Wedding Design vs Wedding Planning: What’s the Difference?
One of the most common questions couples ask is:
Do I need a wedding planner, a wedding designer, or both?
While the roles overlap slightly, they serve very different purposes.
What a Wedding Planner Does
A wedding planner is responsible for the logistics and execution of your wedding day.
This includes:
Vendor coordination and contract management
Timeline creation and oversight
Budget tracking
Ceremony and reception logistics
Day-of problem solving
Planners ensure your wedding runs smoothly — that everything happens on time and behind the scenes.
What a Wedding Designer Does
A wedding designer is responsible for the entire visual and sensory experience of your wedding.
Design goes far beyond décor. It is creative direction — and it touches every element your guests see, feel, and remember.
This includes:
Overall design concept and visual narrative
Color palettes, materials, textures, and scale
Floral and décor styling
Tabletop design, linens, rentals, and lighting
Styling guidance for attire, stationery, and signage
Spatial flow and how guests move through the day
The visual experience of the ceremony, reception, food presentation, and final exit
A wedding designer is thinking about every visual decision, from the wedding gown to the invitations, from the linens on the table to how candlelight, music, and movement shape the atmosphere.
We design for all the senses, not just what photographs well.
Why You Need Both a Planner and a Designer
A beautifully planned wedding can still feel visually disconnected.
A beautifully designed wedding without logistical support can feel overwhelming.
The most seamless weddings are created when:
A planner manages logistics, timelines, and execution
A designer leads the creative vision and visual cohesion
Each role supports the other — and when clearly defined, nothing falls through the cracks.
Why Wedding Design Should Not Be an Add-On
Many wedding planners offer “design” as an additional service. While this may sound convenient, it’s important to understand the difference between design as a specialization and design as an add-on.
For most planners, design is:
A supplementary offering, not their primary focus
Limited to surface-level selections rather than full creative development
Not something they were trained to lead at a deep, conceptual level
Wedding design is its own discipline. It requires a trained eye, creative education, and the ability to think holistically across people, paper, space, and experience.
Designers dive deeper. We are responsible for every visual decision, ensuring that nothing feels random, disconnected, or accidental.
How We Work
At Kogan Events, wedding design is not an add-on — it is the foundation of our work.
We specialize exclusively in wedding design and creative direction, and we collaborate closely with a curated group of trusted wedding planners who share our standards and values.
This approach allows each professional to do what they do best — resulting in weddings that are both impeccably run and thoughtfully designed.
There is no wrong choice — only the right alignment.
And when planning and design are handled by specialists, the result is effortless, intentional, and unforgettable.