I hear from lots of Brides who say “we don’t need a wedding day coordinator because our venue is providing one”, and then they realised too late that their venue coordinator is not really coordinating everything for their day. Here are the major differences between the two, and why a Wedding Coordinator should be your new best friend…
1. Priorities
The venue-provided event manager’s priority is to look after themselves, their venue and their staff. This is a very important job, however if your sound equipment/decorations/flowers are coming from another supplier and haven’t turned up or are (lord forbid) wrong, it’s likely your venue manager won’t be the one to do anything about it as they’re busy looking after their own set up.
A proper wedding day coordinator will touch base with all your suppliers in the lead up to your big day, check their delivery times, create a detailed run sheet with you beforehand and a list of what needs to be done, then send that run sheet to your suppliers, and be there on the day to troubleshoot and call them if they haven’t turned up. This has happened and I’m so grateful that I was there to discover the issue with plenty of time, find a replacement AND get a full refund for the client #yourewelcome
2. Run Sheets and Timing
A venue manager will provide you with a run sheet for their part of your big day, probably starting from the time your reception starts. It WILL be super detailed and lovely and include food service and bar times, but it will not cover notes for your MC, what happens before you arrive and when, and all the other bits and pieces that you and your suppliers need to know for the day. A good run sheet should cover you from the moment you wake up, have brekkie and go right through to your pack down time and who’s taking home your wishing well and/or gifts.
3. Last minute bits and bobs
Much like a Fairy Godmother, your wedding day coordinator will look over you and your loved ones throughout the whole day! From the morning and making sure your Dad is where he’s supposed to be, boutonnierre in hand and tie up straight, to ensuring your girls’ dresses are crease-free, you are fed and watered, and your car turns up on time. At your reception, your coordinator is on hand to move chairs around, check in on Nanna and safety pin your maid-of-honour’s dress strap that broke as she macarena’d.
Basically there is a huuuuuge difference, and the addition of a dedicated wedding day coordinator will only ensure your day runs as smoothly as you carefully planned. The rise of the DIY wedding makes us SO happy because it means you get to choose exactly everything you want for your big day, right down to the colour of the confetti, so I guess what I’m saying is…..
……. who’s handing out your confetti and making sure it’s the right shade of purple?
