Wedding Coordinator Vs. Wedding Planner - What’s the Difference?
The main difference between a wedding coordinator and a wedding planner is that with a wedding coordinator, you are actually planning your wedding where as if you hire a wedding planner, you have hired someone who will be responsible for the planning.
Vendor Role Confusion
When it comes to the person hired to oversee your wedding, there is a fair amount of confusion with the industry. Certain roles have more than one title and others are interchangeable. There are Venue Managers, On-Site Coordinators, venue-provided Coordinators, Day of Coordinators, Month of Coordinators, Wedding Managers, Wedding Planners and Wedding Designers - all of which have similar cross-over roles but ultimately can be very different in what they provide to the couple. Let’s dig in to each title and the role they play in the wedding process.
Venue Manager
Many venues offer a venue manager. This person may also be referred to by the venue as a Venue Coordinator, On-site Coordinator or Day-Of Coordinator, but those terms are misleading; the term that is perhaps the most accurate is “Venue Manager.” A Venue Manager is responsible first and foremost for the venue itself. He or she probably toured the venue with you, shared important contractual paperwork and is available via email to answer basic venue-related questions. He or she is also often on-site during the wedding to direct vendors to things they may need to know such as where the outlets are for the DJ or where the catering company can find the mops and brooms.
While venue managers do often assist with things like basic setup, guest direction and assisting the couple, more often than not the venue manager does not take on the in-depth role that a true coordinator or planner does. In fact, many couples often believe they have a “Coordinator” when in fact what they truly have is a Venue Manager, and they are susceptible to disappointment when they find out their Venue Manager isn’t responsible for many tasks that a true Coordinator would take on. To determine if your venue-provided “Coordinator” is actually a “Venue Manager” check out our article “How to Determine if you have a Coordinator or a Venue Manager.”
On-Site or Venue-Provided Coordinator
It would be unfair to assume that all venues that claim to include a coordinator are actually only providing a Venue Manager. While it is unusual to find a venue that successfully provides a true coordinator, there are a handful out there that do, and it is important for a couple to not only understand the difference in these titles, but also to be very clear with the venue so as to determine the services with which they have been provided.
Wedding Coordinator
A Wedding Coordinator is an experienced, insured vendor who works with the couple leading up to — and on the day of — the wedding. A coordinator generally has a contract that starts between 4-8 weeks prior to the wedding and is often referred to as a Wedding Manager, Partial Planner or sometimes even a Day-Of Coordinator. Side Note: Heatherly Event Design, along with many seasoned industry professionals does not believe that a “Day of” Coordinator truly exists; it is virtually impossible to simply show up the day of a wedding and successfully do the job of a coordinator. While some companies still refer to the role as “Day of” it is important to hire a pro who will, at minimum, work with you for two weeks prior to the wedding. A Wedding Coordinator’s role is to carry out the plan for the wedding that the couple has created. He or she runs the rehearsal, assists with setup, reviews/creates and carries out the timeline, oversees the vendors, manages the guests and wedding party, deals with unforseen issues that may pop up and helps with end of night cleanup. A wedding coordinator, however, is not a wedding planner. Couples who hire a coordinator should be prepared to find, hire and contract their own vendors, create their own floorplan and table layout, make key decisions about decor and design and generally have a sense of the overall flow of their day. Once the weeks prior to the wedding are spent relaying this plan to the coordinator, a smooth transition can occur and a successful wedding day can unfold.
Wedding Planner
Much like a Wedding Coordinator, a wedding planner is on site during the wedding to make sure the day runs smoothly. Most wedding planner packages include all the services that a Wedding Coordinator package would include. In addition, a wedding planner starts working with the clients from the moment they sign the contract. This could be as much as two years prior to the actual wedding day (though the average is 9-14 months). A wedding planner guides the couple throughout the process, helping them to choose recommended vendors, create a decor vision and plan the day of timeline. And some planners, much like Heatherly Event Design, include the ability to design and decorate the wedding.
Wedding Designer
While not all wedding coordinators and planners have the design background necessary to create Pinterest-worthy weddings, many do. These planner packages usually include planning, coordination and design and put an emphasis on all the “pretty details” associated with a wedding such as floral design, linen and tableware choices, and overall decor.
No matter which type of vendor you choose to assist you with your wedding, one thing is crucial to keep in mind: wedding planning and design is a luxury; Not everyone hires a planner, nor do they need to. But a wedding coordinator (or manager or partial planner) is absolutely, 1000 times over, necessary. There’s simply no arguing it. After over 13 years in the business and over 60 weddings per year under my belt, I can say with absolute confidence that coordinators are essential to the success of a wedding day.