Venue Coordinator vs Wedding Coordinator: What’s the Difference?
By Audrey Frederick
November 3, 2024
We are in the midst of engagement season! And that means bridal shows are right around the corner! We absolutely love showcasing our work at bridal shows and getting to meet excited new brides. It gives us the perfect setting to meet potential clients and also take the time to learn what brides are in search for when it comes to wedding planning. It’s our time to shine and educate brides and grooms, their families, and their friends on what they need to do to get ready for their upcoming nuptials! When meeting these couples, one of the first things we ask them is, obviously, if they need a wedding planner or coordinator.
It’s not uncommon for us to be met with the comment, “Our venue comes with a coordinator, but thanks anyway…”
But after working and attending many, many weddings, we know something that most couples don’t. A venue coordinator and a wedding coordinator really aren’t the same.
Now that’s not to say that your venue coordinator isn’t great or that some venues truly do come with a planning team. But let’s take a look at the real difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding coordinator and how each can be beneficial to your wedding day!
What is the Difference Between a Wedding Coordinator and a Venue Coordinator?
Let’s think about some of the big things that will happen throughout your wedding day - starting with the morning of. You show up to your bridal suite and it’s set up and ready for you to have your hair and makeup done and get dressed.
But when your bridesmaids pull out their dresses your photographer goes to grab them for detail shots, they are on ugly plastic hangers and they are wrinkled in the skirt. Who was supposed to make sure that the dresses were steamed and ready?
Finding someone to steam all of the dresses took extra time and now you’re about 20 minutes late for the shuttle ride to your first look destination. Wouldn’t it have been great to have someone keeping you on time?
Shall we keep going?
Next you arrive at your ceremony site and everything looks great! The chairs are up and filled with guests, the flowers are absolutely beautiful and it’s everything you envisioned! But there is no one there to tell everyone when to start. Do you just have your officiant tell the pianist to start? Your venue came with a coordinator but she is in the reception hall overseeing the caterers as they get set up. Who do you turn to?
There are a ton of different times throughout the day that you can get caught up in the moment and need someone to keep you on track. Make sure that you have everything you need at your disposal. Things like your reception entrance, when food is to be served, when the first dance should happen; toasts, cake cutting, end of night transportation. The list goes on.
Some of these things are exactly what a venue coordinator is there to take care of. But if the venue coordinator is taking care of the venue, who is taking care of the bride(s), grooms(s), and the rest of the events? A lot of couples get excited to hear that a venue comes with a coordinator and they immediately cross planner/coordinator off their list of needed vendors. But what is the real difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding coordinator? When you think about it, the job titles sound almost the same - but the jobs we do couldn’t be more different. And that doesn’t mean that as wedding planners we devalue venue coordinators. In fact, their jobs are also vital to help weddings and events run smoothly! We love getting together with venue coordinators and working together to make the perfect event happen.
But it’s not uncommon for a couple to be shocked when they arrive to their wedding day and realize that the venue coordinator isn’t as involved as they had assumed. And that isn’t to say that this person isn’t busy or doing their job. It’s actually just that! They are doing their job running the VENUE. Not the EVENT. So let’s break it down a bit further.
The Venue Coordinator
Venue coordinators are often times employees of the venue. This means that the venue is their top priority. Obviously, they want you to have your perfect wedding or event. It’s their job to make sure that everything looks great and goes well so they can keep hosting events! And most of the time, the venue coordinator truly does love to share in your wedding vision!
They want your event to showcase the venue and what they can offer and vice versa. The better experience you have, the easier it is for them to gain experience and show potential clients how great of a time they, too, could have at the venue.
They will be there each step of the way making sure that you work with recommended caterers, have the layout and design that you want, helping to arrange a tasting if they offer in house food and beverage. But almost always one thing they will not do is - SET UP YOUR DECOR!
This is a job that almost all venue coordinators delegate to the florist, rental companies, or wedding coordinator. This is because your florals are not part of the venue. Table, chairs, linens, maybe your place settings - yes. Florals and decor - hard pass for venue coordinators!
A venue coordinator will also not travel to multiple locations if you if you choose to have your ceremony somewhere other than the reception venue. Like we said before, they are typically an employee of the venue and will not venture off site for your day. They will be busy at the reception venue getting things like your tables and chairs set up. Again, this is exactly what they are there to do! But it can be a bit stressful to go into your day thinking you will have someone to coordinate, but you only see them part of the day.
The Wedding Coordinator
A wedding planner or day of coordinator is almost like your personal assistant. They are a professional that has learned the industry and has an eye for design, coordination, time management and making sure that your event moves through their curated timeline stress free. They can be there from the very beginning if you choose to hire them as a full service planner, or the last few months leading up to the wedding if you choose one of their coordination packages.
They are the person that will help you to narrow down the creation of your vision, the details of the design and the execution of your day. They are the person that will help prepare you and all of your vendors for your day; the point of contact for every aspect of your wedding so you can enjoy your day stress free!
If issues arise with any of your vendors, they should already have an idea of how you would like things to be handled, so you aren’t being bothered while trying to get ready, spend time with friends and family. This allows you to focus on the main event: GETTING MARRIED! On your wedding day, your wedding coordination will over-see just about every aspect of your plans. From the time you wake up and arrive to your getting ready suite, moving you into the ceremony (processional, recessional, etc.), cocktail hour transition, grand entrance, reception timeline. All the way to send off! The role of your wedding coordinator is to are there to prompt your vendors, troubleshoot and ensure quality control of set up. Most of the time they will be with you for at least the few months leading up to your wedding, so you arrive on the day of as relaxed as possible, knowing that your wedding day is in good hands.
The bottom line…
Here is the main job and priority of the Venue Coordinator:
Make sure that you have everything you need that comes with the venue
Some vendor coordination if it is in-house or preferred vendor
Table/chair/ceremony space set up (NOT DECOR)
Making sure guests follow rules at the venue
Giving you and your spouse to be the best time at the venue
Here is the main job and priority of a Wedding Coordinator:
Being the point of contact for ALL vendors
Timeline creation and task keeping
Detail oriented, design and decor management
Troubleshooter and fire extinguisher
Making sure the couple has everything they need from rise and shine to shut eye at night
Cueing all vendors during appropriate times
Ensuring that your entire event at all locations runs smoothly
If you have booked a venue that states they have a coordinator, the best thing you can do is ask them what all that includes, the main priorities of the coordinator, and check your contract to see what all will be done leading up to the wedding and during the day of. Some venues have additional contractors that focus on the wedding, but most of them do remain at the venue the during the day. Always trust your gut and make sure that you hire someone that you know will be there for YOU, with YOUR WEDDING as their main priority. Most Wedding Coordinators and Venue Coordinators love working closely together, because a happy couple is what all parties are striving for!
If you would like advise or more info on whether or not a wedding coordinator is something you need, feel free to touch base with other couples in our Facebook group! It’s a great place to collaborate, learn about things to avoid and things that worked out well, inspiration for you big day, AND there will be updates from us with new blog posts to help you plan the event of your dreams! Click below to join!