5 Pro tips to finding the perfect venue for your event.

FEB47363-C4F7-4680-A548-6E180913654EWhen planning an event, there are a million different questions that are thrown your way. One of the biggest and most important is where you will be holding your event?? In order to answer it you need to have the answers to so many other questions. To help you on your way to answering a few of these questions and choosing your venue, we have made a little list of things to consider while making your decision.

Size

When asking questions on size the first thing that comes to mind is how many people can the venue accommodate. If you plan on having 50 people at your event, you might want your venue to be able to hold seventy. If you plan on having 300, you might want the capacity to be 350-400.

What a lot of people miss when thinking about venue size has less to do with capacity and more to do with the physical size of the venue. These two things might seem synonymous, but the aren’t. It is important to ask questions like, how tight will the seating be? Will your guests be able to move freely through the venue space without any uncomfortable hindrances on their movement? How big does the space feel? Is it cozy and comfortable? Is it open and spacious? Two venues with the exact same max capacity might feel entirely differently based on room layout.

It is also important to consider any size accommodations that will be necessary for your event specifically. For example if you want to have food stations instead of a buffet is there room + guests? If you ask these questions when considering size, you will be on your way to ensuring perfect comfort at your event.

Cost

When planning an event, staying in budget is always one of the biggest concerns, so cost is obviously a factor when choosing your venue. Consider the time of year and the day of your event when planning for cost. One of the biggest ways to lower the price of a venue is to have your event on a day that is less sought after than others. You should also be aware of any additional services a venue offers, but we’ll touch on that later.

Location

The main thing to consider when it comes to the location of your event is how easily your average event attendee will be able to reach it. If most of your event guests will be “in-town” guests, then holding the event in close proximity to their homes or offices makes sense. The key to venue location is limiting the hassle your guests will have to face while traveling to your event. And for Tulsa, finding a route that is not under construction is the true challenge. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I Wish I had the patent on orange cones and barrels.

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Additional Services

Do you want to hire your own caterer or do you want the venue to handle it? Do you have all of the equipment you need for your event or will you need the venue to supply it? Does the venue have its own setup/cleanup crew or will you need to hire someone to take care of it? All of these questions should be asked before you choose your event venue and should also be considered when looking at cost. If one venue can take care of 5 things you would have to handle otherwise, it might be worth spending a little extra money on.

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Mood/Ambiance

Perhaps the least technical (but by no means least important) aspect of a venue to consider is how well it matches the mood or ambiance you wish to establish. If you are hosting a Fundraiser Gala, you probably want a venue that has an extravagantly fancy feel to it. If you are throwing a company (family) party, you are going to want your venue to be less formal and more fun. Think hard about the message you are trying to send to your event guests and how you can get it across with the environment you choose for your event.

Now you are well on your way to finding your perfect venue.  Still need a little extra help narrowing down the potions, we are here to help. Contact us at sharon@tulsaweddings.com

Parties over, now who’s in charge of clean up at the 11th hour?

Everyone focuses on the planning and execution of the wedding day. Not much focus is placed on the clean up duties. Especially the bride and groom, by this point they have already said “peace out” and hit the road to the after party with their bffs.

This is where  a “day of planner” along with the venue and other vendors handle most of the heavy lifting. Cue magic wand!!

If you are leaving the clean up to your friends and family please keep in mind the amount of space and vehicles you will need to haul all the wedding items from the venue.

A big misconception is the amount of time it takes to clean up and remove the items before your event time expires. This will often cause additional fees to be added, and no body likes a surprise that affects your finances at the 11th hour, right?? Keep in mind what is being delivered by other vendors must be removed by “you” before your event contract timeframe expires.

