From the Expert: What’s the Difference Between a Wedding Planner and a Catering Manager?

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.

{Real Jewish Weddings} Roxbury, NY

Gina and Anika were married at Stone Tavern Farm in Roxbury, New York. Their wedding was timed perfectly to coincide with the passage of New York’s Marriage Equality Act and, coincidentally, a major hurricane that totally devastated the area. In the end, the good luck outweighed the bad, as roads opened and power came back on just in time for the ceremony and reception.

Not only were the weather and conditions perfect, but the day was a total DIY success. The ceremony was a potpourri of Jewish traditions mixed with elements of the traditional Quaker ceremony. Gina and Anika truly made the day theirs by really incorporating themselves into the wedding decor: not too traditional, full of heart, warmed with fun. It was a beautiful day of love and romance.

Mazel tov, Gina and Anika!

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Venue: Stone Tavern Farm
Photographer: JBM Wedding Photography
Florist: Wildflowers Florist
Cake: Linda Laestadius
Caterer: Mary’s Cookin Again
Dress: Brides of France
Shoes: Camper
Officiant: Diane Elliot
Invitations / Stationery: Wild West Letterpress
Ketubah: Galia Goodman

Editorial Partner: Two Bright Lights

The Wedding Yentas on BlogTalkRadio!

Today’s the day! Yes, it’s the day before Thanksgiving, but it’s also when The Wedding Yentas goes live on the air with David Rothstein on his program, The Wedding 101 Radio Show on BlogTalkRadio!

So step away from your box of cornbread mix (oh wait, that’s just me) and give your ears a present they’ll be thankful for — an Internet schmooze-fest!

At this point, I have no idea what we’ll be chatting about, but I know there will be lots of great questions and answers devoted to planning Jewish weddings.

I’m very thankful for this opportunity, and as always, very thankful for YOU! Brides, grooms, mothers, MOHs, wedding pros — you are all so fabulous and it’s an honor to create for you every day!

Details for today’s radio broadcast:

I’ll be live at 1:00 PST/3:00 CST/4:00 EST with encore listens whenever you’d like when you visit The Wedding 101 Radio Show.

To access the show, click here!

Press the play button and tune in. I hope you enjoy it! And if not, well, I’m glad you can’t throw tomatoes through the computer.

Happy Thanksgiving, Yenta-friends! Enjoy your yummies and your favorite people!

{Real Jewish Weddings} Boston, MA

Christine and Josh were married on a sweltering Sunday in August at the Omni Parker House in the historic city of Boston. The two of them are a match made in heaven and a force to be reckoned with. Christine lights up a room whenever she enters it and loves the standards, right down to her “getting ready” playlist of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. I think she was getting in the mood for their honeymoon in Italy. Josh, more of the observer and quiet one, was a surprise with his love of hip hop and urban culture, and also had a certain relaxed vibe that really worked well with his amazingly lovely bride.

The couple were wed under the chuppah by the ultra hip Rabbi Joe. He wrapped the couple in Josh’s grandfather’s tallit while they were presented to their guests as husband and wife. Their ceremony was a blast complete with a horah and a toast to Josh’s grandfather with his favorite cocktail.

Mazel tov, Christine and Josh!

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Event Venue: The Omni Parker House
Photographer: Kristin Chalmers Photography
Hair Stylist: Salon MJH
Floral Designer: Blooms of Hope
Dress Store: Allegria Bridal
Cake Designer: The Icing on the Cake
DJ: Dan Sky Music
Makeup Artist: Kerri Herlihy

Editorial Partner: Two Bright Lights

Sponsored Post: Blow Out Salons For The Win

I have to admit, I’m a big sucker for a good blow out. My hair, like many of my Jewish sisters, is curly and sometimes unruly, and after having a baby, Mother Nature has also left it a bit thinner. So, needless to say, when I have the opportunity to have it professionally blown out and styled, I am quick to jump into a swivel chair and let the round brush do its magic… by someone else.

