You know, planning your wedding in the UK has it’s own set of peculiarities. When you start your search for your dream UK wedding venue, you will most likely come across venues who will tell you that they have coordinators who will help you to plan your wedding.
There is a myth that the wedding venue coordinators are the same as wedding planers and, I thought it would be good to shed some light on this statement so that you know how to navigate your way around it and understand the difference between wedding venue coordinators and wedding planners, which, I hope will ultimately help you to make a decision on which you prefer to help you plan your big day.
I have outlined some contrasts between wedding venue coordinators and wedding planners so you can start to appreciate what each role brings to the table and which is the best fit for you.
Wedding Venue Coordinators
Most UK wedding venues (especially non dry hire venues like country houses, stately homes and some hotels), have venue coordinators that work at these venues.
Wedding venue coordinators are key points of contact when booking your venue and they are on hand to answer questions that you might have. Their primary focus is for their venue, and to ensure that your requirements is in harmony with the way they operate.
Venue coordinators role is one dimensional in that they help with your wedding arrangements at their venue, some go above and beyond the call of duty to see your wedding wishes come to pass. They also liaise with your wedding planner to finalise your wedding details.
Venue coordinators are experts with their venue however if anything falls outside the confines of their venue e.g. if you hire special tableware for your reception and they are broken on the day, your venue will not be liable for it.
Venue coordinators often work with other teams within the venue and will most likely pass you on to their logistics or operations manager on your wedding day and you end up losing the personal touch and rapport that you have built up with them throughout the planning process.
Venue coordinators are on hand to answer your queries and questions; they liaise with their internal teams to answer your questions and ensure that your requests are being met (where possible) e.g. if you have a question about your drink charges or want to make changes to your menu selections, they liaise wit their internal teams to find out if they can accomodate such changes. They do the show rounds at the venue and let you know various set up points for your suppliers. All of which are vital to you having a great wedding day.
Wedding Planners
A Wedding planner’s role is multi-dimensional shall we say, in that we assist you with your wedding from start to finish, overseeing all the logistical and coordination elements that will bring your wedding day to life and are also present to oversee your wedding details on the day.
Wedding planners oversee the whole wedding, from your budget to selecting your suppliers, we liaise with the venue on your behalf, attend site visits, tastings, etc where you can’t make it, and oversee the sourcing of your suppliers who will deliver exactly what you want.
Wedding planners (especially those that combine design and styling into their services) also design your wedding and pull together all your ideas and the various bits and details that will make your day look stunning! Ensuring that there is a cohesive design from start to finish.
A wedding planner is your single point of contact that provides continuity for you throughout your wedding planning journey which I personally believe is invaluable when planning from abroad.
Wedding planners work for you. They protect your interest and ensure that your vision of the whole wedding is carried out, from finding you the right prop hire company to being there on the day to manage activities and events for you, a planner has got you covered!
Wedding planners will help you to bustle your dress on the day, provide you with emergency supplies, listen to your last minute requests and change of mind and communicate that to your other vendors etc.
As you can see from the above points, both roles are different but necessary to helping you have a great wedding day. Wedding venue coordinators are more for a generic approach to weddings and they are great if you are planning your wedding yourself and need to make contact with the venue every now and then.
Wedding planners are more personalised and bespoke.They relieve you of the bulk of the wedding planning and are always in your corner, constantly working for you throughout your planning journey (my personal advice is to of course to hire a bespoke wedding planner but I would say that as a planner, right?) But, which one you hire really depends on your needs and how you want to utilise each. Whichever you choose, I hope this has helped to shed some light on it for you.
Happy planning!
Cynthia x
Images from Nicola Rowley Photography
