A Venues Perspective: Wedding Planners

The first thing I want to address in this new series, A Venue's Perspective, is one of the most common questions we get asked and also one of the industry's most common misperceptions:

What is the difference between the Wedding Coordinator at my venue and an independent Wedding Planner (such as Your Heart's Desire)?

Most venues have an on-site representative that will assist you with your wedding plans, however there are many contrasts in what an independent Wedding Planner will do for you.  Please know that I mean no disrespect toward Venue Coordinators, because I myself was one for years and loved it!  But the fact is, there are quite a few differences.  Here are just a few of the more prominent ones:  

1. Bottom-line Loyalty:

An independent Wedding Planner works for YOU, the client, and their loyalty is to you and you alone.  They are committed to working with you until the wedding day.  All those emails and phone calls you share with your Wedding Planner ensuring that they know exactly how you want your day to be, will not be in vain.

A Venue Coordinator's ultimate loyalty is to the venue, and rightfully so, because that is their employer.  Although, many quality Venue Coordinators are absolutely committed to serving you and meeting your needs, when it is all said and done, they still work for the venue.  If your Venue Coordinator gets an offer for another position at another venue, they can and will take it, even if that means they won't be there for your wedding.  I have seen this happen time and time again.  You may be really happy for him/her and their opportunity, but all those detailed conversations you had are now in the hands of their replacement.  It is likely that they kept great notes, but sometimes things can just get lost in translation.

2. Vendor Selection & Tracking:

Many venues have a preferred vendor list which they provide for you to contact on your own.  It is a good resource because it does help narrow down your choices.  In most cases, their list is compiled of reputable vendors who have worked at their venue and have done a fantastic job!  However, some venues preferred vendor lists are compiled of vendors who have paid to be on there, which is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of their work.  Also, the list is created by the Venue Coordinator and is typically made up of vendors that he/she prefers working with.  Which means that these vendors are not necessarily a good match for each and every client, but more of an overall suggestion/starting point for your vendor research.

An independent Wedding Planner also has an extensive list of quality vendors to suggest to you, however the difference is that they are highly skilled in matching your style, personality and budget to specific vendors.  They also set and attend the appointments with you in order to help guide you through the process of choosing the best fit for you and your wedding.  They then review and negotiate all your contracts and keep track of when your payments are due to each vendor and act as your point of contact so that you have less to manage during the planning process.

3. Upcharges & Discounts:

I may get some backlash on this one, so please forgive me!  This is a sensitive topic and something that clients are truly unaware of, however it's part of the industry.  Working for a venue, I was a part of doing this for years, it's called upcharging.  It is standard operating procedure at most venues.  When a venue arranges for outside services (rentals, linens, lighting, etc.) on the clients behalf, there is typically an additional charge added.  This charge can be as little as 5% or as much as 20%, and it goes directly to the venue's bottom line/profit margin.  I always looked at this upcharge as a fee for the client's convenience.  By having the venue handle these services for them, that is one less thing they have to take care of, so this additional fee does come with a value.  Sometimes venues are transparent about these charges, and other times they are not.  Regardless, they are typically non-negotiable as the venue has the right to decide whether you have to contract certain services through them and it is completely at their business discretion to decide whether there is a fee associated with that.  (It should also be noted that even working with a Wedding Planner, these charges with your venue may or may not apply.)

On the flip side, (in the cases where a venue does not require to contract certain services through them) a Wedding Planner typically passes along various discounts that vendors offer them.  These discounts can be anywhere from 5%-20% off of the retail price and you will see that on your invoice.  Also, many vendors will offer free products or services to you because you book through a Wedding Planner.  They do this because they know that working with a Wedding Planner not only makes their job so much easier, but because they know that Wedding Planners will bring them repeat business and they want to encourage that relationship.

So, although there are many more differences, you can see just from these three comparisons listed above, that the services provided by an independent Wedding Planner and a Venue Coordinator do vary.  Hiring a Wedding Planner is not for everyone, and we completely understand and respect that.  But we just want brides and grooms to know the differences in case what you are expecting from your Venue Coordinator doesn't actually fall into their job description and you may actually need a Wedding Planner after all.