What’s the difference between a Venue Coordinator and a Wedding Planner?

Wedding Planner and Venue Co-ordinator might seem like synonymous job titles; and whilst they do work closely together, the roles are poles apart. So, to save on the confusion and to make clear why Wedding Planners are worth their weight in gold, I’m going to give you a rundown on the key differences.

Venue Coordinator:

The venue coordinator is employed by and responsible for the venue. They are the friendly face, happy to show you around and introduce you to their venue or take your calls if you have any questions or requirements. Whilst you might organise your wedding through them, it’s more of a sales role and often the co-ordinator will not be there on the day of the wedding and will pass over to the front of house/operations team who look after you on the day. Some of the larger venues often handle multiple weddings and functions on the same day, so are not around until certain times of the day.

The venue coordinator is looking to help you organise your wedding to their specifications and requirements. For example, they’ll talk you through the room layouts, food options and drinks menu. They will assist with suppliers but only from their preferred supplier list but that is as far as they are involved. They will not read contracts and liaise with those suppliers on your behalf.

A Wedding Planner will have a “little white book” of contacts gathered over the years, which they will look through to find the best match for your wedding style and vision, rather than a few suppliers who may not match with you as well. Some venues are not supportive of independent planners; however, there are many which recognise planners as the additional arm available to work with the venue, not against it.

Wedding Planner:

If the venue coordinator’s priority is the venue, the wedding planner’s priority is the happy couple. These two roles should work hand in hand with each other, meaning more support for couples on their big day. A good Wedding Planner is made better by a good venue coordinator and will lighten the workloads and should be able to work closely together covering the different sections of their roles. It’s easy to lose yourself down the rabbit hole of Pinterest and Instagram weddings, but only a professional Wedding Planner knows how to make those ideas a reality.

We may sound biased, but the sooner you hire a Wedding Planner the easier your wedding planning becomes. A Wedding Planner will help style your wedding from the colours of the table linens to glassware and flowers. We are on hand to support, guide and assist you with the large project of wedding planning, we are also here to hold your hand, support and comfort you through the wedding process, relieving the stress.

We can help from the first day to work out a general budget for your day, your overall vision and whether you have any particular suppliers you want to work with. We will have our own recommendations and can act as a filter for the myriad of retailers and suppliers all vying for your business. We have a detailed understanding of the wedding timeline, when things need to be booked and when the deposits need to be paid, so the budgeting support can continue throughout the planning process. This can be a bit daunting, but we can be there for every step of the journey. We’re your personal wedding PA.

A planner will be on-site early to set up the venue to your exact requirements, cross-reference the timeline to make sure the 3 rd party suppliers are on-site at the correct times and if not call and chase them. They are the first to arrive and last to leave, assisting with clearing the room and arranging for your gifts and décor to be carefully secured away. We will deal with the table plans and have the updates for any last-minute cancellations, menu adjustments or seating corrections, so efficiently your guests won’t even notice! And whilst we’ve mentioned scheduling before, with experience and expertise we can help negotiate timings so any unforeseeable problems, like finding the Bridesmaids for the group photos, do not impact your day.

According to Wedding Wire, couples spend nearly 2 hours a week planning their wedding, 80% of which is spent online. Whilst that might not sound like a lot, that equates to over a hundred hours in a year. Working full-time 9-6pm will not leave you enough time to plan your wedding and that ever-growing to-do list can be stressful. Working with a Wedding Planner, they will take on that responsibility and take away the wedding admin, giving you free time to spend with family and friends.

If you’re excited to plan your day yourself, great! We also offer on the day co-ordination, where we schedule, organise and harmonise your day – so that the photographer isn’t dragging your guests in one direction, as the canapes arrive from another. If we have done our job properly, you won’t need to worry about a thing on your wedding day. Everything will be perfectly planned in advance, and there’ll be no nasty surprises.

If you’re still not convinced you to need a Wedding Planner, I’d like to finish with three questions.

  1. What does your dream wedding look like?
  2. Do you have a budget for your wedding, or are you just concerned about how much it will cost?
  3. How many hours a week do you work, and how will the additional hours of wedding planning impact that?

Feel free to comment your responses! I’d love to know what you think.