Wedding Planner vs. Venue Coordinator

 Kathy Byrum Assisting the Bride and her Mother

I would like to clear up a common misconception about your Wedding Planner versus the Venue wedding coordinator that books your event, helps you plan your food and floor plan and works on your wedding day to coordinate everything for you.  Quite often, they will inform Brides and Grooms that book with them they don't need to hire a Day Of Coordinator or have your Wedding Planner there because they take care of "everything".

Here are the facts surrounding this confusion:

 
On-site venue ‘wedding coordinators’ do not actually assist you in the planning of your wedding, outside of making sure the reception site is staffed, food and beverage is provided and the décor you provide is set up. And even then, depending on the scope of your décor, you may have to provide the venue with assistance in helping them set it up. Taking the reins comes easy to a professional planner. 

They have a list of “vendors” they can recommend to you so you don’t have to shop around. The truth is many of these vendors pay to be placed on their list, may not be the caliber of vendors you need on your special day, or are not the perfect vendor for you and your style. Brides and grooms are often misled by the terminology the venues use. The reality is, the on-site “event/wedding coordinator” should be called the “venue event manager,” as that is their true role. 

On your wedding day, their focus is going to be on their staff, the kitchen, the food presentation, the stock, the set-up, the break down and those types of details. They are not going to meet with your vendors with you to ensure you ask all the right questions before your wedding day; they will not be calling your vendors to make sure they are paid and confirmed; they will not be doing your running for you; they will not be at your home or Bridal Suite making sure you have plenty to eat and drink, distributing flowers, sewing something that has gone wrong with the dresses, etc. They will not be at your Rehearsal to ensure the ceremony runs smoothly.  

Your personal wedding planner will answer all of your questions from the very beginning of the planning, assist with contracts and vendor negotiations, help with event design, create a detailed timeline of the wedding day events and make sure all of your vendors and the venue are on the same page prior to your big day.   We will guide you through the planning process from setting and maintaining your budget to keeping Aunt Mary away from crazy Uncle Joe.

I could go on and on, but most importantly, they will not have developed a personal relationship with you like we will. The trust that is built during the planning process with us carries over into a relaxed, enjoyable wedding day. 

Over the years, we have developed many excellent working relationships with Venue coordinators by communicating and working together to ensure your wedding day is perfect.  Actually, we take on a some of the work the Venue coordinators would have to do so their time can be freed up to ensure the staff is working efficiently and the kitchen gets the food to your guests on time.  Sometimes your venue coordinator has been engaged in a tug of war with inexperienced planners that will not or do not know how to work as a team for your benefit.

It is our goal to assist your Venue coordinators along with all of your Vendors in any way we can.  We want to make sure that after everything is over, you will be so glad you hired the experienced professionals at Dream Wedding and Event Planners to help you every step of the way.