Venue Co-ordinators are NOT Wedding Planners!
Those of you that have followed us for a while now will know that before setting up a wedding planning business we have both worked as Wedding Co-ordinators at a venue. So the opinions in this post come from our experience in both roles.
Don’t get us wrong, venue co-ordinators do a fantastic job, they know everything there is to know about their venue and can recommend the suppliers they regularly work with. What they don’t do is provide a personal, bespoke service that is specifically tailored to you.
Our hearts sink when a couple tell us they don’t need a wedding planner because they have one at the venue. What these couples don’t realise is that although there will be someone from the venue co-ordinating their day – they are most definitely NOT a wedding planner. It may not even be the person they have spent so long talking through the plans with.
For Caroline her co-ordinating role at the venue was Monday to Friday 9am-5pm which meant she was very rarely there on the wedding day. An important question you should ask your venue co-ordinator is if they will be there on your day. If they won’t be there, ask to meet the person who will be! It’s very common now, even for top wedding venues, that a sales team will be used throughout the planning process and then an operational or catering team will be used to run the day. This leaves you with a trouble-shooter on the day, organising things from the venues point of view, but without someone who is there with you and your plans in mind.
A wedding planner will be with you throughout the entire day from the moment you put on your dress, usually until your first dance but often later. A wedding planner will liaise with all of the suppliers involved in the wedding meaning you can relax and enjoy the day. If anything does come up, you only need to speak to your wedding planner and they will deal with it for you.
Simply put, a venue co-ordinator works for the venue and that will be their priority, a wedding planner works for YOU and will always have you at the centre of their work!
Happy Planning!
TWP x