Venue Coordinator vs. Planner vs. Designer
Hi guys. This is Lorenda Howell of Lorenda Howell Events, here creating an experience to tell your story the right, through stress-free event planning. Today’s topic is the difference between the following: Venue Coordinator, Event Planner and Event Designer.
Venue Coordinator
Venue coordinators, what a job? I want to first say, I, in no way do I hate on this profession. Number one its always community over competition in my world. Number two I’ve wore this hat before. A venue coordinator is a person who is responsible for the venue. Their job is to make sure the venue abides by your contract and manage the operations. Remember, this individual works for the venue, not directly for you. They’ll act as a liaison between you and the venue’s operations team, which means they’ll show you the venue, help coordinate any services offered on-site (from in-house catering to valet parking), and process the final invoice.
Lets’s go back to the key phrase “services offered on-site”, this means anything outside of the venue is not their responsibility and to be honest they really could care less about anything that is not an on-site service. This is completely understandable. Why? Well, because for them you are 1 of 100 in regards to their client list. Many people think if they book a event space that comes with a venue coordinator a planner isn’t needed. This is where people couldn’t be more wrong. A venue coordinator is only helping with venue related things. When they clock out they are no longer thinking about you and their job is done for the day. Most likely you can not reach them after 5 pm or whatever time they leave for the day, because they aren’t being paid to be on call. A good Venue Coordinator who has your best interest at hand
Event Planners
I find it imperatively necessary to talk about Event Planners second and not first, because we are the bridge between the other two professions being discussed. An event planner is a person or company who manages the logistics, scheduling & administrative details of an event. Most events, especially weddings are significant events in people's lives, as such they are often willing to spend considerable amounts of money to ensure that their big day is well-organized.
Event planners manage & coordinate every aspect of the event. We are all about the logistics, from venue selection, choosing the creative partners, scheduling & budget management to day-of execution of your vision. I tell engaged couple, after they pick a date, a planner should be the next thing on your to do list. We will save you so much time and stress. For example: try calling 7 different venues that can accommodate an outdoor ceremony & indoor reception for up to 225 guests during the month of June, you will want to pull your hair out.
We aren’t there just to help with venue selection but also the creative partners, keeping you on track with your budget and so many other elements. We will be your longest and closest connection in regards to your event because our communication is consistent. You may speak to your caterer 3-5 times before your wedding to meet, go over menu and do a tasting. Your DJ or Band may only be 2-3 times, to meet & sign contract and go over play list. So you may hire your music entertainment a year before the wedding and not see them again until about 2 months before wedding to go over the play list. The creative partners will go through your planner for questions and updates and your planner will go over updates with you and attend meetings with you, your planner will be your place of consistency.
Lets talk briefly about the event day for planners. I will specify this one to weddings as they are the most detailed. On wedding days, if you are one of those brides that wanted a noon ceremony that means hair and makeup start earlier than 9 am. For this bride hair and makeup may start at 6 am and guess where your planner is? Either on the phone saying good morning and letting you know they have already taken the liberty of having breakfast set up for you or they are knocking at your room door with a nice hot drink in one hand, breakfast in the other and great big girl scout smile personally telling you good morning (yes I was a girl scout, that’s another days conversation lol). As a planner, my day starts before yours does because I have to give wake up calls/ texts for hair and makeup. I have to be at the venue the moment they open to greet other creative partners and help them load and count rentals. They need to see a familiar face when they walk in the door to feel a certain level of structure, its really about setting the expectation for how the day will go. That’s just the beginning. I’m there throughout the entire event simply as a conduit helping everyone do what they need but most importantly making sure you have everything you need at your disposal.
Take a look below and look at some of the core differences between planners and venue coordinators.
Event Designers
Many planners double as Event Designers. I happen not to be one of them. I think this why people get the two confused so easily. We are very different and we actually work very well together as creative partners. Let’s start by first understanding the definition of an event designer. An event designer is a person or company that is actively developing or creating the aesthetic design or vision for the event. Their job is purely aesthetic and doesn't include things like reviewing contracts or attending meetings alongside the client. Event designers are creative partners that work alongside a planner
The ability to design an event and create an atmosphere is a unique and rare talent. It's more than just choosing linens, chairs and throwing a few floral vases on a table with candles. I always say a designer must to have a special way of thinking and an artistic eye to take a blank canvas (empty event space) and perfectly paint it (transform the space) while telling a story in a way that makes sense.
Take a look at the pictures above. These are not bad centerpieces, by any means, but this is not something you would need to hire an event designer to do. These are pretty simple DIY projects, each of these looks can be reinvented by a quick trip to a craft store and maybe stop at your local grocery store if you want real flowers. The reason event designers are hired is produce something you can’t. They aren’t just providing a centerpiece, they are producing the entire tablescape. They are considering the guest in every aspect of the deign, what will be in their line of view, what will they feel, see and smell? They are considering textures, scents and so many other elements. They’re also considering how photogenic the design will it be. So far all of that is just considering the table, we haven’t even started with ceiling treatment, pipe & drape or the lighting. Let’s not dare forget the lighting, it is literally just as important as the pieces on the table, themselves. Take a look below and look at some of the amazing designs produced.
You can clearly see the difference between the two types of designs. The first set of pics are very easy DIY projects and the second set are very extensive, skilled productions. I’m not saying DIY projects are bad options, I’m simply saying event design is an art and very skilled profession. So if you want your dreams brought to life you will definitely want to hire a designer because there are just certain things that can not be done without a designer.
-Lorenda