Blow dry salons are popping up all over, and I’m a fan of this trend. Sometimes you just want to go in for a quickie, and you don’t want the stress of contemplating a cut and color as well. There’s something special and luxurious about going to the salon just for a blow out; you feel like you’re a celeb and there should be paparazzi outside the on the sidewalk, waiting to snap your picture as you, of course, head over to Kitson to go shopping with Katie and Suri. But that’s not the case. You’re just a nice Jewish girl who wants good hair. These blow dry salons make you feel magical, though, that’s for sure.

So when I was invited to Blow Angels in Los Angeles, I was all too excited to feel celeb-ish and get pretty hair for the upcoming weekend.

I didn’t let the sparse parking stress me out, since I knew that pampering was minutes away. Walking in and admiring the super chic turquoise aesthetics of the salon, I knew I was in for a good experience. I waited a little bit for my stylist due to a scheduling mishap, but I knew good things were in store thanks to classy touches like a canister of water with submerged mint leaves (very hospitable) and photo books of styles and ideas with angelic themes like Heaven and Halo.

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When it was my turn to sit my tushie in the stylist’s chair, we discussed my current hair status (limp curls that lacked volume) and what I wanted to see on my head when she was done with me (fullness and curled ends to mask the fact that I actually needed a haircut). After our consult, I was escorted to the shampoo area in the back and the stylist did a great job cleaning and massaging my scalp. The awkward parts about the shampoo anywhere I go: It’s sooooo relaxing, but do I close my eyes? That’s so creepy. Also, stylists converse but I can’t hear anything because there is water sloshing around my ears. These are awkward moments between a client and a hair stylist. I think we should start a no-talking rule during shampoos, not because I’m unfriendly (I’m not), but because how many times can I say “I’m sorry, what” without wanting to drown myself in the hair washing sink? It would save me a lot of anxiety about social graces. Who’s with me?

That said, the shampoo was good. And it was onto the blow out.

My stylist did a fine job of controlling my hair. She wasn’t too hard on my scalp (though, as a curly haired gal, I can take heavy-handed styling and pulling), but I still felt like she was doing a thorough job. The products made my hair smell good and she didn’t try to sell me on them. It’s not that they’re not good products, but I already have enough trialed-and-sometimes-errored serums and gels and mousses and sprays and spritzes taking up precious cabinet space in my bathroom at home. I don’t appreciate when stylists sell while I’m in the chair, and I’m thankful this was not the case while I was at Blow Angels.

At the end, my stylist handed me a mirror so she could blueprint her steps and final masterpiece, and I was pretty pleased with how my hair turned out. The style was a little more fluffy than I imagined, but I knew it would deflate to a more reasonable height and width as the day went on.

The friendly staff sent me on my way and I was back on the road (though in traffic — thanks, 405!) and onto my evening’s plans.

I think visiting Blow Angels, and blow out salons in general, is a reasonably priced and convenient luxury for special occasions. At $29 per blow out, it’s something you could do every week if your budget allows for it. Otherwise, it’s extremely reasonable for special occasions like showers and bachelorette parties. I know many brides set up events for their bridal party on the day of the wedding, and as long as you make reservations in advance and time it properly, Blow Angels will accommodate you and your girls at the salon to give you a personal experience with great service. They can also give you some extra pampering with deep conditioning treatments ($15) or scalp massages ($9) for a few extra bucks.

There are makeup services that I didn’t patronize, but with prices at $30 per application, this could be an easy and low-cost fix to a face that needs a little sprucing. It’s more or less what you might pay at the mall makeup counter when you purchase product, so in theory, you could walk out of Blow Angels with hair and makeup complete at under $100.

I would recommend Blow Angels for Angelenos who are looking for a non-chain blow dry salon experience. I’ve been to other salons that are just for blow outs, and I think Blow Angels is pretty comparable. Perhaps Blow Angels lacks a little sophistication and chic-chic style when compared to its competition salons, and that’s only because Blow Angels also hosts a boutique and items for sale at the counter which clutter the salon’s ambiance some, but this is not a factor that makes the blow out experience anything less than enjoyable. The overall decor and touches themselves, though, are very pleasing.

For bridal or day-to-day stylist, check out Blow Angels. It’ll feel heavenly to have perfectly styled hair.

Blow Angels is at 11659 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, California and is also on Facebook.