Your Venue Manager is Not Your Wedding Consultant

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I love catering/venue managers. We work together all the time. They do a magnificent job of taking care of event details that pertain to their property. They do their job, and as a planner, I do mine, and they are not the same thing.

Brides, you need to know, that your venue manager is NOT your Wedding Consultant!
(or Planner, or Coordinator, pick your favorite title, we like Event Architect!)



Here are some differences in what you should expect from a Venue Manager and a Wedding Consultant:

Tasting:
A Venue Manager will schedule a tasting. At that time you, your fiancé, and maybe a few others, will sample food and make selections for your event. A Venue Manager will provide you information on cost and service. She will detail your decisions into directions that will go out to the kitchen staff, servers, etc.

A Wedding Consultant will also attend your tasting with you. She will photograph each plate of food to document the presentation and portion size of your final selection. She will make sure that your bar and menu choices fit in with the overall ambiance of your event.

Inventory:
If you are lucky a Venue Manager might let you drop off your inventory supply a couple of days (no more than 2) before your wedding. They will put out your place cards, cake knife and toasting glasses.

A Wedding Consultant will also take your inventory from you. (Our policy is that we will take it 3 days prior to your event.) We will make sure that your place cards or scroll are displayed. We will also keep a copy of your guest list so that if someone can’t find their name, or shows up without having sent a response, we can place them at an appropriate table. A Wedding Consultant will be sure that each piece of inventory is available to you for its intended use. A Wedding Consultant will also make sure that your inventory is returned to you, or more ideally your designee, before the end of the wedding.

Vendors:
A venue manager will most likely speak to the other vendors you have hired to provide them with load-in and load-out instructions. They will make sure that the vendors follow the policies and procedures of the property.

Your Wedding Consultant will coordinate the arrival and set-up of each vendor that will make sense for your overall timeline. She will review their contracts, and any special instructions you have for them. A Wedding Consultant will serve as a central point of contact for all vendors, and will step in to prevent a problem.

In the end a Venue/Catering Manager’s job is to represent their property. They will provide you excellent service, in the scope of their property. A Wedding Consultant’s job is to take away stress from the Bride and Groom, to make sure that your event is executed above and beyond your expectations, to bring your vision to reality.

Not sure what to look for when hiring a Wedding Day of Coordinator? Click here

Think wedding planners are overrated? We don’t. To see why, click here

BBFN (Bridal Bliss for Now),
Olivia