Recently I’ve had several brides inform me that their reception site told them they do not need to hire a planner because their in house coordinator can offer the same services as an outside coordinator. I love my job as a wedding planner/coordinator and will do everything in my power to make sure my brides and grooms have a stress free perfect day but it’s very upsetting that these sites are trying to talk my brides out of hiring an “outside coordinator”.
Your reception site in house coordinator may go by one of the following names banquet manager or hall coordinator. Basically they are the “go to” person for the reception site.
It’s very disappointing that some site managers don’t see the benefit of having an outside wedding planner because I have worked at so many reception sites where the mangers are excellent and appreciate having an extra set of hands. They understand that we have all been hired for the same purpose and that is to make the brides/grooms dream wedding come true.
I just had a potential bride tell me how excited she was to work with me and would be mailing out the contract shortly but the next day she spoke with her site manager and informed her she was about to hire a planner. Well the site manager did not like the idea of an outside planner and in return the couple decided not to hire me because they believe the site manger would perform the same duties as I would without paying having to pay the extra cost.
I think this is very unfair to the bride and groom because I am not just there for the reception. I work with my brides for months leading up to the wedding. We meet several times prior, we create a detailed timeline of exactly how the entire day will go, not just the reception portion. I have never met a site manager that goes to the hotel to make sure the guest can find the shuttle, that calls the limo if they are late, or that packs all your reception items up at the end of the night then packs them up into a assigned vehicle. I once had a groom that ran out of cigarettes and I went to the store and bought him more...I can guarantee that the site manager would not do that but since I’m working for the bride and groom I will do whatever it takes to make sure my bride and groom are taken care of no matter how silly it may sound.
As a reception site manager they may feel like it’s not necessary to have an outside planner and they can handle everything on their own but really I’m just trying to make their job easier. My assistant and I are they to help with all the set up or whatever else needs to be done. I’m not there to take over.
Maybe the reception site manager has worked with a poor planner in the past but it’s really unfair for them to tell brides not to hire a planner when some planners, like myself love what we do and we strive for the best and accept nothing less.
I hope this has helped a little for the brides that are still debating whether or not they should hire an “outside” wedding coordinator.
I would like to second this - I had a very high end venue for my reception and they did care about my wedding. BUT not nearly as much as Tammara did - the venue doesn't coordinate your vendors, doesn't unpack everything and repack it all, they don't make sure you are fed or need anything, they don't make sure everyone is where they need to be....I could go on and on but trust me - hiring a coordinator is the best thing you could do.
ReplyDeleteWhy save a couple hundred dollars when you have spent thousands? You need someone to make sure the thousands of dollars are spot on!
I agree...reception sit managers are by no means wedding planners. I can't tell you how many clients I have had that dealt with 3 or 4 different managers at their chosen reception site...because of turnover! So they think they have all of the details figured out...and then that person leaves or is reassigned to something else. They have to start over from scratch, pretty much, explaining things to a new contact person. It has gone very badly in many cases. Considering that (most) brides have not had to do this all before, it's best to hire a planner if it's within their budget. After photographing about 170 weddings, I have a really good feel for how things should go, and it's easy to see when things go wrong. Couples don't know enough about all the details to plan effectively.
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