Day of Coordination from a Venue Coordinator’s Perspective | Caitlin & Tyler | Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery

In July, I was present at Caitlin and Tyler’s wedding to coordinate the moments of their very special day. They held their ceremony and reception and the stunning Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery and were one of the first couples to celebrate in the brand new event center on the Chankaska grounds.

Beyond this venue being one of the most beautiful places in Minnesota, they also create some of the best wines. I truly love spending time there and love celebrating special days there as well! It’s just the perfect environment for a wedding celebration and with several event spaces they can accommodate any size or style of event. And it’s only about an hour from the Twin Cities (there are three hotels located in St. Peter for your guests), so metro couples looking for a great venue- be sure to look at Chankaska!

When deciding how to share this wedding and the lovely images from Malwitz Photography, I was reminded of a Q&A we did a couple years ago with a wedding photographer and I thought this would be a perfect way to speak about this day and how I- as a Day of Coordinator- and Cynthia- the amazing coordinator at Chankaska- work together on wedding days, and how our roles are different.

Q & A – Venue Coordinator’s Perspective | Cynthia from Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery

Q: Who are you and what makes you fabulous?! Hello! I am Cynthia Strauser, the Events Manager at Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery! (ok she didn’t include why she’s fabulous so I’ll tell you- Cynthia has been in the event industry for several years and her attention to detail on the backend of the venue details and the care she gives her clients during the planning process is unparalleled)

Q: What is it like working a wedding that does not have a Day of Coordinator? I would say it puts more pressure on the couple leading up to their big day! There are a number of details that need to be done the day of. Without a designated person to do this, the couple has to find friends and family to be responsible for certain tasks. This can be stressful to find a trustworthy and knowledgeable person. Often times it will fall on myself, the venue coordinator to help pick up these loose ends that may not have been thought of previously. I often end up herding the bridal party and guests to their rightful places before, during, and after the ceremony. I know there will be more pressure on myself at the rehearsal as well without someone knowledgeable on how the ceremony should go.

Q: What is the difference for you when you work with a Day of Coordinator from Amber Terese Events? The great thing about Amber Terese Events is that Amber has worked out at Chankaska for years decorating and coordinating weddings. Picking a vendor that knows the space is a HUGE advantage because she can lead her meetings with the insider information and is that much more prepared for the day of a wedding! Her spunk and attention to detail is amazing, she is always on top of everything and her knowledge of this industry is out of this world!

Q: What is one thing you would tell brides who have never considered hiring a Day of Coordinator? If they have a certain vision on how they want their day to go, and want as little stress as possible, they need to consider a coordinator. Each person is different on what they are looking for which is why it’s great to also look at the options of full and partial planning.

Q: Do you have any other wisdom to pass along to soon to be married ladies?

You can’t pass up anything better than having myself and Amber planning your wedding day on these beautiful grounds of Chankaska!

But also, you only get married once and as you plan you will see what details are the most important to you and what aren’t, so make sure to listen to those instincts and don’t stress over a little detail that could potentially ruin any experience you’re having during this planning process leading up to your big day!

What is important to highlight about what Cynthia had to say is how much she sees the clients who do not hire a coordinator stressing over things. Weddings do not have to be stressful. With the right team on your side, you can avoid a lot of the situations that lead to those bridal meltdowns. I can’t tell you how often I see brides who are completely checked out because they are so stressed, then they have regrets after the wedding because they couldn’t enjoy the day, or didn’t realize just how quickly it would go by.

Being hired for Tyler and Caitlin’s Chankaska wedding allowed me to make sure that everything happened as it should, that guests had cool bottles of water during the hot July wedding ceremony, the mother of the bride was able to enjoy the reception with her family and friends and not worrying about fussing over details or what was supposed to happen when, that the couple made it up to the upper vineyard in time for Malwitz to capture a simply beautiful sunset, that the late night pizza leftovers got sent home, and everything that needed to be done at the end of the night was taken care of.

And now, the usual overshare of Malwitz Photography images from this stunning day: