Until you start planning your wedding or special event, you likely wouldn’t know the difference and that in fact these are two very different roles. I’ll explain the differences so you can feel confident making decisions for your special day.
As a wedding and event professional, my role is to advocate for you, my client, and have your best interests at heart. From set to strike, I’m onsite following a comprehensive and thoughtfully planned production schedule ensuring event partners arrive in a timely fashion, uphold their contractual obligations and that you have the wedding or event exactly like you envisoned. Venue coordinators interests end with the obligations they have to their respective property such as accessibility to the venue, creating room diagrams and set-up, security, staffing and in many cases working alongside the banquet manager if the venue happens to also provide catering.
If you have a church ceremony and a reception in a different locations, a venue coordinator will not attend the ceremony to manage logistics unlike a wedding coordinator who would be there to coordinate ceremony details.
A wedding coordinator oversees the key events that occur throughout the evening such as entrances and introductions, first dances, welcome toasts cake cuttings and grand exits. We also bustle gowns, sew on buttons, re-apply lipstick and load gifts as well as other personal items into a designated vehicle. We are there all night long to ensure you have what you need when you need it. Venue Coordinators, who definitely hustle to make sure their part of the event is flawless, typically leave a function once it’s underway, whereas a wedding or event coordinator will stay for the duration of the event.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to have frequent turnover among venue staff. You may not end the planning process with the person you started with which can be unsettling to say the least. This past year I had a client encounter three different coordinators at her reception venue! When working with your wedding or event coordinator, you will find peace of mind and confidence knowing your wishes will not only be communicated to all event partners, but carried out with excellence and professionalism.
Event planning and all the details that come along with it can be overwhelming for many people. With many moving parts, it’s easy for something to get lost in the shuffle. Find peace of mind by enlisting the help of an event planner who can provide expert guidance every step of the way.