The difference between a Venue Coordinator, Wedding Coordinator, Wedding Planner and an On The Day Coordinator

There are so many difference titles out there for people who seemingly do the same scope of work within the wedding industry. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Catch our rundown below of the different titles you may see pop up and what their role is for your wedding:

A VENUE COORDINATOR is someone who works for the venue. Their main role is to ensure that your plans for the day align with what is permitted at the venue. This person can be there on your wedding day, and will act as a conduit between your plans and the venue’s staff to bring their responsibilities to life on the day. The scope of work each venue will do for set up, during and pack down are very venue specific and it is essential that a couple / wedding planner / on the day coordinator has this understanding early in the planning phase.

A WEDDING COORDINATOR is similar to a Venue Coordinator, in that they work for the venue and often is your point of contact from the time you book through to your wedding day. The slight difference usually comes with the added assistance a Wedding Coordinator can offer. As they are specialists in the industry, these people often provide additional guidance and support to couples as they plan their big day. It is important that a Wedding Coordinator is transparent about the scope of their work so a couple clearly understands what is their responsibility and what is not.

A WEDDING PLANNER is a person who is external to the venue; often times working for themselves or a company providing services at multiples venues, based on the preference of the couple. It is the role of a Wedding Planner to work with a venue to ensure that everything proposed for a couple’s wedding day aligns with what is permitted and works with the venue. To ensure a positive, professional working environment, maintaining clear communication with a venue to understand where responsibility lies is essential. 

And finally, an ON THE DAY COORDINATOR is also someone who is external to a venue. They a contracted by a couple to assist with set up and managing the timing of the day, often when a venue does not offer this service. As with Wedding Planners, it is so important that On The Day Coordinators have a solid understanding of the venue they are walking into to ensure all tasks are done in line with venue requirements.

The team of people that each couple needs to bring their day to life depends on so many factors – budget, type of venue, type of wedding, etc etc. Our role as a supplier in the industry is to ensure that we take the ego out of things and keep lines of communication open and transparent. At the end of the day, we are all working towards the same goal of making a couple’s wedding day the most joyful, memorable experience from start to end.