Some vendors refer to this as break down, some refer to it as striking the event.  Either way, it’s important to know what happens because you have items left behind that need to be taken care of.  What happens and who does it can depend entirely on your venue.  They set the rules on what can be stored and what needs to leave at the end of the night.  Here’s a list of all the items that need to be taken care of and what typically happens.
D73D5A2D-C58B-46F8-B918-169CD074EAB5Wedding Gifts – Typically your venue or wedding planner will move your gifts during the event to a secure location, whether it is the venue coordinator’s office or perhaps another event space, it will be away from any wandering eyes.  At the end of the event, these items will be loaded onto a cart or taken directly to the vehicle of who you designate as being responsible for these items.  Usually this is a parent of the newlyweds.  Make sure you tell whoever you designate ahead of time so they know to stay til the end of the night.  The venue coordinator or your planner should know who this is so they make sure it all goes home with the right person, not just someone who volunteered.
Personal items – This includes your toasting flutes, your cake knife and server, guest book and any decor you brought to the event.  If you have any DIY projects you brought, such as a dessert bar you or your planner set up, these need to be removed.  Sometimes a venue will store these items for you to be picked up the following week, but this is not normally the case.  Usually they are sent home with the same person designated to take home the gifts.3C932809-E048-410A-876B-D7E32D1E3388Food & Drink – If your wedding is at a full service venue (meaning a venue that also supplies catering and staff), they will most likely pack a box of food for the newlyweds to take with them.  All other food is thrown out due to sitting out for so long (especially on a buffet).  It is an insurance requirement at most venues that they are not allowed to send “left overs” home with anyone.  If someone were to take the food home and not properly store it, resulting in food poisoning, the venue does not want to be responsible.  If you are working with a caterer, they may have their own policies.  Make sure you ask about this when hiring them.  If you brought in your own alcohol, you will need to take home what is left over.  This can be quite a bit, so make sure that whoever you designate to stay and take this home at the end of the night has a large vehicle, just in case.  Typically, your caterer and/or planner will not transport left over alcohol.68BFE5B9-E131-4B24-9AF2-F9920F54807B.jpegCake – Your venue or caterer will box up your left over cake to take home, but most of the time they do not provide the boxes for this.  Make sure you bakery will leave boxes, and if not, bring some of your own.  Also, check with you bakery to see if any equipment, such as a stand, needs to be returned.  Some planners will return cake stands for you, but again, check with them and see who needs to be responsible for this.
Floral decor / centerpieces – Most florists are charging you just a rental on their vases and other decor (such as candles, etc.).  This means that at the end of the night, all the containers your beautiful floral are in must be returned to the florist.  Typically, the florist will make arrangements with the venue to pick up these items the next day, but more and more venues are requiring the florist to pick up items that night.  You must find out what your venue requires and communicate this to the florist as they will not call and check this for you all the time.  You also might see an extra fee from the florist because of this, so double-check with them!  As for the floral itself, you paid for this and can take whatever you would like home, but without the container.  Some clients choose to pay for the containers for part of the centerpieces so they can take them home as they are.  Some make arrangements to return the vases to the florist themselves at a later time, and others will just leave the floral behind.  (Always ask your florist when receiving proposals if the containers/vases are included as a rental or purchase.)  If the florist included the containers in your contract, you can give centerpieces away to your guests.  Just remember, if a guests is from out of town, they probably cannot transport the item home, especially if they are traveling by air.

 

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Wedding Attire/ Tuxes-  if you rented your tuxes it is best to try and collect them immediately after the reception. Otherwise you risk having to track down a vest here or a jacket at another hotel. Designate someone ahead of time to be in charge of returning all the tuxes.
Linens, Rentals and other Decor – Most rental companies prefer to pick up their rental items the Monday following your event.  If they are required to pick up that night, you will more than likely be charged an additional fee, so check with your venue!  The staff at your venue, if full service, will pack away all linens for the rental company to pick up. However, if you are not at a full service venue, your caterer may help with only the items they handled, such as glassware, dishes, and flatware.  With any rental items, designate someone responsible for checking the items for damage and counting.  You will be charged for damaged items or missing items, so you always want to make sure someone is checking to make sure it is all there and not misplaced.
Trash – Most venues handle all waste disposal.  However, while unusual, some venues do not have dumpsters and require all waste to be removed at the end of the night by either the caterer or yourself.  Venues will be up front about this need, so make sure you address it with them and your caterer.  Caterers sometimes charge an extra fee for this.  There are waste disposal companies that can be hired to bring containers to your event and take care of them throughout the night.  Some even recycle all the waste, so it’s a great way to be green!  They are usually inexpensive, so compare them to what your caterer charges.
Other break down –  All other vendors will need to break down their equipment and take it with them that evening.  For example, a DJ or band will not leave their equipment over night.  However, if you rented a stage or lighting, this will be broken down based on the rental companies needs.  Any other entertainment, such as a photo booth or cigar roller, will also break down that evening and remove everything from the venue.
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For our clients, rest assured as your wedding planner we stay until the end of your event and follow up with all the vendors to make sure this break down happens according to your plan.  We help with making sure all of your items (as listed above) are sent home with the right person, rentals are all accounted for and packed away for pick up, the florist picks up all their containers (and none were taken home by a guest who didn’t know any better), and to check if there are and damages you will be responsible for.  This all factors into that “peace of mind” when hiring a planner to help with your wedding day, whether full service or as a day of wedding planner. We hope this helps you to understand what to plan for at the end of your wedding night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Blessed to Be Stressed!

