Planner vs. Day of Coordinator vs. Venue Coordinator

Sharon Rumsey  0:00  

If you had surgery, would you want a neighbor or a friend performing that surgery? Or would you want a qualified physician? If you were in legal trouble? Would you represent yourself in a court of law? Of course not.

Michael Gaddie  0:13  

In this episode, we are explaining the difference between a wedding planner day of coordinator and a venue coordinator.

Kristina Stubblefield  0:20  

So let's break it down. Why hiring a qualified professional wedding planner will save you time and ultimately, money. 

You got engaged. Congratulations. Happy. Yes. joyful time. Of course. Now what timelines to do lists and checklists. 100% Don't worry, you're in the right place. Welcome to the ring, the bling, and all the things. Hi, I'm Kristina Stubblefield, one of your hosts, along with my two good friends, Michael Gaddie and Sharon Rumsey. We have over 50 years of wedding industry experience between us. We have seen it, heard it, done it and found a way around it. We are here to get you from down on one knee to down the aisle. Our podcast will cover everything from you saying yes to the I do's and all that happens in between. So buckle up and enjoy the journey. Now let's get started with this episode.

Now before we dive into this episode, I want to take a minute to share with you our listener of the week. I would love to share their name. But it does not tell us. So Mike Sharon, pay close attention. This says great podcast for brides. If you're planning a wedding. This is the podcast for you. You will learn so many great tips to make your big day. Amazing.

Michael Gaddie  2:02  

That's awesome.

Kristina Stubblefield  2:03  

Sharon, would you agree with that?

Sharon Rumsey  2:05  

every single word every single word.

Kristina Stubblefield  2:07  

So thank you very much for taking time, even though we don't know your name for leaving us a review. If you like what you hear, we would love for you to go to our website and write us a review. Sharon, what kind of reviews do we like?

Sharon Rumsey  2:21  

glowing five star reviews?

Kristina Stubblefield  2:23  

Exactly. Okay, now we're gonna dive into this episode, Mike.

Michael Gaddie  2:28  

So we had one of our brides call us and gave us a suggestion on a topic. And her request was giving the difference between a venue coordinator, an all inclusive wedding planner, and a day of wedding planner. So Sharon, can you kind of give us some insight on?

Kristina Stubblefield  2:50  

Yeah, I think Sharon is going to give us a lot of insight and sharing the day of do people call those planners or is that coordinator?

Sharon Rumsey  2:58  

It's usually day of coordinator because they're not in the wedding for the planning phase. They're just in the wedding for the execution phase.

Kristina Stubblefield  3:06  

So Mike, where do you want to start with this topic? Because there's a lot of other things to this too, right?

Michael Gaddie  3:11  

Well, if you talk about venue coordinator, I mean, then you coordinator is the person that comes with the venue. They're not going to help plan the wedding.

Sharon Rumsey  3:21  

They aren't. This happens to me, at every bridal show that I've ever done. Every wedding show they will people come up to my booth and they always say, Oh, I don't need a wedding planner. My venue comes with one. And I think that everybody's valuable. And venue coordinators are immensely important on wedding day and you have to have one, but their role is very different than that of a wedding planner or a day of coordinator. A venue coordinator works for and represents the venue. So it's their job to make sure that things are in the right place. It's their job to say if you want the lights dimmed for your dance floor, if there's some there's a water leak somewhere. It's their job to handle the facility, their job to make sure that you know the right doors are locked and unlocked and that kind of thing had a wedding Sunday night, guests spilled a drink on the dance floor. I called the venue coordinator and they brought a mop and clean that up. It's a very valuable row. I certainly don't ever want to be at a venue that doesn't have a venue coordinator. However, they are not familiar with the wedding, the wedding party or the plans for the wedding.

Kristina Stubblefield  4:38  

And I'm so glad you said it like that the venue coordinator is there for the venue

Sharon Rumsey  4:46  

right and of course they help the bride any way they can. I'm not saying that I've worked with some amazing venue coordinators, but it's not their job to know that wedding inside and out like it is my job to know that wedding inside and out.

