It’s becoming more and more of a trend for venues to hire their own in house coordinators. While venue coordinators are good at what they do, their duties are quite different from that of a wedding planner.
The venue coordinators/catering managers are hired specifically to sell the venue, show clients around their venue, put together a contract relating to the venue, set up food tasting and oversee the venue set up on the day of the event (sometimes they pass on the day of the event activities to the banquet lead). Some of these venues may have more than one event on the same day, and the venue coordinator may be the one in charge of all of them. In situations like this it is not uncommon for mix-ups to happen at the venue.
The Wedding Planner is hired specifically by the bride and does everything in the best interest of the bride. The job of a planner is to orchestrate your entire event from start to finish; making sure your planning experience is stress free. The planner’s job can range from helping the bride to hire reliable professional vendors to negotiating prices (including that of the venue). Wedding planners also set time lines for all event vendors, help out with design, décor, favors, wedding rehearsal, ceremony and reception coordination, and other little details involved the bride’s wedding plan.
Venue coordinators may not be well equipped to deal with event day emergencies; whose job is it to ensure your centerpieces arrive on time and in one piece or if in more than one piece, who executes the plan B? The value of having a wedding planner involved so that the wedding day can be as stress free as possible cannot be quantified. The venue coordinator takes care of the venue; the wedding planner takes care of the whole event and all that goes into the event.
Note that it is good to use venues that have in house coordinators but not for the purpose of replacing a wedding planner. The two have specific jobs and when put together will do an awesome job to making your event seamless.
