Location manager VS wedding planner
Today I want to talk about someone you can potentially meet while searching for a wedding venue in Italy: a location manager or an inside event planner (who basically is the same person, just presented with a different name). Yes, because sometimes venues offer “wedding packages” that also include the service of their location manager. Moreover, they present this person as their “inside wedding planner”, the one who will organize your Indian wedding in Italy. And you may think: “Amazing, I can have a wedding planner for free, included in the price of the venue. And I will also save on the planning fee.”
Of course, the cost of a wedding planner influences your budget. Maybe you start to make some calculations on what you could potentially have with the money you would pay for the planning fee. In the end you just need some decor and good food. And if the location manager can organize that without asking extra for this service, even better, isn’t it?
What are the differences between a Location manager and a Wedding planner?
So what does the location manager or the inside event planner actually do? And is it really worth it to give up your own wedding planner, if you go for a destination wedding in Italy? Let’s see the difference between those two figures, to be able to make an informed choice. Some venues often don’t make a distinction on purpose, because all they want to do is selling you their venue. But there’s a huge difference between the two roles.
1. ORGANIZATION OF THE WEDDING
The wedding planner works on the full organization and personalization of the wedding, which is tailor-made, planned with the couple’s needs and requests in mind, leading the bride and groom to a stress-free and serene realization of the event. Instead the location manager proposes you a choice among those few options that work better for the venue, that they do for all of their events, always the same, reducing their efforts to a minimum. And if you ask for something different, they discourage you as it would mean extra work for them. And you end up having an event that isn’t what you had pictured at all.
2. LOGISTICS OF THE WEDDING
The wedding planner covers all the aspects of a wedding: the location, the venues sourcing, the logistics, the vendors management, the guests’ accommodation, the transfers, the catering and Indian food, the décor, the welcome party, all the pre-wedding celebrations, the timing of the planning and so much more!! And the location manager only cares about the events planned at that venue. He or she just works as professional representatives of the venue and doesn’t take care of any of the logistics of your wedding. He or she won’t ever care about your guests’ accommodation or transfers, neither organize the services outside the venue. And you end up doing it on your own, working as a travel agent for your guests instead of enjoying the time before the wedding.
Also, the duty of the location manager is to make sure you respect the venue’s rules, so no flexibility on this side. He or she also pushes you to hire their suggested suppliers, so that it’s just a little effort for them to help you with the vendors choice. And most likely they don’t know a thing about how to plan Indian weddings and their specific needs! Do you really want to become a Bridezilla???
3. YOUR BUDGET
The wedding planner works with your budget, proposes you a variety of options within the budget and helps you to better allocate your money. He or she has a complete idea of the expenses involved in the realization of your wedding celebrations and works with your priorities in mind, looking for a more cost-effective option for you. The location manager doesn’t have any interest in finding the solutions that best suit your budget. Instead he or she tries to sell you additional services at an extra cost to have the maximum gain from your wedding. And even if the solutions / options he or she proposes may look appealing, almost always there are some extra costs or some hidden commitments behind it that come up later.
4. YOUR NEEDS AS THE MAIN PRIORITY
The wedding planner is hired by you, acts in your interest and is responsible for the success of your wedding by the contract. The location manager doesn’t work for you, but works for the venue. He or she won’t ever act in your interest but in the interest of the venue, because they are paid by the venue and not by you. The location manager or the inside event planner is NOT YOUR wedding planner, keep that in mind!
Of course, the location manager knows his venue inside and out, better than any external wedding planner. But exactly for this reason he or she exactly knows not only the strong points of the venue, but also its weak points, that he or she would probably hide from you before your confirmation. And maybe they come out close to the wedding, and you need to do last minute adjustments. The wedding planner, instead, doesn’t have any interest in making you confirm one venue instead of another. Moreover, your planner offers you an objective and independent point of view, highlighting the main points of every venue scouted for you and pointing your attention to the weak points as well and discussing them with you. This way you are informed and can make your choice with all the information in hand, avoiding unwanted surprises later.
The location manager is not a wedding planner!
Therefore, when choosing a venue in Italy be aware of what services they will offer you included in the price, so that you don’t fall in the trap of the location manager masked as the wedding planner. I hope that this post has helped you understanding that a location manager is NOT a wedding planner. And if you underestimate this risk and get lured by the promises of the venue, you could end up not having the wedding you have in mind and be stressed out by all the crazy!
Instead, if you want everything to unfold smoothly during your wedding and pre-wedding celebrations, carefully evaluate the person with whom to entrust the planning and execution of such an important moment! Want to know more about the possibile risks you can incur into while planning your Indian wedding in Italy?
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