the truth about:
"I Don't Need A Day Of Coordinator.... my hall comes with one!"
This blog post is for all of those young couples out there who were sold on their wedding venue because of the "add-on benefit" of a "FREE wedding coordinator" that the venue would provide for the day of their wedding.
I get it.... I feel for that one too before I entered this business and when I first got married. I thought, "oh great! I get a free wedding planner!". Boy was I misinformed.
I am hearing this more and more from clients that I speak with. The hopes of this post is to shed some light on what your are *really* getting and the differences between a venue-provided onsite "coordinator" and hiring your own professional Day of Coordinator for your special day.
They work for the venue...not you!
Remember that when you work with your venues onsite coordinator, their job is to represent the banquet facility -- NOT YOU. This means that they are there to oversee the venue itself and anything that the venue provides i.e. usually the facility, tables, chairs, staff, food etc. Now let's just say that there is an issue in any of these areas that THEY are responsible for??? Who will be your voice and advocate? who is going to cover who's butt :) ??? Something to think about..... ! I would say that 99% of the problems that I encounter as a professional event planner onsite a wedding come from the VENUE ITSELF. This is why I chose to start candidly blogging about the different venues I work. Don't leave the most important details of your day in the hands of someone who is not your advocate.
At Perfectly Planned Parties by Connie Butera, we work FOR YOU on your wedding day. We have not obligations or ties to your venue; other than to ensure that your party goes off without a hitch (or that any hitches are dealt with in a professional manner). We work WITH the onsite venue coordinators to pull all vendors together to make this goal happen!
They won't touch anything you didn't pay them for!
^^^this is true :) They will deal with your general floor plan, setup, etc.; however they won't get into all your fine details. Who will deal with all those little personal elements for your special day?? i.e. name cards, menu cards, place setting individual elements, setting up your DIY decor, centerpieces, picture frames, self provided candy stations and late night snacks, etc.
There are definite limits to what your hall-provided coordinator will take on for you. In many cases, they will not touch anything that they don't provide. More and more couples are opting to do more DIY solutions to personalize and save money on their special day (which is awesome!). But the hall is not going to get into handling and taking responsibility for the set up and tear down / careful pack up of these items at the end of the night. By hiring your own day of coordinator, you can let the hall focus on what they do best - managing the facilities and food; and we can worry about the rest in a more personalized manner.
They Don't Deal With Vendors
Along the same lines as above; you floor manager is not going to act as a center point of contact for all your vendors onsite the day of your wedding. They are not going to go up to your MC / DJ and remind them of what's next on your agenda. They aren't keeping an eye on the time and noticing that your florist hasn't shown up. They don't look to see that your cake is an hour late. They won't stick around to coordinate your speeches in order. And they definitely don't review your vendor agreements with other vendors to ensure that everything is onsite that day as agreed.
Hiring your own day of coordinator allows you a center point of contact who is up to speed on all your vendor requirements onsite that day and acts as a ringleader for the event. This way you can enjoy your night, hassle free!
Coordinator Of The Week!
I hate to call them out, but By Peter and Paul's event venues are THE WORST for this! They go through a new event coordinator contact almost monthly for each of their venues across the GTA. Have you seen their employer ratings on Indeed??
The reality is that when you are dealing with a venue (and especially a large hospitality company), you are dealing with their hired staff -- many of whom are seasonal, occasional, contract and minimum wage, entry-level workers (it's the reality of our seasonal industry!). I have heard time and time again from my clients the frustrations they are having with the many MANY changeovers of contacts during their wedding planning process. This can be quite frustrating when you are constantly re-sharing information and trying to get a plan strait! Not to mention the discrepancies in promises.
When you work with Perfectly Planned Parties by Connie Butera, you are working with ME and only me. It is a personalized service that is unique to your needs and special day. I work FOR YOU and oversee things FOR YOU.
My day of event coordination packages are only $500!! (less then the cost of most wedding cakes today :) and I guarantee will be THE BEST investment in your special day!