Planning Woes!

Can people tell me their experiences please with venues and without paying for additional packages what sort of planning support they have had?
We are not dry hire, our venue cost is over 9k for 30 days guests. We are marrying on a Thursday off peak. I would love to see how this compares.
So have you had a single point of contact since booking? How flexible have they been? Any crazy rules?
Any numbers of meetings etc. Also how your venues have felt about you using 3rd party suppliers. Any stigma?