I am often asked about the difference between being a Venue Coordinator and a Wedding Coordinator. I expect it is a common question because on the surface, there does seem to be quite a bit of cross-over between the two roles. However they are in fact, quite different. As a number of our students and graduates have recently been appointed to Venue Coordinator roles we thought it was time to take a closer look at just what is the same and what is different.
Breaking it down
Both roles involve the logistics, administration and management of the wedding day, but the extent to which each professional is involved in the day is significantly different. The key difference is that a Venue Coordinator takes care of the planning of a wedding, or event, from the perspective of the venue. They absolutely do care about and for their clients, but generally speaking, the scope of the role is limited to the involvement of the venue in the wedding or event. The Wedding Planner on the other hand is looking after the wedding, from the client’s perspective always. They work with a host of different vendors and the venue, to make sure that the client’s interests and specifications are the priority at all times.
Some people will argue that the Wedding Planner is more personally involved with the client, but I know many Venue Coordinators who go above and beyond for their clients too, but they are generally not involved in any planning of the wedding that is not directly related to the Venue. For this reason it would be fair to say that the scope of the Wedding Planner’s role is far more broad than the Venue Coordinator’s.
If you would like to learn more about each role, you can also watch the below video. I warn you this video is a few years old now and features some old branding for our Australian campus, but it still has some relevant information about these two distinct roles, to help you know the difference when you are considering courses and applying for jobs.
If you have some experience of working as a Wedding Planner and Venue Coordinator please share your thoughts about the differences between the roles with us in the comments.
