So, What exactly is a venue manager?
When planning a wedding, there are a lot of new terms being thrown at you: wedding vendors, first look, sweetheart table, MOH, etc. These terms are usually easy to define and understand with a quick Google search–but there is a wedding role that is misconstrued or misunderstood constantly. This is the role of a Venue Manager.
In the most simple terms, Venue Managers are in charge of any and all things venue related! That is the upkeep of the venue, table arrangements for guests, chairs for the ceremony, tables for the reception, managing the bar service you have booked through our venue, and all venue amenities we offer our couples and guests.
Where our Venue Manager will be your main resource for items specifically concerning the venue, a Wedding Coordinator is in charge of the remaining details of your wedding. A Wedding Coordinator is a person we see in movies and dramatizations of weddings: The person with a clipboard, making sure everyone is keeping on schedule. Wedding Coordinators can be so vital to the ease and efficiency of the big day, and a role we definitely recommend couples consider hiring.
A friend setting up for a wedding at The Barn, taken by Jill Caren Photo
With this general understanding of both roles, it is still easy to get confused about what exactly the Venue Manager is and is not in charge of on your big day. We want to clear this up! Below are some of our most common questions about the Venue Manager and their role in your wedding.
A sweetheart table at The Barn at Riverbend captured by Enlow Productions
Is the Venue Manager going to keep us on schedule the day of?
Not exactly! While the Venue Manager will make sure the venue is cleaned, set up, and torn down according to schedule, they are not in charge of the schedule outside the venue.
This is definitely more of a Wedding Coordinator job. They are the specific person who knows hour by hour what needs to happen logistically to keep everything on time and functional. When a Wedding Coordinator is not hired, this usually gets passed on to the mother of the bride, or another close family member of the couple. This oftentimes proves more stressful, so having a Wedding Coordinator to move the day along is usually best.
A beautiful bride in her wedding dress at Mission Theatre
Will the Venue Manager be in charge of the decor and design of my wedding?
Just remember, your Venue Manager has a long list of responsibilities to make sure the venue is perfect and shining for your day. This includes sweeping sidewalks, cleaning bathrooms, restocking supplies, wiping bird poop off the ceremony benches, etc. The Venue Manager is taking care of all the small and messy details so you and your wedding team don’t have to! So, on the day of your wedding, our Venue Managers will not have availability to set up detailed aspects like decor or design. The tablescapes and centerpieces are for other members of your wedding team–the florist, the Coordinator, etc.
Our Venue Managers want to make sure your day is just how you envision it–table settings and all! With this being said, Venue Managers will make sure the venue is prepared for any approved decor, but are not in charge of setting any of it up.
Does the Venue Manager run the ceremony?
Many couples believe the Venue Manager will be the person in charge of the ceremony logistics, which is a common misconception. This is also a job for the Wedding Coordinator, rather than the Venue Manager.
How the ceremony is run is completely up to the couple, their officiant, and the Wedding Coordinator. This should be talked about prior to the day of the wedding and is why most couples host a rehearsal the night before the wedding.
What about the vendors? Will the Venue Manager be in charge of communication or scheduling of the vendors?
Even though we provide our brides with preferred vendor lists and help couples get set up with different wedding vendors, the Venue Manager is not responsible for vendor scheduling or communication. The Wedding Coordinator is the person who should be in contact with all vendors the day of, making sure they are on time, setting up, and taking down. The only specific vendor we schedule is the bartenders since they are required if alcohol is being served at the venue. Otherwise, all contract details and communication goes through your planner.
Festive table settings at 8th&Main
A happy 8th&Main couple
It’s important to know that both a Venue Manager and Wedding Coordinator want your day to be as beautiful and smooth as possible! Each has specific and vital roles to your wedding, it’s just important to define and understand their roles before the big event. This way you and everyone else will know what to expect and there won’t be any surprises on the day of the wedding.
If there are questions we don’t answer in this blog, or you still need some clarification about what exactly our Venue Managers are responsible for, feel free to ask! Wedding planning brings up a lot of new terminology and understandings most people are not privy to until they decide to get married. We all want your expectations to be clearly defined and understood, and even more importantly, we want you to have the best day of your life!