new owners at our venue

You definitely need an outside coordinator. A venue coordinator only cares about making sure doors are unlocked and lights on. The owner has too many responsibilities to add coordinator to the pile.


You need to meet with everyone involved and find out exactly what is going on straight from the source.

Yikes, I would definitely start looking for a day of coordinator. I wouldn't want to risk relying on someone that might not have any experience. Also like Michelle mentioned, a lot of venue coordinators are only there to make sure the venue is taking care of, but not the actual wedding.

View Quoted Comment Thanks. The current owner has done this (putting on weddings at her inn and making sure everything runs smoothly) since owning the inn which has been for 10 years or more, and she is good at it because her reviews are fantastic.
The concern is the inn is under contract and the new owners are taking over in September when our wedding is.

This happened to me too and then my wedding planner who works for that venue quit, leaving me with a horrible wedding planner who literally never answers my emails until like 2 weeks later. I’ll be happy when it’s all over on June 27th. I would be hesitant about new owners and ask LOTS of questions. Your contract shouldn’t change, but the staff might, so be cautious.

Definitely reach out with your concerns, and I would hire a coordinator, it isn't worth the potential stress of not having someone who is great working with you day of.

But just be open and strait forward to the current owner with your concerns. They should be able to answer your questions and also connect you with the new owners. The only thing that fixes this kind of stress is communication!

If you can get a separate planner, do that, and have them help you coordinate conversations: with the current owner about what they’re leaving for the new owners, and with the new owners the moment you can get in touch with them. Make sure you and FH touch base too, about what you each need and want from the day so you can appropriately start conversations with your planner and get them up to speed.

Why don't you find out these questions directly from the new owners before panicking? I worked for an event center in college. We got new owners and literally nothing changed 🤷🏻‍♀️ the new owners could have even more experience than the previous owners, it sounds like you have no idea at this point. Don't get yourself worked up over something that may end up being a non-issue.

Schedule an appointment and talk to them. It may be an improvement. Bring your contract, go through conditions and things that matter to you, and have them written in.

Check in with the new owner and make sure that that is still in place and no surprises