For the first two years of my business, I was a vendor at quite a few wedding expos! During each expo I met so many brides that were interested in full services wedding planning or day of wedding planning. Then I met those brides that would say “Oh, I don’t need a planner. The venue has a planner.” I’ve heard it so many times then it dawned on me that some just don’t know the difference between an onsite venue coordinator vs a full-service wedding planner and day of coordinator. Allow me to educate you on the difference between the two. Making a decision one way or the other could hurt you or benefit you.
Responsibilities of a venue coordinator – A venue coordinator is looking out for the best interest of that facility. The venue coordinator is to highlight the venue, provide you with a listing of their preferred vendors (they will not coordinate this for you) and coordinate the venue staff to make sure setup of tables and chairs for your event is done according to the floor plan. An onsite venue coordinator is also responsible for making sure your food is served in a timely manner, take down at the end of the night and to make sure you are making your payments to the venue. Unless there are certain aspects of your wedding that is included in the contract, a venue coordinator is not obligated to do anything other than what is best for the venue.
Responsibilities of a wedding planner – A wedding planner is your lifeline to a stress-free process and seamless wedding day experience. From consultation to execution, it is a wedding planner’s responsibility to make sure that every detail of your wedding day is planned and played out to perfection. A wedding planner will get to know you as a couple, as individuals, ask your vision for your big day and spend time with you. The point of this is to get to know you in a more intimate capacity. This is crucial to executing an exceptional planning process and so that when its your wedding day and your guests are sitting in the ceremony and reception, they can see remnants of you all over the event space.
A wedding planner will screen vendors and create a team of specialists that will make your day a success, create a very specific and detailed timeline that gives a birds eye view of how your wedding day will flow, conduct the rehearsal, conduct the full wedding day with a planning team and the chosen vendors including the venue coordinator.
As you can see, there is a clear and very distinct difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding planner. I hope this has helped you in making your decision on whether to hire a wedding planner. If you’re looking for planning assistance, we’re here for you! Contact us today to schedule your consultation.
Stay Fabulous!
M.E. Events Team
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