Planner, coordinator, venue contact: give each role clear edges

Titles vary, so write a responsibility map for design, vendors, the building, family, and wedding-day decisions.

“Planner,” “wedding coordinator,” and “venue coordinator” do not describe one universal job. A full-service planner may guide budget, design, and hiring for months. A wedding-day coordinator may organize your plans near the event. A venue coordinator primarily represents the property and its team. Your contracts define the actual work.

Build a responsibility map

• Budget and design: who builds the budget, sources vendors, reviews proposals, and turns inspiration into an orderable plan?
• Vendor management: who requests arrival details, resolves conflicts, distributes the timeline, and approves a vendor substitution?
• Property operations: who controls access, building rules, included furniture, house staff, power, weather spaces, and emergency procedures?
• Personal logistics: who handles wedding-party timing, personal décor, marriage documents, gifts, and family questions?
• Final decisions: who can approve a room flip, weather move, timeline adjustment, or small added expense while the couple is occupied?

For every blank, name a person or mark it as retained by the couple. For every overlap, name the lead and the person consulted. “Both handle setup” is not a usable handoff when one team means dining furniture and the other means place cards.

Ask before hiring

Which meetings and venue visits are included? When does your work begin and end? Do you place personal décor and pack it later? How many staff are present? Who replaces you if you cannot attend? Which tasks belong to venue staff rather than your team?

Handoff

Six to eight weeks before the wedding, share the map with all three roles and correct disagreements then. In the final packet, list one operational lead and one couple representative with spending and decision limits. The couple should enjoy the day without becoming the routing service for every question.

Include a simple escalation rule: safety and building issues go to the venue lead, guest-facing timing goes to the coordinator, and personal or financial choices go to the couple’s representative. This prevents three capable people from issuing three different answers to the same vendor.

A wedplan.ai guide on the Roles & decision-making board. More planning guides.