Venue Coordinator’s vs Wedding Planners - What is the Difference?
You have launched yourself into a whirlwind of mystical possibilities for your picturesque wedding day, and now to bring your Pinterest board to life, you need to start planning the logistics of your day out.
Your time is precious. Life is busy, balancing your work life, social life and family commitments, all of which are already challenging to maintain without feeling burnt out. Now, add a full time job of planning your wedding, finessing the intricate details of glassware, linens, cutlery and candles. All of a sudden you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your next steps.
Questions you may not have asked yourself [yet] - Who will ensure that your day is seamless in administrative execution, adhering to agreed timelines and effortlessly navigate unforeseen circumstances where things may go wrong? Who will be there to curate a refined and sophisticated experience for you and your guests, when you’re excitedly getting ready the morning of your wedding day? A common misconception amongst newly engaged couples is that your Venue Coordinator will be responsible for your specialist administrative support, styling and decor consultations, set up and tear down and of course effortlessly navigating on-the-day hiccups. When you’re first touring your soon-to-be wedding day backdrop, venue’s will most often than not include Wedding Coordinator services as part of their services. This is where the confusion starts. Many couples believe that Venue Coordinators will be stepping up as their on the day A Team, Planning Personal Assistant and Decor Extraordinaire. Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely to be the case.
Who Are Venue Coordinators?
Let’s start at the beginning! Venue Coordinators are incredibly talented individuals, and excel professionally in their area of expertise: your venue. They will know their venue and its quirks on a personal level. They will be able to advise you of limitations, scope of styling and what practices generally work best for your venue. They are employed by the venue, and to that end, they will be there on your day to ensure that the venue’s operations and output are meeting the agreed deliverables.
One key point which we feel often gets overlooked: as Venue Coordinators work for the venue and are not exclusive to your unique requirements, you may not be liaising with the same nominated individual throughout your planning process. To note, you may find that staff turnover is exceptionally high in your venue, or, the individual with whom you started to build rapport with is now no longer working in that specific department. All of a sudden it’s your wedding day, you’re nervous and anticipating the celebrations to come, when you’re greeted by someone you have not met before, and you may not trust. This is the shortfall and often overlooked reality of working exclusively with your Venue Coordinator.
Who Are Wedding Planners?
We may be biased, due to our sole purpose in the wedding industry being wedding planners and stylists. But, hear us out! Your wedding planner’s role aligns with your allegiances! A wedding planner’s sole purpose is to advocate for you, the couple, ensuring that you receive the sophisticated, elegant and exquisite wedding experience you were promised. Your wedding planner will become your right-hand person. From ensuring seamless administration from your consultation to your wedding day, and bringing to life exquisite decor which tells a story of who you are, individually and as a couple.
Here are five examples (not limited to) of the differences between a Wedding Planner and a Venue Coordinator:
ONE
CREATIVE DESIGN
Your Venue Coordinator will be able to provide inspiration photos based off previous couples who chose to celebrate at your chosen venue; however, they ultimately cannot curate a design brief which is unique to your personality, vision, style and values. That “wow” factor, where your guests are immersed in an elegant and refined wedding experience, where every detail matters and every detail is intentional. This is your wedding planner & stylist’s role.
From managing your exact shade of linen, to your beautifully sourced charger plates and intricate glassware, to intentionally sourcing Italian floor chandeliers where the crystals will glisten in your chosen downlighting at just the right angle so that your veil and finer jewellery elements glisten as you glide across the pavilion. Your wedding planner’s expertise begins and ends in the details. What makes you, you? What vision, style, aesthetic and values do you hold? Your wedding planner and stylist will curate timelessly elegant decor, which ultimately perfects a wedding experience which is uniquely yours.
TWO
BUDGET MANAGEMENT
Your Venue Coordinator will only advise you on the direct costs associated with your venue. They will not assist you with overall budget management, nor curating payment timelines to ensure that your wedding suppliers receive timely payment, allowing you to enjoy the final few months of engaged bliss, rather than knee deep in an outdated budget spreadsheet.
