Wedding Coordinator vs. Venue Coordinator: Which do you need?
“BUT MY VENUE ALREADY HAS A COORDINATOR…”
You’ve booked your venue and your contact has advised that they come with a venue coordinator to assist with your event on the day. That’s great! But do know that what they handle for you on the wedding day is not necessarily the same as what your wedding planner or wedding coordinator will do for you.
Both are important, but you may be surprised to learn exactly what a venue coordinator covers, and what may be missing.
There are some overlaps, and depending on the venue, you may receive more or less service on your wedding day. Some venues may not set up your menus and table numbers, while others may have a dedicated “concierge” who provides more personal assistance.
The easiest distinction is this: The venue coordinator is responsible for the venue; your wedding coordinator is responsible for your wedding as a whole.
Let’s review some of the similarities and differences.
WHAT DOES A VENUE COORDINATOR DO?
Venue coordinators are there to ensure the venue and venue staff are managed on the wedding day.
They will open the loading dock for delivery teams, oversee room setup based on the approved floor plan and contract, manage the in-house food and beverage team, and handle any issues with the venue itself. They are the liaison between you, the couple, and the venue, and they ensure the venue’s rules and restrictions are being followed.
Those are the main areas a venue coordinator will typically manage.
Some venues may be more involved and assist with placing your table numbers, menus and place cards on your guest tables. They may even help set up some of your personal items. But this shouldn't be assumed, always ask your venue exactly what is and isn't included.
Need someone to create and manage the complete wedding-day itinerary? Your venue coordinator typically won't handle that.
They'll manage the details required to deliver the venue and in-house catering services outlined in your contract, but they may not coordinate the timing of your entire vendor team or cue every key moment throughout the wedding.
Do you have personal items that need to be set up? They may set up some of them, but again, this shouldn't be assumed.
Are your outside vendors having issues? Your venue coordinator typically isn't responsible for managing those problems. If your florist hasn't arrived on time, for example, your venue coordinator may not be the person taking action, contacting them and figuring out what's gone wrong.
If it doesn't directly involve the venue or venue team, there is a good chance it falls outside of their responsibilities.
WHAT DOES A WEDDING COORDINATOR DO?
Wedding planners and coordinators are managing the entire wedding day and full vendor team. Our priority is to ensure our couple can relax and not have to deal with the many details and logistics happening behind the scenes.
Wedding planners and coordinators become the main point of contact on the wedding day so you aren't being bothered with questions.
They build and manage the wedding-day itinerary. They help ensure you are taken care of throughout the day, your vendors are fulfilling their responsibilities and your personal items are set up.
They communicate with your vendors to ensure everyone is on the same page, direct vendors during setup, and manage the logistics of your guests and wedding party. They communicate with vendors and the venue to cue key moments, coordinate with the kitchen and venue coordinator on timing, troubleshoot issues as they arise and do their best to mitigate problems before they become larger issues.
And sometimes, it's easier to understand what that looks like through real wedding-day scenarios.
One of your photographers is 30 minutes late for the groom’s getting-ready photos? It's the wedding planner figuring out what's happened, contacting the photography team, determining whether a replacement needs to be sent and adjusting the timeline if necessary.
Your wedding party isn't sure how to walk down the aisle? The wedding planner can provide direction and cues so everything looks and feels seamless during the ceremony, including when to walk, where to stand or sit, and when to leave. This is also why I strongly suggest having a rehearsal a day or two before the ceremony. It helps avoid unnecessary stress and confusion on the wedding day.
Grandma had pinned the boutonnières on the groomsmen, but they're all angled and falling off? Your wedding planner is there to fix them and make sure they're pinned correctly. They will have extra floral pins if needed too.
Dad doesn't remember when his speech is, even though he received the itinerary? We're there to remind him. We'll check in again five or ten minutes before he's supposed to speak, update the kitchen or venue coordinator so dinner service stays on schedule, cue the DJ and ensure photography and videography are ready to capture the moment.
Catering didn't serve the waffles with ice cream included in your approved contract? Your wedding planner is flagging it right away, finding out what happened and advocating for you while working with the catering team and manager to find a solution.
And those are just a few of the things we manage on a wedding day.
The goal is for you not to have to deal with them.
You should be able to be present, enjoy your wedding and trust that someone else is paying attention to all of those little details happening around you.
WHERE DO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES OVERLAP?
There will naturally be some overlap between your venue coordinator and wedding coordinator. Both may be involved in things such as vendor access, room setup, ceremony timing, the wedding-day timeline and dinner service.
But they're approaching those things from different sides:
Venue coordinator: What does our venue team need to do?
Wedding coordinator: What does the entire wedding team need to do?
For example, your venue coordinator may need to know that speeches are scheduled for 7:30pm because it affects when the kitchen serves the next course.
Your wedding coordinator is looking at the larger picture: Is Dad ready for his speech? Are the DJ and MC cued? Is the AV team back from their smoke break? Are the photographer and videographer in position? Is the kitchen ready to pause service for the speech and pick back up once it’s finished? And are we actually running on time, or does 7:30 now need to become 7:40?
They're working together, but their responsibilities aren't the same.
DO YOU NEED BOTH?
The question is whether your venue coordinator's scope covers everything your particular wedding requires. If nobody is responsible for the remaining pieces, or the answer is “my mom will do it,” “my bridesmaid can handle that,” or “I'll take care of it”, that's where a wedding coordinator can come in.
Ask yourself:
Do you have a lot of personal items that need to be set up?
Are you moving between multiple locations throughout the day?
Do you have several outside vendors that need to be coordinated?
How much personal assistance do you want on your wedding day?
Do you want to be as hands-off as possible without having your family and friends manage things for you?
If having a hands-off experience is appealing and you want the logistics left in someone else's care, then hiring a wedding planner or coordinator is definitely something to consider. Ultimately, your wedding planner or coordinator is there looking out for your wedding and your best interests.
And your venue coordinator? They're an important part of the team too. They just have a different job.
Cheers!
Lo