Social Butterfly Events

As an event planner we hear couples say to us “We don’t need a wedding coordinator because our catering company is going to take care of that.”  Well there may be cases where that is true but most of the time they do not have the time to pay attention to the details of your wedding like a wedding coordinator could.  As a catering manager their duties usually cover:

• Provide a personal tour of the reception location 
• Act as a menu consultant for all food and beverage selections
• Detail your food order to ensure flawless execution of your menu
• Create an estimate of charges outlining your financial commitments to the catering company
• Oversee the cocktail hour and reception rooms set up and food preparation 
• Act as a liason between the catering staff and the wedding coordinator

As a wedding coordinator, responsibilities include:

• Recommend professionals including entertainment, florals, photography and invitations 
• Provide a wide variety of professional referrals that correspond to a variety of price points and tastes
• Create a timeline for your rehearsal and wedding day including the ceremony and the reception
• Work with you to organize the rehearsal of the ceremony
• Confirm start times and details with all vendors several days prior to the wedding day
• Act as a liaison between your family, bridal party, band/DJ, florist, photographer, videographer and all other vendors to create a seamless operations  
• Ensure that everyone in the bridal party have their bouquets, corsages and boutonnières
• Coordinate the reception including the grand entrance, first dance, toasts and cake cutting
• Collect any personal items at the conclusion of the reception

There are a lot of responsibilities that an event coordinator takes on that a catering manager would not include in their services.  If the catering manager is concerned with bouquets and the order of the bridesmaids, who is overseeing the meal preparation to ensure that it is perfect for your event.