Yesterday I got a call from the venue of my client informing me that the venue coordinator whom we had been working with is no longer with the company. The new coordinator sent me the Banquet Event Order with the menu choices of my client for review. One quick glance and I saw that the per person rate was incorrect (and they were much higher!). I called and got the problem resolved before my client even realized there was a mistake.
The incident really got me thinking about one of the reasons why it is important for brides to have their own wedding coordinator or planner instead of relying on the venue coordinator: turnover rate is really high for venue coordinators.
The coordinator with whom you signed the contract with may not be there for your wedding. This is especially true if you book your event a year out at a venue but it can also happen with short engagement. Personally I have seen it happened to brides with 4-7 months engagement period. If you have a long engagement, you may even see a few coordinator changes throughout the length of your engagement.
If the transition is seamless and the previous venue coordinator had kept a good record of the paper work, hopefully your event will not be affected and the new coordinator can just take on your event without problem. Frequently though, things are dropped when there is a change of personnel so you probably have to make sure you have all the paper work to get things straighten out with the new venue coordinator.
Having your own wedding coordinator means that he/she will be dealing with your venue on your behalf. Your own coordinator/planner should also have the planning details from previous meeting with your venue and can easily show the new venue coordinator what was agreed upon.
A venue coordinator is very valuable because he/she can help with your reception floor plan and with his/her experience with the venue, help make suggestions on the flow of the event. He/she is also familiar with the menu choices to be able to make recommendation for the reception menu design if there is an in house caterer with the venue.
However, a venue coordinator works for the venue, is paid by the venue, and thus is most concerned about the interest of the venue. They also do not coordinate the other details of your event that is not related to the venue itself such as creation of the timeline for your event and communication with other vendors not booked through the venue.
Simply put, your own wedding coordinator/planner is your personal advocate and he/she works on your behalf. This is especially true for brides who have planned their own wedding (and want their plans to be carried out a certain way) because the use of their own coordinator will ensure that their planning vision is carried out correctly.
On your wedding day, your personal wedding coordinator will be the one who works with the venue coordinator, as well as your other vendors to ensure that no details are missed.
As far as I am concerned, the only "job" for a bride on her wedding day is to look good and enjoy her time with her new husband and the loved ones!
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