Do you need to hire a wedding planner/stylist if your venue has an in-house coordinator?

Image Via Sidey Clark Photo

Hello lovers,

Huge congratulations! I hope your wedding planning journey starts off with a bang.

Starting on your wedding planning journey is so very exciting - till you get hit with the overwhelm of information about how you should organise it all.

I know. I've been there.

You've found and fallen in love with the venue. It's the perfect blank canvas for your dream setup. You ask the question about their prefered suppliers and are given a list to go study and decide who to book. Sorted, you think. But is it?

To me, being a stylist, this advice doesn't sit right, to be honest. I mean, if you want that cookie-cutter wedding that has been produced time and time again at that venue, by all means, go for it. But if you don't, you will need help and direction from a trained, experienced and talented stylist/planner. Someone who can extract the idea out of your head, design a beautiful mood board with all the elements included, with your colour palette carefully woven into the design, recommend your perfect suppliers, and set it all up on the day.

Often couples think that the venue's in-house coordinator can sort everything out for them and are not sure if they need a planner/stylist at all. Sure, if you're not bothered about what your wedding looks like (unless the coordinator has a design/styling background), and you're fine with their usual venue set-up, this is the way you can go.

Don't get me wrong, venue coordinators are amazing. They have worked at the venue for ages, have seen and coordinated many weddings and have great relationships with their usual suppliers. They know how everything works, know the venue inside out, etc. I love them and appreciate them as they make my job easier on the day. I've worked with loads of lovely venue coordinators very successfully.

Venue coordinators and personal planner coordinators do different jobs.

1. Your wedding planner/stylist will be with you from the start of your wedding planning journey.

2. You will get to know each other very well. You will develop trust. A close bond.

3. They will know what you love and what you don't.

4. They will style the venue exactly the way you want it, with the design concept developed for/with you.

5. They will brief your suppliers on what's needed.

6 They will coordinate & work with your chosen suppliers, on the day, to create your wedding dream.

7. They will watch you like a hawk reacting to your glance knowing something's up.

The venue coordinator is in charge of the venue operations.

Your wedding planner/stylist WORKS FOR YOU - not the venue. The venue coordinator works for the venue, making sure the operations run smoothly by coordinating their staff.

It makes me so sad and quite frankly nervous when a couple chooses not to opt for an independent planner to run their day for them, especially if they're having a complicated wedding that requires clever planning logistics, good design knowledge and expert on-the-day styling. Not to mention a quick after-the-ceremony room turn-around, when the styling should be nailed quickly, which only someone who has worked with you from the start will know how to do!

For starters, if you don't know/understand how design works, find it difficult to see in layers and brief each supplier on what you want from them, the results will not be as expected. And then it's too late.

The suppliers will listen and try to do what they think is right, which is not always what you have in mind. They will say, but this is how we usually do it. And you can't blame them. The florist, the props people, the production company, the photographer, the stationer, and the caterers will all need in-depth briefing. They will need to be briefed by one person who is driving it all, before and on the day (a stylist/planner). They will need to be coordinated on the day so everyone knows what they're doing and how they doing it by working together.

Not to mention, unexpected things that always happen on the day that need quick thinking, improvisation and appropriate action.

Will you be able to do all that on the morning of your wedding (instead of getting ready)?

Will you leave your guests to have cocktails in the lobby while you oversee the room turn-around making sure the styling is exactly how you want it to be?

Are you ok with missing the after-ceremony photos, when you should be catching up with your loved ones and having a nice relaxing time?

No, you won't. The stress will take over your day and you won't enjoy yourself the way you should.

I'm not saying all this because I only want to persuade you to hire a planner/stylist. I'm sharing with you my own experience and those of whom I know had the same.

I know you're thinking, we could save on hiring a planner/stylist by leaving the in-house coordinator, who reassured us they could do it all for us. But trust me when I say, hiring your own planner/stylist will not only save you STRESS but it will save you TIME and MONEY!

They will know your priorities and where to shave on cost. They will know what suppliers can offer you what service for what price. Those best for the job.

Would you risk one of the most precious days of your life on chance? I'll just park that thought there for you. The final decision is yours of course.

Have a look at my packages, what's included here, and weigh out the importance of investing in someone who will make your wedding planning and styling easy for you.

If still in doubt, get in touch by filling out my enquiry form here and book a free no-obligation consultation Zoom call with me. You never know, we might be a match made in heaven.

Whole Lotta Love,

Zuza x