Kristina Stubblefield  4:58  

Well and Mike, I know you admit Before we started recording about a church coordinators,

Michael Gaddie  5:06  

well, and that's another thing you know, I've done many weddings where there's a church coordinator, and then there's a wedding planner. So what's the difference between those two?

Sharon Rumsey  5:16  

Well, a church coordinator usually works for the church, and is part of your rental, our agreement with the church, and the church coordinator. I see them most often when I do a Catholic wedding, and to be honest, they understand what the priest wants to happen. And they work directly with the priest. So when I'm at a Catholic Church, I use our any church Honestly, I usually do take a backseat to the church coordinator and they are in charge. It's my job to type up the processional order and to make sure that they have all the right paperwork, so that they know what order we're lining up in and what songs we're using and what readings we're using. But when it comes to the actual rehearsal with the priest, the church coordinator will run that rehearsal. But the church coordinators responsibility ends with the ceremony. They have no responsibility at all for any other part of the wedding, the rehearsal dinner, the reception anything like that. They strictly their responsibility is to the officiant

Kristina Stubblefield  6:25  

and Sharon, I've been with you before at a church wedding, when I was live streaming it, and I saw them also play a role in what was allowed, correct, especially about the altar, because it was a very large Catholic church. And that can be super helpful, not only to the planner, but also to the couple to know what they're allowed to do. Right now, while you're not dealing with it on this day.

Sharon Rumsey  6:53  

coordinators do a great job of making sure that photo and video know where they're allowed to be making sure that bridal party knows where they're allowed to stand and when they're allowed to stand. So yeah, invaluable.

Michael Gaddie  7:06  

And that falls under my category too, because especially in Catholic churches, there's places you can put flowers and there's places you can't put writers. And that would be that would fall on any third job. Yes. Now, all exclusive wedding planning. And that's basically what you do. I heard you say in a conversation while back that you even lick the stamps to go on the invitation. I mean, that's all inclusive,

Sharon Rumsey  7:32  

all inclusive means. Sometimes I'm hired even before they're engaged. And I am with them. I mean, all inclusive is it's exactly what it's called. I am with them, literally from the very beginning, till I put them in a car at the end of the night on wedding day. So I'm with that couple. For every vendor meeting I'm with that couple I look at every contract before it's signed. I represent that couple throughout the whole wedding planning process. I will take care of invitations. I will if I'm needed to plan showers, plan bachelorettes. It literally is a dizzy start to finish wedding planning. Someone with you, from the minute you're engaged, you know, like we say, from down on one knee to down the aisle. And

Kristina Stubblefield  8:25  

I'm sorry, Mike. But Sharon always saves says she always says she always says she's there for Team bride. And honestly, she's there for Team couple like that. She's got their back, you are going to do whatever it takes to make their vision come to life.

Michael Gaddie  8:43  

And I personally I know what when it comes to contracts and that type of thing that can be hairy. Sometimes it can do you are there behind that couple to make sure that everything is supposed to be the way it's supposed to be. And they don't have to worry about that.

Sharon Rumsey  8:57  

Yes. And it's also I always think that a good wedding starts with with choosing your vendors. And, you know, we talk a lot about that wedding a team. So I help them select the best vendors the best fit for their wedding, not only their budget, but their vision and their style and their vibe, so that we can build that good foundation to then build the rest of the wedding upon. So I think that, that a lot of people don't realize how much happens before wedding day to plan a wedding.

Kristina Stubblefield  9:32  

And that's a very good point. Very

Michael Gaddie  9:34  

good point. Now, let's go to the smallest part in that today of wedding planning.

Kristina Stubblefield  9:39  

Mike, can I ask a question before you hop to that, sure, Shirin, do you know approximately how many hours and I know this can change. But if you're doing full wedding planning, how many hours goes into something like that? And I know average that's a tough word.

