What is a planner wedding planner-coordinator? Could I just use the venue manager? If you are recently engaged and in the beginning stages of planning, I am sure you have heard these terms. How do you know which one is right for you and your partner?

Let’s start by clarifying the difference between a venue manager and hiring an outside wedding professional. Their titles may sound similar but their duties are very different. A venue manager is employed by the venue. Their job duties often include; unlocking the doors for your arrival, handling venue lights or AC, if there is a spill making sure that it gets cleaned, or keeping up with the restroom throughout the evening. On the other hand, a wedding coordinator or planner is someone you have contacted, interviewed, and hired. On your wedding day, a coordinator/planner is there to serve you and your partner.

In the central Texas area, most venues require the client to hire a month of coordinator. You might be curious as to why this is a requirement or look at the requirement as an added expense. By the end of this blog, we hope to have shed some light on the importance of having a venue manager and hiring a wedding planner.

A venue manager is important because they know the venue in a way your planner physically can not. Their solutions to issues that might arise will most likely be venue focused with an emphasis on making sure the venue’s rules and regulations are followed. As we mentioned before, they might possibly help with- parking, restrooms, spills, vendor needs, or controlling the reception lights throughout the night. We often share with our couples that a venue manager is the planner’s go-to person on all venue-centered questions or needs. They represent the venue on the wedding day.

Before your wedding, some venue managers will share layouts that work great for your guest size or suggest vendors they enjoy working with, but this is where vendor communication ends. Venue managers do not contact vendors prior to your wedding day. A venue manager works for the venue, and upkeeping the venue is their number one priority.

A planner or coordinator is your representative. They are going to provide solutions that are YOU-focused. For instance, getting the timeline back on track if family pictures during cocktail hour take longer than expected, making sure the getaway car is prepped and ready before entertainment ends for the night, or finding a solution for the groomsman that has a wrinkled shirt. A planner will also make sure you and your partner have food during cocktail hour, reminding you and your partner when to greet guests during dinner, guide the bridal party down the aisle, or helping guests from the ceremony to the reception. Leading up to your wedding day, at the bare minimum a coordinator/planner will create a detailed wedding timeline, communicate with your vendors in the week(s) leading up to your wedding, and be there on the day of the wedding to oversee the entire event. They are your “wedding day bestie”. A planner’s job is to care for you, your family, and your guests on the day of the wedding.

Both venue coordinators and planners are crucial to a successful, safe, and calm wedding day but it is important to realize their jobs are not the same.