You’ve started your search for the perfect venue for your wedding! Along the way, you’re discovering that a few of them note having a venue coordinator (or an event coordinator) to help the couple as one of the provided amenities. 

This can sound enticing for many couples, and it is a great service provided on behalf of the venue. However, a venue coordinator is not enough for management of your wedding day. 

HERE’S WHY!

We’ll start by explaining the difference between the two. You may be wondering what sets them apart from one another as it’s not uncommon for the two to be confused.

A VENUE COORDINATOR’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO THE VENUE

Their job is to make sure the venue is taken care of first, and then that you’re taken care of within the venue’s contract and responsibilities to you. They are usually assigned to you after the contract has been taken care of from the sales and marketing side of things and what they do for you is outlined by their job description.

A WEDDING COORDINATOR’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO YOU, AND ONLY YOU.

Yes, they coordinate and communicate with other vendors, but they are doing so with you as their top priority. They view your wedding day within it’s entire picture, making sure each moving part and each vendor coordinates seamlessly, all with you at the forefront of their mind. Many of the tasks a wedding coordinator takes care of on the wedding day are individual to the couple, and their vision and desires for the wedding. Some of those tasks can (depending on the coordinator) be personal in nature too. I’ve helped bustle dresses, fix shoes, cut seams, and even re-pinned a bride’s hair when it became loose early in the day. 

Sometimes the venue coordinator you plan with isn’t even on site for your wedding day. They work with you leading up to the wedding, coordinating the details within their venue team, but work 9 to 5. If you’re lucky, that same venue coordinator will be on site for your wedding, but oftentimes, there’s another person (usually someone with a title of Food & Beverage Manager) who will actually be on site. Their job is –  you guessed it, to manage the food & beverage services the venue is providing.

While there are venues who have venue coordinators who do go above and beyond for the couple, that is often on a case by case, or even employee by employee basis. Generally within the industry it’s not standard, and it’s a detail that can be misunderstood by potential couples who may not know the difference between the two. After all – they sound similar!

Overall, the difference comes down to the tasks that each one handles for you on the wedding day, and who they work for.

Here’s a brief list of a just few tasks we’ve taken care of at venues we’ve worked with that have venue or event coordinators also working with the couple:

• Taking the Groom & Groomsmen boutonnieres where they needed to be and assist with making sure they were all pinned correctly.
• Assisting a guest with a shoe strap that had broken. (I taped it together for her!)
• Taking the card box and gifts up to the couples room once dinner & speeches had concluded, to make sure everything was safe.
• Cued the emcee to begin the program for the evening.
• Provided guests with the instructions for confetti poppers the couple wanted to go off when they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.
• Provided assistance to the DJ with the placement of the couples wedding logo within the reception space.
• Transported floral arrangements from the ceremony space to the reception space.
• Took care of the Bride & Bridesmaids bouquets once the cocktail hour had begun and they didn’t want to hold onto them anymore.

Without an independent wedding coordinator, couples are often left to remember these details on their own, or task a family member with the job, or, leave vendors to act under their own assumptions. The problem with these solutions is that you deserve to enjoy your wedding day, and so do your family members. They don’t want to end up working your wedding when they could be celebrating you!

Don’t get us wrong – we love venue coordinators. They are a part of a well oiled machine that it takes to make a wedding come to life and we enjoy working with them. However, they have a specific role to play, and they don’t replace a wedding coordinator or a wedding planner.

A wedding coordinator ensures that you enjoy your day and the investment you’ve made in it! Knowing you have someone looking out for you and the wedding you’ve always dreamed of, gives you peace of mind.

If you want peace of mind on one of the biggest days of your life, connect with us today about our planning packages! We can’t wait to smooth the way and bring your wedding dreams to life.

INQUIRE ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DATE!