Your wedding planner will be honest, transparent and direct - they are tracking every projected and actual expense you have accrued throughout your administrative journey. Their job for budget forecasting ensures that you remain on track for the budget you provided and will assist you in aligning your finances with your priorities and preferences. When your life becomes too overwhelming, the last thing you will want to do is sit down and update your spreadsheet and tracking tools, by going through countless contracts and understanding the fine print. Your wedding planner will already know what you, and your chosen vendors require ahead of time, so that you can refocus on climbing the career ladder, whilst we take care of the nitty gritty.
THREE
NEGOTIATIONS
Venues and all your chosen vendors will have rules! Your wedding planner is advocating for YOU, and your unique requirements, to ensure your wedding day is flawlessly crafted. Sometimes, contracts may contain unfavourable terms, which may minimise or deny your out-of-the-box styling or entertainment ideas. Your wedding planner has the expertise and industry know-how to ensure that all favourable terms are negotiated and delivered. This sometimes may mean finding a middle ground where both parties are content with updated terms; however, should you have required your contracts to be challenged or redefined boundaries, your Venue Coordinator will remain firm on their boundaries and scope of work. Moreover, they will not facilitate your requests to challenge contracts with other vendors outside of their venue contract.
FOUR
YOUR RIGHT-HAND MAN
We have said it multiple times already, but here we go again - your wedding day has to be flawlessly executed. The timelessly elegant styling, whilst curating a wedding experience which is uniquely yours requires skill. Experimenting with colour palettes, textures, florals, candlelight, whilst crafting an exquisite experience which brings to life your vision, aesthetic, values and unique style. Your guests are to experience the wow factor and immerse themselves in a day filled with intricate details displaying your unique story. This is a non-negotiable. This is your wedding planner & stylist’s forte. Your wedding planner will take the time over the months (or years) to get to know you. How you tick. What you believe in. Who you are.
Whilst we acknowledge there are Venue Coordinators who may have the scope to assist with certain decor / styling set up, they will not have been involved in the countless design briefs, nor will they have had scope to be included within their own workplace contracts, to understand the level of detail required to curate this unique experience for you.
FIVE
NOT ONLY THE VENUE
Your wedding day experience is only perfected through meticulous planning, research and contracting the bespoke skills, talent and personalities of all the numerous vendors required. There are many cogs required to turn the wheel. It is true, that planning and executing a wedding, takes a village! Your photographer and videographer will be sourced to ensure that their style, vision, posing and editing are aligned with your vision and personality. Your caterers will be curated to promise your guests a culinary experience which speaks volumes of your story and background. Your ceremony musicians are hand selected to ensure their voice, pitch, song choices and performance are aligned with your aesthetic and tone for your day.
The venue may house your guests, enveloping them in your bespoke story, alongside the history and personality of your chosen venue will be astounding to further highlight who you are; but, we will reiterate that the venue is just one aspect of your wedding day. The real magic happens when your chosen A Team of industry professionals come together to seamlessly translate your vision, style, aesthetic and personality into a truly unforgettable experience for you, and your guests. You won’t have to second guess your shot list, or your song choices, as your suppliers have already been vetted to align neatly with your personality. Your wedding day is only uniquely yours when your ‘village’ of professionals are involved.
These aspects of your wedding day are, quite rightly, beyond the boundaries and scope of your Venue Coordinator. The procurement of the right suppliers, alternate venue’s for ceremonies, pictures, accommodation etc are all outside the remit of your Venue Coordinator. Should you opt for an “Events Management” / “On The Day” Planner & Stylist, as your dedicated professional for the final touches, to ensure your wedding day is seamless and finessed with a professional touch, they will typically get involved from the 8-12 week point prior to your wedding day; therefore, they will be intimately familiar with your chosen style, supplier list, vision and aesthetic, than that of your Venue Coordinator.
In a nut-shell, your Venue Coordinator is a professional who you need in your village, as they will be carefully maintaining a comfortable experience for you and your guests inside the venue for you to step down the aisle until you kick your shoes off to dance the night away! Their highly knowledgeable staff members will be working tirelessly to man your bars, ensure your communal areas are clean and tidy, and most importantly look after the health and safety of all your guests for the duration of your event. Your Wedding Planner is there to take the stress off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on what matters: your family, your friends, your career, your health and your future. We effortlessly curate an experience which draws inspiration from your unique style, vision, values and aesthetic to ensure that your wedding day is elegant, exquisite and uniquely yours.
If this post was something that resonated with you, and you would like to discuss how we could help you transform your vision into a reality, please get in touch!