Sharon Rumsey  9:58  

So For me for everything that I do, and I didn't really realize this until I was asked by someone to keep track. And so when I got hired to do this particular wedding, anytime that I touched that wedding in any way I wrote down the time, and it came down to 252 hours. And that's about average. And that's my one. That's why I wanted to mention something about that, because it's really when she says a dizzy, it can be 12 months, 18 months, it's usually between a year and a half and a year that I work with my clients. So by the time we get married, I know your grandma, I know your best friend, I

Kristina Stubblefield  10:37  

know you're truly a wedding bestie at that time,

Sharon Rumsey  10:41  

I mean, I still get invited to baby showers because I get so close to my clients that we stay friends,

Michael Gaddie  10:46  

I tell you, if I ever had to do it again, I would have you there because I mean, taking those 200 and something hours out of my day or My Brides day, I mean, that's money well spent

Kristina Stubblefield  11:00  

will. The other thing too, though is she is a specialist, she is an expert in her field. So for her 252 hours, truthfully, for somebody else, it's easily two or three times that because she knows how to navigate through it. That's what she does. And until you're in the midst of it, and you're scrambling you've had people come to you that is tried to do some of it in is just very overwhelmed.

Sharon Rumsey  11:27  

Yeah. And while I will certainly take a wedding that is closer to wedding day, what usually happens is six months, four months out, I'll get a call. And they'll say they didn't realize how much was involved and that they're completely overwhelmed. And let's face it today, couples today, they both work, most of the time, they're very, very busy. And they don't have time to do it and do it properly. So I do get those kind of SOS calls closer to wedding day. But my favorite place to start is the beginning.

Kristina Stubblefield  11:59  

Well, in Mike, I'm sorry, I just wanted to go back and really draw attention to what all goes into planning. And you were moving on to the next I want to say

Michael Gaddie  12:07  

one more thing about that. I know you've always said, whatever your fee is, you try to say that for them. So that I think that's a good point, too.

Sharon Rumsey  12:15  

Yeah. And the way that's done is I help them choose good vendors, I help them stay on budget, I don't let them spend money on things that really don't make sense to spend money on. If we're working. You know, once they tell me their budget, I will find out what's most important to them. And then I will direct the monies that way so that we stay in budget, but they still get the wedding that they want. So I usually tell my tell my clients that I will save them as much money as they will pay me and I kind of it's kind of a pride thing with me that I tried to make sure I do that.

Michael Gaddie  12:48  

That's awesome. Now, last day of wedding planning, I know, years ago, people would ask me, Mike, can you come and get us down the aisle. That's really what day of wedding planning is exam

Sharon Rumsey  13:01  

day of wedding planning. Actually, I think that term is going away. You still hear it a lot from brides. But when you talk to wedding planners, it's usually now called partial wedding planning. I do have a partial plakat package, I'm debating on whether or not I'm going to continue to have that package. But partial wedding planning usually starts four to six weeks out. So the couple has already selected all of their vendors, they've picked their venue, they, they've got everything kind of ready. And then you meet with your wedding planner, wedding coordinator, about four to six weeks out, you bring all of those contracts, you bring everything you have. And then that wedding planner kind of takes it from there and creates your timeline coordinates, arrival times and delivery with your vendors and then runs your rehearsal on your wedding day. The only thing about that is as a wedding planner. When I do those packages, I'm kind of left to sort out whatever the couple brings me. So perhaps it's not the vendor team. That is the best the best choice. But once those contracts are signed, I can't keep them from making those mistakes. We're just left to kind of bloom where we're planted. But I do think if your budget does not allow for all inclusive wedding planning, you should at least try to get a partial wedding planner, just so you can relax and enjoy your day.

