It's that time again where we get questions about what is the difference between a wedding planner and a venue manager. I thought I'd repost this blog from last year
 |
| Karissa Paxton of Coastsidecouture.com bustling the wedding dress, Photo by Scott Campbell |
Happy Monday!
Recently, I have had some pretty frantic calls from Brides who are getting married at some of our local hotels. They were confused on what exactly the "wedding coordinator" at their wedding venue was supposed to do. I can completely understand because it is a bit misleading when you see all those packages hotels offer with the words "wedding coordination" included. Awesome you think you get a coordinator included in that great price! Well kids, you do and you don't.
My background is a resort coordinator, I used to run lots of weddings and events at different hotels. I have been there and it's partly why Heidi and I started our businesses. "Sales and Catering Manager", "Event Director", "Catering Coordinator" are just a few of the titles that work on weddings at venues. A venue's planner, can do many different types of events throughout a week, going from a corporate conference, to a family reunion, to a wedding, to a sweet 16. These planners have a lot on their plate and they still have to hit their sales goals. These wonderful, talented and patient people are amazing. We have massive respect for their positions and the jobs they do.
Here is the deal, the "wedding coordination" the venue offers in those packages, is actually a bit more basic than our Day of Coordination. A catering manager is there to make sure your events timing runs smoothly, the food is on time, you don't run out of booze and if there is a mess, they make sure it gets cleaned.
The planner you are getting from a venue is going to give you referrals to some vendors they have on their list. We have seen some great changes from venues recently that only recommend quality vendors whom have previously worked at the venue, are insured and do a wonderful job for the clients. Beware though, some venues just put anyone on their lists or even worse use the vendors who pay to be on their list. Do your homework on vendors if you see a pretty glossy brochure get passed to you. Just because they are on a brochure a hotel hands you, DOES NOT MEAN THEY HAVE EVER WORKED THERE! (Sorry I feel a bit passionate about this). The planner will most likely not be making the calls and setting up your vendors for you, they give you a list and off you go to plan your own wedding.
Your venue planner typically loves when you actually hire a professional planner, they appreciate us. We do all the things they don't have time for example:
- Confirm with all the vendors working on your big day to make sure they know when they are supposed to be there and give them direction
- Keep Uncle "Eddie" away from your Mother (so she doesn't kill him)
- Bustle your dress
- Make sure the photographer is getting all the detail shots that you wanted but aren't thinking about because you just got married!
- Take all your gifts and envelopes of money to your room at the end of the evening
- Go over your vendor contracts to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed and you don't have to feed the band twice (cause they requested a hot meal and a cold meal)
 |
| Details, details, details! Photo by Carlie Statsky a wedding by Coastside Couture at The InterContinental in Monterey |
