When you start touring wedding venues, some of them might tell you that their venue includes a coordinator, but what’s the difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding coordinator that you hire separately? More than you realize! Let’s get into it.

What is a venue coordinator?

There are two types of venue coordinators. One type is really just there to watch over the venue, answer venue-specific questions, and make sure you don’t burn the place down. This type of coordinator is going to do almost nothing to help you with your actual wedding. 

The other type of venue coordinator is advertised as more of a “day-of coordinator” to help you with your wedding. They probably will prepare a timeline for you. They’ll coordinate your ceremony by lining up your wedding party and telling everyone when to walk in. And they’ll be on hand throughout the evening to keep your wedding running reasonably smoothly.

Do you need your own wedding coordinator?

In a word, yes. In more words, yes it would be helpful, but your wedding will still happen even if you don’t hire one. Would your wedding (and your life) be better if you hired a separate coordinator? Absolutely. Let’s talk about some of the differences between a venue coordinator and an independent wedding coordinator.

TL;DR here’s the video version

The venue coordinator works for the venue, not for you

This sounds obvious, but think about it for a moment. The venue coordinator is employed by the venue. The venue pays them a salary. They owe their loyalty to the venue, not to the clients.

If a situation arises that results in tension between you and the venue, they are going to side with the venue every time and work to resolve the matter in a way that is most favorable to the venue. And you can’t fault them for that—it’s their job!

When you hire an independent wedding coordinator, she works for you. Most wedding coordinators are self-employed, so their loyalties can be with their clients. They are always going to do the best that they can to maximize every opportunity for their clients. Sure, they don’t want to piss off venues where they might be hoping to work again, but you’re the one paying their fee, so you come first.

The venue coordinator is overworked

Most wedding venues handle anywhere from 50 to 300 weddings per year. Depending on how many coordinators they have on staff, the one assigned to you could be responsible for 100 weddings per year. That’s a lot of weddings!

Chances are also good that your venue and your coordinator have more than one wedding in any given weekend—possibly even more than one wedding on any given day, depending on how large the facility is. They are pulled in many different directions.

When you hire an independent wedding coordinator, their focus is on you and your wedding alone. Some wedding planners/coordinators, like me, work essentially alone. I only book one wedding per weekend so I can give my clients my full attention.

Some planners/coordinators have associate planners on their staff. In this case, the company can take on more than one wedding in a given day or weekend, but each wedding still has a dedicated coordinator or planner whose sole focus is that wedding.

Either way, when you hire an independent wedding coordinator, you get someone who is more focused on you than a venue coordinator can possibly be.

The venue coordinator can’t give you the personal attention you deserve

This ties into number 2 above, but venue coordinators can’t be with you every step of the way like an independent coordinator can be. They just don’t have the time to answer all your questions and reply to all your emails.

They also may not be able to set up all the personal touches you want to add to your wedding. Even though you’re hiring a team of vendors, you will still probably have things like a guest book, escort cards, seating chart, table numbers, favors, etc. Someone needs to set up all those items.

Your venue coordinator may or may not handle something like that. Your independent wedding coordinator will definitely be able to handle that for you.

Venue coordinators work hard, and they add value to your wedding. But they aren’t a substitute for a wedding coordinator that you hire separately. Your wedding coordinator and the venue coordinator will work together as a team to make sure your day is as awesome as it should be, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t need both!

Further reading: What Does a Wedding Coordinator Do?