You might be excited that your venue offers a wedding coordinator, but it’s important to know what a venue coordinator does. While their job title might give the impression that they are the same as a wedding planner, a venue coordinator has very different and distinct responsibilities. To fill you in on what those responsibilities are, we enlisted the help of the events team at The Foundry Table & Tap. While there are some venue coordinators who go far above and beyond for their couples (shout out! you know who you are!), it’s important to have an honest conversation with yours. Becoming clear on what their day of responsibilities are will help you manage your own expectations and determine whether or not you also need to hire an independent wedding planner.
What a Venue Coordinator Does
Works for the Venue
The venue coordinator’s main responsibility is to be a liaison between the venue’s staff and the couple. They will ensure that the space is laid out as desired in addition to creating the final invoice and catering menu, if applicable.
Handles Day Of Logistics
Your venue coordinator will determine when vendors have access to the venue and when things must be torn down. They will also get all chairs and tables set up, clean the space before and after (and sometimes during when things spill and break!), and handle maintenance in bathrooms and other areas as needed throughout the event.
Stays On-site Throughout MOST of the Event
This person will come in to set up your space before all vendors arrive. They will oversee the set-up, guests arriving, and all of your big events. But they will most likely not be there at the end. Most of the time, the venue coordinator will leave after dinner wraps up. Their job is done, and there is usually someone else that stays to close up at the end of the night.
What a Venue Coordinator Does NOT Do
Set Up & Tear Down Your Decorations
Although it may seem like an easy task, a venue coordinator will almost never set up any personal items or take them down at the end of your event. They will be maintaining the venue and coordinating their staff to ensure that your event runs smoothly on the venue’s side of things. This leaves little to no time for them to decorate.
Handle Issues with Other Vendors
While a venue coordinator will dictate what time vendors can arrive, they are not in charge of coordinating them before or during the event. They likely won’t know any specific details of what each vendor is doing, and they won’t have time to rearrange, account for any forgotten items, fix broken decorations, or find a new makeup artist because yours got sick last minute!
Ensure That You Stick to Your Timeline
Your venue coordinator may have key details around which to build your timeline, but they will not be the ones to enforce that everything is going as planned. Because they will be busy sending out dinner, they won’t be able to rearrange the important events and communicate with the DJ and other vendors when you are running 30 minutes behind. They also won’t create the timeline based on the details of each vendor.
