Wedding planner vs event manager

The differences between wedding planners and event managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a wedding planner and an event manager. Additionally, an event manager has an average salary of $51,117, which is higher than the $45,721 average annual salary of a wedding planner.

The top three skills for a wedding planner include vendor contracts, event timelines and bride. The most important skills for an event manager are customer service, event logistics, and event planning.

Wedding planner vs event manager overview

	Wedding Planner	Event Manager
Yearly salary	$45,721	$51,117
Hourly rate	$21.98	$24.58
Growth rate	18%	18%
Number of jobs	16,964	8,230
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Wedding planner vs event manager salary

Wedding planners and event managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Wedding Planner	Event Manager
Average salary	$45,721	$51,117
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $65,000	Between $33,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	VMware
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between wedding planner and event manager education

There are a few differences between a wedding planner and an event manager in terms of educational background:

	Wedding Planner	Event Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	San Diego State University	San Diego State University

Wedding planner vs event manager demographics

Here are the differences between wedding planners' and event managers' demographics:

	Wedding Planner	Event Manager
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 10.5% Female, 89.5%	Male, 36.2% Female, 63.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 5.9% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 6.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between wedding planner and event manager duties and responsibilities

Wedding planner example responsibilities.

Manage and ship all marketing and advertising kits and giveaways for career fairs, on-campus presentations, final rounds and orientations.
Contract: event space, apparel vender, catering, and a DJ.
Collaborate with bride, bridesmaids, families, and other companies to ensure the delivery of efficient, high-quality service.
Serve as liaison between bride and groom and all vendors associate with each wedding to ensure flawless wedding day execution.
Develop agenda and itinerary, organize and procure all speaker biographies and materials and logistics for successful program execution.
Meet and consult with brides and grooms and discuss wedding details.

Event manager example responsibilities.

Manage FOH staff during the lunch rush - correctly handle any customer complaints or issues.
Manage successful closing of NYC block to control traffic flow and allow celebrity red carpet entrances.
Coordinate and manage maintenance, bartending, catering, schedules, calendars, and supervise staff.
Create BEO's and lead weekly team meetings for support team laying out the direction and objective of upcoming events.
Manage delivery schedules, outside vendor orders, and budget requirements for the sales, operations, and culinary staff.
Manage all logistics and communications from beginning to end with clients, including sending invitations, monitoring RSVP, and hosting.

Wedding planner vs event manager skills

Common wedding planner skills

Vendor Contracts, 39%
Event Timelines, 11%
Bride, 10%
Plan Events, 6%
Wedding Ceremony, 5%
Planning Process, 4%

Common event manager skills

Customer Service, 15%
Event Logistics, 10%
Event Planning, 9%
Audio Visual, 6%
Onsite, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%