Venue coordinator vs wedding planner vs day-of coordinator: who does what
By the Venue Answers team · · 3 min read
Many couples sign with a venue that says it has a coordinator and assume their wedding is covered. Sometimes it is. Often the venue coordinator's job is the venue: the building, the setup and the rules, not your timeline, your vendors or your family. Here is how the three roles differ, what they typically cost around Louisville, and how to tell which one you need.
The three roles
| Role | Works for | Usually handles | Usually does not handle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue coordinator or venue manager | The venue | Booking, venue rules, floor plan, setup of venue tables and chairs, vendor access times, the building on the day | Choosing or managing your other vendors, your timeline, decor setup, family logistics |
| Day-of (really month-of) coordinator | You | Confirming every vendor, building the timeline, running the rehearsal, running the day, setting out decor you provide | Design, vendor search, budget |
| Partial planner | You | Everything a day-of coordinator does, plus help picking some vendors and planning meetings along the way | Usually the full design and every booking |
| Full-service planner | You | Budget, vendor search and booking, design, contracts, timeline, and the day itself | Very little |
The key line is the second column. A venue coordinator's first duty is to the venue. That is not a criticism; it is just a different job. Your planner or coordinator works for you.
Typical costs around Louisville
Published prices from Louisville-area planners and national ranges line up roughly like this:
- Day-of or month-of coordination: typically about $800 to $2,500.
- Partial planning: typically about $1,500 to $4,000.
- Full-service planning: typically starts around $5,000 and goes up with guest count and design.
Some planners charge a percentage of the total budget instead of a flat fee. Ask how many hours the day itself covers, whether an assistant is included, and whether travel to a venue 40 minutes or more from Louisville costs extra.
What the venues we track publish about coordination
Few venues spell out what their staff does on the day. Here is what each one lists:
- Pepin Mansion: wedding planner and day-of coordinator listed as included.
- The Magnolia: event manager, servers and bartenders in its all-inclusive packages.
- Forever Lakeside: planning services, setup assistance and cleanup.
- Hazelnut Farm: on-site staff all day and security for the last four hours.
- The Trestle: staff for setup, breakdown, event assistance and parking.
- Cedar Bluff, The Refinery: on-site staff.
- Highland Oaks: table and chair setup and breakdown, a rehearsal hour and a preferred vendor list.
- Historic Locust Grove, Silo Farms, The Destination: no day-of staffing role published.
- The Overlook: hosts handle their own table and chair setup.
"On-site staff" can mean anything from one person with keys to a team that runs the evening. Ask what they do, hour by hour.
Questions to ask the venue's coordinator
- Will you be on site from vendor arrival until the last guest leaves?
- Will you run the rehearsal? Cue the ceremony? Line up the wedding party?
- Do you build or review our timeline, or do we bring one?
- Do you set up our decor, or only the venue's tables and chairs?
- Who confirms our caterer, DJ and photographer the week of?
- Who packs up our things at the end of the night?
- Are you coordinating another event that day or weekend?
If the answers are mostly "no" or "that's on you," you need your own coordinator.
Which one do you need
- A full package venue with an event manager, and you like their vendors: the venue may be enough. Get the day-of duties in writing.
- A rental venue where you bring the caterer, bar, rentals and decor: hire at least a day-of coordinator. Someone has to run a dozen vendors, and it should not be your mom.
- Little time, a long guest list, or many vendors to choose: partial or full planning pays for itself in hours saved.
- Blank-canvas venue where you do your own setup: a coordinator who includes setup and breakdown, or a separate setup crew.
- Planning from out of town: partial or full planning, because someone local needs to walk the venue and meet vendors.
Budget it with the venue, not after
Because a coordinator costs about the same anywhere, it changes the math between venues. A package venue with an event manager and a rental venue where you add a $1,500 coordinator are not $1,500 apart on rental alone. Add the coordinator line when you compare totals, and book them early enough to help with the timeline, often 2 to 3 months out for day-of service.
Build the day with our Saturday wedding timeline, compare totals on the cost estimator, and see full costs in what a venue really costs near Louisville. Add these coordinator questions to our 18 questions to ask before the deposit.