on giving notice; Ontario.ca on getting married; and the Attorney-General's Department on getting married. Ask the couple, in writing, who is holding the paperwork on the day.
Call or email every vendor with their lines from the run of show and ask them to confirm, in writing, their arrival time, their on-site contact and anything they need from the venue (power, parking, a load-in door, a meal). A common habit is to confirm two weeks out and again in the final days; it is practice, not a rule.
Confirm the meal count for vendors with the caterer too. The Knot's vendor meal guide says vendors who are on site for most of the day should be fed, and the contracts often say so.
Lock the seating chart after the RSVP deadline, then send the final guest count and the dietary list to the caterer. The seating chart workflow guide covers the order that keeps last-minute changes small.
Know the local emergency number for the venue's country: 911 in the US and Canada, 999 or 112 in the UK, and 000 in Australia, where 112 also works from a mobile phone.
Return anything borrowed, send the couple a short note of what was handed to whom, and close out any vendor balance you agreed to pay on their behalf. Keep the documents: next year's wedding at the same venue starts from them.
Forever Farrah's planner dashboard holds each client wedding's guest list, RSVPs and seating chart in one place. Your couple imports their guest list from a spreadsheet, you both see RSVPs and meal choices come in, Matchmaker (automatic seating) places guests at tables and you drag anyone who needs moving. On the day, guests scan one QR code to find their table on their phone, so a late seating change does not mean reprinting the chart. A wedding week view shows what is coming up for each wedding in its final days. On Pro and up, the print pack adds escort cards, table cards, a caterer sheet and the floor plan. Your first 2 client weddings are free.
Commonly six to eight weeks before the wedding, which is why many planners call it month-of coordination. That leaves time to collect contracts, build the run of show and confirm every vendor.
Printed copies of the run of show, vendor contact sheet, seating chart and floor plan, labelled payment and tip envelopes, and an emergency kit.
No. The couple and the officiant or celebrant are responsible for it, and the rules differ by country and state. A coordinator should confirm it is done and who is holding it on the day.
Loading Forever Farrah…