Choice of wedding coordinator - please help!

[rockzilla]

It''s down to 2 wedding coordinators. Of course, if our budget was bigger, we''d definitely be going for the more expensive one, but due to cost constraints we have to decide between two. Let me know what you think please, ladies!

Planner 1:
-Has worked at the venue before, 4-5 times
-Is "approved" by the venue (though they will consider off the list coordinators)
-Very nice, competent, get along well
-Is located very close by, in LA
-More expensive

Planner 2:
-Has not worked our venue, but has done other private residence events
-6 years event experience
-Really got along well with her, very good connection
-Not "approved" but likely can get her approved
-Lives further away, in Long Beach (30 mins drive)
-Significantly less expensive

The only reason I am really hesitating about the 2nd planner, is that our venue has a lot of weird things (shuttles up to the site, everything brought in, weird site coordinator that is a pain to deal with) and so having the peace of mind of someone who has dealt with this particular venue before would be valuable. That being said, it is a LOT of money ($1,500 for planner 2, nearly twice that for planner 1) which is always painful. Part of me realizes that someone who has worked there before is always going to charge more, because they know the headaches involved with the site.

 

[bee*]

Personally if you get along with the guy who has worked there before, I''d probably go with him. He knows how the venue works etc and it would probably be very helpful to have someone who''s worked at that venue before.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

As long as you trust that the second person is a capable event planner, then I''d save the money. They are a professional with experience, and I''m sure they have dealt with new places before - it''s part of their job. It can''t be that hard for them to figure out the ins and outs of your venue. It may be more difficult for planner number 2 to do his job than it would be for planner 1 to do his job since #2 has to get aquainted with the place, but that doesn''t really concern you.


However, if you doubt the second planner'' s capabilities, then do not go with him.

 

[pocahontas]

I'm with Bee on this one. If you can afford it, I'd go with the first WC; he's going to be familiar with all the little nuances of your venue, including how to work with the site coordinator. This isn't to say I think it's a necessary criteria that your WC have experience working a specific a venue in order to be good. But, I do think it smoothens the process, especially when the venue involves lots of unique challenges.

 

[Sparkalicious]

I say go with the coordinator who is familiar with your venue. A major reason for hiring a coordinator is to take some of the pressure off of the couple ... this coordinator will facilitate that as they are familiar with the venue and should not encounter any challenges in that regard. I say that if you can squeeze in their fee, that''s the way to go. If not, the second coordinator option should suffice.

 

[havernell]

I would save the money and go with the second planner AS LONG AS s/he agrees to do an detailed walk through of the venue with you and the site coordinator well before your wedding so that s/he can see the venue and talk with you at the same time about what needs to be coordinated. I''m talking spending a few hours carefully going around the site and talking about specifics down to the small details.

As long as you can do this with the second planner, I don''t think it''s worth spending double on the first planner.

 

[rockzilla]

Just wanted to give everyone an update - thanks for the advice so far.

We actually are probably going with a completely different planner - planner #3. She was originally way over our budget, and she has only done 1 wedding at the site, not 5, but when I told her that we were leaning towards planner #2, she really expressed interest in working something out.

In the end, we talked things over, and her fee came down between the two (planner 1 and 2), and will save us a significant, but not huge, amount of money. More importantly, she seemed more excited about our wedding than planner 2...probably because she hasn''t done so many weddings at the site and its not "old hat" to her. Planner 2 seemed really nice and competent, but not over the moon to get our wedding.

So, moral of the story is, don''t necessarily rule a vendor out if their fee seems a little bit higher...there is always room to negotiate if they really want to work with you!

 

[pocahontas]

Rockzilla, that''s awesome news! It sounds like you''re going to get the best of both worlds (familiarity with your site + affordable) with the added bonus of having a WC that''s excited to work with you! Yipee

 

[Sparkalicious]

Great news, Rockzilla! Sounds like the perfect compromise and likely the *best* option. Woo!