This is something that bugs me the more I think about it. It seems unprofessional to me. I hear of wedding vendors who will tell their clients, "Don't hire a Wedding Coordinator, we will do all of that for you! Save your money!" More often than not, this "coordination" is just giving a bride and groom a list of names or places. Let's call it what it is. It's a Venue/Vendor Search Program and not Wedding Coordination. It's takes 16-20 vendors for an average, not-many-frills wedding and most of them aren't even at the wedding or reception itself.
In my opinion, a true Coordinator explores in depth what their client's personality, style and budget are. Along with this we want to learn the family dynamics, the couple's journey from how they met to how they got engaged and how they want to remember their wedding as well as their guests. I don't just give clients vendor recommendations unless again, they match their personality, style and budget!
I would love to hear what other Wedding Coordinators think about this. What do you think is a solution? Do you even think it's a problem?
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I totally agree. What is even worse is vendors who instead of saying flat out I am not a planner allow brides to rope them into a planning job. We as planners have a hard enough time trying to maintain solid business despite the myths; without our own colleagues bashing us.
I'm trying to come up with a solution. I've now stressed on my website that we don't work from a list and that we don't choose any vendors unless we feel they are the perfect match for our clients. We go beyond what some caterers and vendors say which is "we like to recommend people who we've worked with and do a good job". That's obvious, but I feel that a true wedding planner will put additional focus on matching the personality, style and budget and look at the much bigger picture!
Thanks for your reply, Kavonda. Pretty name, by the way!
I added to my website a statement that we don't work with a list of vendors because we want to find the vendors that are perfect for them. Interestingly enough, I just attended a seminar that mentioned vendor lists. Brides are now put off by vendor lists. It makes them feel limited in their choices. Progress? Maybe!
I also feel the most important thing is education. We have to find ways to educate brides on how planners work; as well as how we work to help them have the best wedding possible. I have a vendor list, but i do not give this list to brides. It is my job to guide them in the direction of the best vendor. I hope through education we can change how we are viewed to our colleagues.
I'd love to brainstorm on how everyone thinks we could approach educating brides. Shall we start tossing some ideas around. We could set up a FB page just for Wedding Planners! I'm game.
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