Category Archives: Featured

Today, a real wedding expert is here to explain the difference between a Catering Manager at your venue and a Wedding Planner that you hire separately. So often, their jobs and duties get mixed up, but the owner of By Kerri Hatter has the scoop to make it easy to understand. Take it away, Kerri!

So often, we are told by brides that they don’t think they need our services because their
venue provides a coordinator. While that is true (the venue does provide a coordinator), the
responsibilities of a venue or catering manager are very different from a professional Wedding
Planner. Below are things you can expect from each one:

Catering Manager
The Catering Manager is your main contact, and usually your first through a tour, at the venue.
They are responsible for the sales of events. Once you have decided on their venue, they
produce your contract involving all the terms and financial commitments to the resort as well as
balancing out your final bill following your special day.

Your Catering Manager will host a menu tasting, assist you with food and beverage selections,
and educate you on how to reach the minimums required per your contract. They develop your
BEO (Banquet Event Order), which outlines your menu, rentals and anything else the venue
will be providing. They are also responsible for making sure that the Banquet Manager, who
manages all of the food & beverage and staff at the reception, is aware of all of your requests
regarding any venue service.

Catering Managers are responsible for the set up of all hotel related items on the day of the
event. Then they will oversee the ceremony and reception set ups to make sure all venue
contracted items are being delivered as promised.

At hotels, your Catering Manager introduces you to the reservations manager if you need
to book room blocks and oversees the details of the bride and grooms suite the night of the
wedding.

Finally, as the Catering Manager is in charge of the responsibilities solely related to the venue,
they can work closely with a professional Wedding Planner to ensure a successful event.

Wedding Planner
The Wedding Planner is responsible for coordinating and executing all of the wedding elements
not involving the venue and serves as an advisor/educator and mediator throughout the
planning. As an expert in the wedding industry, the Planner helps with etiquette specifically
related to weddings. He or she handles all of the time-consuming details and communication
involved with planning the wedding. The Wedding Planner is also the biggest resource because
they have many contacts in the industry and will be able to match each client with the right
professionals. Some services provided by Wedding Planners are:

• Acts as a liaison between family, bridal party, the vendors, and the venue staff leading up
  to and on the day of the wedding
• Attends the final meeting with the Catering Manager at the venue
• Coordinates with the Catering Manager on the BEOs
• Develops a timeline for the entire wedding day
• Confirms all vendors and coordinates timelines and details with them to ensure all
  parties know what to expect on the wedding day
• Conducts the rehearsal and reviews the itinerary with all family and bridal party
• Sets up all wedding elements – guest books, place cards, favors, programs, table
  numbers, and any other items the bride and groom want displayed
• Double checks all venue set ups to make sure they coordinate with the BEOs (seating
  charts, napkin folds, ceremony set up, linen colors, etc.)
• Coordinates timing of ceremony and reception including grand entrances, first dances,
  speeches, and cake cutting
• Collects all gifts and décor, and delivers to the appropriate location at the end of the
  night

Kerri advises a bride and groom about the cake cutting.

Kerri gives a push down the aisle to a young member of the wedding party.

Here is a great real situation from a recent wedding differentiating the two roles:
About 2 hours before the ceremony, I received a frantic call that the groom’s dad did not have
his tie for the wedding. He thought the hotel maids might have cleaned up the room and
thrown it away by accident! The Catering Manager has to stay on property at all times, so I sent
one of my assistants to the closest tie shop to buy a tie as close to the color of the rest of the
groomsmen. Crisis averted!

Kerri started her career in event planning over 20 years ago, but found her true passion for planning when she got married in 2004. Having been a bride herself, she understands everything the bride and groom are feeling and knows how difficult it can be to handle all the details and keep everyone happy at the same time! Kerri’s easy going personality immediately puts her clients at east and her almost obsession with organization keeps them on track. Her innovative thinking and passion to help everyone she meets prompted Kerri to create The Wedding Workshop.

Get your dancing shoes on and get inspired to start your search for your wedding band! Ken Arlen of Arlen Music drops by today for Part I of a two-parter that’s all about learning the ins and outs of hiring a group to play live tunes for your big day. Ready to start shopping for your band? Read on to find out how to successfully and intelligently check off this important item on your to-do list!

As a bandleader, I can appreciate the tough decision each bride and groom face when deciding on the best entertainment for their wedding. We all know that a great band or orchestra can make or break a special event. Although every wedding I perform is different and unique, I believe my clients are looking for one universal result – they want a combination of elegance and fun, with fun being the operative word!

“We want all of our guests on the dance floor celebrating with us all night!”

The experience of sharing this day with all of your friends and family is so powerful it is hard to put into words. I like to ask my couples, “If we are sitting here four weeks after your wedding, what had to happen for you to be completely thrilled with your celebration experience?” This is how I tune into what will make their wedding special and unique.

As I have grown my entertainment company over the years, I now have five bands that can deliver the above result. But my friends and clients often ask me, especially if my bands are not available, how do we decide? What process should we follow to find the best music for our wedding?

Here are six tips that I feel would be helpful:

1. Understand the lingo — everyone wonders about the difference between a wedding band and orchestra. A dance orchestra is a larger band, usually with multiple vocalists, a horn section, and a violin section. For example, my 15-piece Ken Arlen Orchestra has five rhythm, three horns, three violins, and four lead vocalists!

2. Recognize that you have to find a band that plays not only the music you like, but also music that will be received well by all of your guests including your friends, your parents’ friends, and your grandparents. This requires a high level of versatility and an extensive repertoire. There is no reason why your band should not sound incredible in all styles. No compromise!

3. Start by getting referrals from your family, friends, and especially other professionals in the event industry. When you think about it, photographers are a great referral source since their primary job is to document the experience in the room. Just like your bandleader, you are hiring them to pay close attention to everything that is happening. Many photographers tell me they love working with Arlen Bands because the guests are more animated and have more fun, thus the images they capture are more interesting!

4. Ask your venue for their referrals. Having a band that has experience performing at your venue and has a working relationship with the venue staff is a definite advantage.

5. Keep in mind that you may have a favorite club band, but if they do not have experience performing at a wedding, I can guarantee that you will not be happy with the result. Leading a band at a wedding requires a specific skill that takes years of experience to develop.

6. Look for a great bandleader. I often tell clients that great music is only half of what makes a wedding successful. The other half is the bandleader’s ability to read the crowd, customize the music to your desire, keep the pace of the evening as MC, and effortlessly implement a well conceived itinerary that flows from when the doors open to the end of the night!

Let’s assume after following the above advice you have your top bands lined up. Of course you will peruse their web site, but you need to take the time to meet with your prospective bandleader to make your best decision.

Come back on Thursday to read up on Part II from Ken Arlen to read about qualities to look for and rapports to have when selecting your dream wedding band!

With over 25 years of experience and a stellar reputation with venues, wedding planners and past clients, Arlen Music has the knowledge, talent and resources to make your wedding reception one that you and your guests will never forget. The Arlen Music bands have ignited hundreds of wedding receptions with the unique Arlen Music style and contemporary music selection. Following the success of the Ken Arlen Orchestra, Arlen Music began offering additional bands in the KAO mold. Over the years, demand has led to more diverse offerings, ranging from traditional string quartets (perfect for ceremony music), and a variety of fabulous dinner entertainment such as a rock and roll violin show and Oh What A Night, a tribute to the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys. Music plays a powerful role at your celebration. Make it memorable by contacting Arlen Music.