Michael Gaddie  14:30  

Well I think that's very important because the day of not just getting them down the aisle, you've got to make sure the flower show up on time and makeup red hair time makeup start to be cakes delivered the caterer is there that linens are on. There's a lot of details that the mom and the bride does not need to worry about the day. That's where you need somebody to make sure that that cut 100%

Sharon Rumsey  14:52  

you need somebody at least at the very bare minimum you need. You need that partial Wedding package. But I really think that if brides would hire a wedding planner to help them start to finish, they would be really shocked at the stress that's removed. And it kind of brings the joy back to the wedding planning process, because you're just doing the fun stuff. And someone else is tackling the

Michael Gaddie  15:19  

Well, I've had so many brides and moms come to me and sit down and say, you know, we're talking about their flowers, but they'll say, oh, asked me if they've got a wedding planner, and, or our wedding coordinator or whatever. And they'll say, Oh, no, we can do that, ourself. I'm thinking. And I always come back and say, you know, when you get up that morning, you do not have to worry about you shouldn't be the one worrying about when this is going to take place. When this the Muse is going to start, you need somebody to take charge and take care of

Sharon Rumsey  15:47  

I was actually, Mike and I were invited to a vendor social last night, and we were there. And I was talking to the venue owner. And he actually said that people ask him all the time when he gives tours of his venue, do I need a wedding planner? And just, you know, to kind of sum everything up for this episode, his answer was, if you were in legal trouble, would you represent yourself in court? And they always say, No,

Kristina Stubblefield  16:19  

that is a really good reference, honestly. And, you know,

Sharon Rumsey  16:23  

if you needed surgery, would you ask your neighbor to do it your friend to do it? Or would you want somebody qualified to do your surgery? It's the exact same thing. You know, weddings are a huge investment of money and emotion and time, and don't gamble it on, on, you know, you want to make sure you have a qualified professional in your corner that's invested in and protecting your day?

Kristina Stubblefield  16:46  

Well, and I think that's a great way to summarize this. And I was glad this topic got brought to our attention, because like I said, we had talked about it before. But there's a lot of confusion around those.

Sharon Rumsey  16:59  

The titles are confused titles. Yeah,

Kristina Stubblefield  17:02  

those three titles are very confused and confusing. And like Sharon, you mentioned, it times have kind of started to shift a little bit, you know, what used to be called something, you know, if you have parents involved trying to help, they may not it may been 30, or 40 years ago, but since they got married, and things have changed. So

Sharon Rumsey  17:22  

just having that explanation. Well, it used to be that anybody could kind of hang up their shingle and say, Hey, I'm a day of coordinator. And I think we're kind of getting away from that. And I think that when you hire a wedding planner, that person has usually had to do some education, and pass some test. And I mean, I know I'm required through the Association of bridal consultants to do continuing education every year. So I just think you really need to, to look into who you're hiring, and make sure that you're hiring the person, that's the best fit for your wedding.

Kristina Stubblefield  17:56  

So no matter where you're listening from, make sure you've see what, which one of those three is going to work for you. And like you had mentioned, make sure a venue you're using ask does it come with a venue coordinator? You know, that's a really good tip, a

Sharon Rumsey  18:15  

lot of a lot of venues now are requiring their clients that rent their venue to have a coordinator. Because what was happening is their venue coordinators were getting asked to do things that were not in their tool, you know, not in their skill set, because the brides didn't have wedding planners. So a lot of local venues here now require at least a coordinator, if not a planner,

Kristina Stubblefield  18:39  

well, they probably see that coordinator on the end of that. And just they don't know the difference. So no matter where you're at, first of all, figure out which type you're looking for, as far as from a day of coordinator versus wedding planning, or wedding planner, I should say. And then Sharon, I think you make a really valid point. Do your research, you know, is this person just saying their wedding planner? You know, what kind of education credentials? Do they do continuing ed know exactly who you're working with? Because at the end of the day, this is your wedding. And you want your a team, as Sharon always mentions, your a team to help bring all of your vision to life. So Mike, I'm gonna let you close this one out.

Michael Gaddie  19:34  

Well, I hope that the bride that requested

Sharon Rumsey  19:37  

our new topic, shout out Marianne, and I hope

Michael Gaddie  19:40  

this helps you. So we look forward to seeing you soon and seeing you on the next episode.

Kristina Stubblefield  20:01  

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Ring The Bling And All The Things. If you like what you heard, make sure to hit the subscribe button to get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website, the ring, the bling and all the things calm for past episodes, and make sure to connect with us on social media. If you would like to help us get the word out about this podcast, make sure to share with your family, your friends and anyone you know in the wedding business.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai