Planning a wedding means going through a LOT of details, decisions, and coordination. With so many new vendors and people to work with, it’s super helpful to understand who’s responsible for what. One question couples often ask is: “What’s the difference between a venue coordinator and a day-of coordinator?” Great question—For reference and expertise, I consulted with Julia from Great Day Events and we broke it down in easy pieces to understand!

What a Venue Coordinator Does

A venue coordinator works for the venue and is responsible for all things related to the space itself. Their main focus is making sure the venue is functioning properly and set up as promised. You can expect them to:

• Open and close the venue on your wedding day

• Set up or reset venue-owned items (like tables, chairs, and sometimes linens)

• Oversee heating, cooling, lighting, restrooms situations

• Manage in-house catering and bartending services (if the venue provides them)

Venue coordinators are essential in ensuring the space is accesible,  looks great and operates smoothly, but their responsibilities usually don’t extend beyond what belongs to the venue.

What a Day-Of Coordinator Handles

A day-of coordinator (also called a wedding coordinator) is there for you. Their job is to make sure your entire wedding day flows smoothly from start to finish. Here’s what they typically do:

• Communicate with all vendors before the wedding to confirm logistics and event details

• Create a detailed wedding timeline and share it with everyone involved

• Lead your ceremony rehearsal the day before

• Assist the wedding party and VIPs on the big day

• Keep everything on time and handle last-minute issues (from pinning boutonnières to cueing music and assisting for photo ops)

• Greet and guide vendors as they arrive, making sure they know where to go and what to do

• Overall direction: Cuing processional music, lining up wedding party for grand entrances, dismissing tables for buffet, restocking desserts, directing guests from space to space

• Help set up personal items like signs, favors, guest books, and DIY centerpieces

• Help pack up gifts and décor, clean up and repacking. Eknows what belongs to you versus a vendor so everything gets into the right hands.

They’re like the glue holding everything together behind the scenes so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Why You Might Want Both

It’s not uncommon for a couple to have both a venue coordinator and a day-of coordinator. While the venue coordinator makes sure the space runs smoothly, the day-of coordinator makes sure everything else does too. They complement each other, but they aren’t interchangeable.

What About Full-Service Planning?

If you’re looking for help from the very beginning, a full-service wedding planner might be right for you. These planners can:

• Finding, recommend and book vendors

• Attend vendor meetings and manage contracts – potentially a lot more depending on your needs.

• Help with design, layout planning, and even budgeting

• Build your wedding website and manage RSVPs

• Source personal décor, assist with invitation wording, creating a wedding website and more

• They’re especially helpful for private property weddings where you’re building everything from scratch. . If it’s at a private property, for instance, they may be there measuring for tents, determining water and power sources for vendors, and creating layouts to scale

Making the right choice for your wedding

Every wedding and couple is different so it will be up to you both and your families to make the right choice for you!  Whether you’re just looking for a bit of help on the big day or full support from start to finish, knowing these roles can help you choose the right vendors. The goal? A  joyful wedding day that lets you stay present and soak up every moment!