It’s a universal truth – wedding planning is stressful. With an endless list of decisions to be made, from the décor to the dress to the catering and everything in between, the stress can pile on at lightning-fast speeds. One minute, you’re trying to choose between roses and ranunculus, and before you know it, you’ve fallen down the Pinterest hole, scrolling between 19 slightly different shades of pink petals while stress eating wedding cake samples.

With that being said, there are more than a few items on your wedding checklist that guests pay far less attention to than you think. Instead of driving yourself crazy over the teeniest details, save yourself the headache (and probably a few bucks, too) by knowing what really matters to your guests, and more importantly, what doesn’t.

LET’S START WITH THE DRESS – It’s not what you wear but how you wear it, so as long as you’re comfortable and feel like your best, most beautiful self, well, that’s sounds just PERFECT. When the  bride is rocking a beautifully tailored gown that makes her look and feel like the goddess she is its gonna be a great night. (same goes for the wedding party as well)

Bridesmaids -

Bridesmaids –

NERVOUS ABOUT YOUR FIRST DANCE- Tackle a few moves that you feel 100% comfortable performing, no matter how simple, and watch the pressure just melt away. Great for you, great for your guests and great for your wedding photos… Everyone wins!

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So what do guests care most about?

1) The Ceremony:

It goes without saying that guests will be overjoyed to watch the happy couple proclaim their love and be joined in wedded bliss – I mean, it’s kind of the whole point – but the crowd may start to get restless during a long, drawn-out ceremony. One of the most common guest complaints is having to sit through a too-long production, so keep it short and sweet (roughly 30 minutes or less) for a happy clan.8

2) The Food:

Enjoying a decadent meal with loved ones is a treat for guests, so make sure your food choices are crowd pleasers. A fantastic meal will keep those good vibes going, but a bad one could really bring down the mood. In addition, be sure to offer options for vegetarians or those with common allergies, like gluten and nuts.BridalifeStyle_Sping-Summer-2015-39

3) The Drinks:

Weddings and booze go together like peanut butter and jelly. Bottom line: Keep the drinks flowing, because there’s nothing that wedding guests hate more than the liquor well running dry. Forgoing the fully stocked bar is fine; an edited menu of Champagne, wine, beer and one or two specialty cocktails will keep guests in high spirits all night long.wine rack ice sculpture

4) The Music:

The tunes will be going strong from the first arrivals through the last dance, so make sure your music list is on point, especially once guests start hitting the dance floor. Skip the chicken dance and opt for fun, contemporary tunes that everyone is sure to know and love to unite the crowd and get people moving.amytimblog-63

5) The Venue:

Common sense is the key here. Skip the outdoor venue during the hottest, most humid days of summer, and likewise, choose an indoor spot during the fall and winter months when temps may be chilly. Outside of the climate, a unique venue is something they’ll also care about, particularly if the journey to your wedding is a trek for some of your far-flung guests. A seriously cool spot is much more of a draw than, say, Hotel Ballroom #3, don’t you think?

Hopefully this guide to what guests truly care about can seriously help refocus your energy during the planning process. When in doubt, take a breath, heed our advice, and above all else, remain calm!