My venue provides a wedding coordinator so surely they will provide the same service as you?

Most venues have a member of staff that deals with weddings; this may be the person in charge of all events or a manager at the venue. Unfortunately many couples find that staff turnover is very high and the person they deal with can change a number of times before their wedding. They are often hired as conference managers and so do not specialise in weddings.

Your venue coordinator will only offer support with issues relating to your venue and will not help with final confirmations with outside suppliers, overseeing arrangements at your ceremony venue or assist with any problems that may arise which do not directly relate to the venue itself. However an independent coordinator works for you and can help with all areas of the wedding.

If you are relying on your venue coordinator, please make sure that the person you have been dealing with is the same person who will be working on your wedding day – this isn’t always the case, some only work Monday to Friday! It is also worth checking what happens if that person is called to an emergency in another part of your venue, a venue manager will have many responsibilities which could call them away. Find out what their working hours are, what happens if you would like a late meal – will they accommodate you or make you fit in with their hours? If the meal takes longer than expected or you’d like a little more time for photographs, will they leave part way through? It is worth checking about arrangements if the venue has more than one wedding on at a time. Do they have a coordinator for each wedding or will they be trying to manage more than one at the same time? You want to make sure they will be there when you need them.

I was intending to ask a close family member to oversee things for me and deal with any problems, so why do I need a coordinator?

It may seem obvious to ask one of the wedding party to oversee everything on the day and deal with any problems however it can be very stressful having that kind of responsibility. It is often a member of close family or a very close friend and these are the people you want with you to enjoy your special day.

Your wedding party will have enough to do on the day without worrying about whether the tables are set up as you’d like, if the cake has been delivered and if the DJ has been paid. An independent coordinator can take some of the pressure off the wedding party and leave them free to be a part of your day.