So, venues. This can
actually become one of the most overwhelming decisions to make and it’s
certainly the one that can cost the most.
Outside, inside, small, large, simple, elegant, OTT? There are hundreds
of blogs to inspire your dream venue. Your
local government sometimes collate all local venues into a Venue Guide on their
website. This is a very useful place to start. If they don’t, call the council
and ask!
When looking for your venue/s, the basics to consider are:
How many people are
you inviting? Around 90% of those invited
will rsvp (whether using the details you sent or not!) and around 90% of these
yeses will actually come (it’s even
less with corporate events!). Strange but true – people get sick, non-transferable
flights get cancelled. It happens.
Cultural
considerations. Some families can
invite up to 500 people on either side while others may have a smattering of
extended family. This will have a huge
impact on venue selection as there are usually only a few venues that can
accommodate these large numbers and they are often also catering to conferences
etc. Even fewer venues will accommodate large
numbers and NOT look like they cater for conferences!
Weather contingencies.
Now I don’t suggest you prepare for every eventuality – you’ll go out of
your mind. However the biggest things to
consider and ask venues when looking is what are the wet weather contingencies
and are they included in the price? Essentially
you’ll need a roof over people’s heads and perhaps umbrellas to ferry people
from car park. If it does rain, remember,
a wet knot is harder to undo.
Also, consider a super hot or humid day – this is Australia
after all. Is air-conditioning possible? Are fans provided/available? (And where's the power for them!) (If it's really cold, are there heaters?Even in the height of summer, it can be cold at night). Providing bottled water for people is a nice touch (whether branded
with your lovely stationery or just bought in bulk from Big W) and if your
budget will stretch, parasols or market umbrellas. Personally, while the idea of individual fans
is lovely, in reality, guests can just use your order of service.
You can hire marquees (for just shade or full coverage) fairly
cheaply but book early and check if delivery is included. If collecting yourself, you’ll need at least
2.5m straight through the car – a hatchback ain’t gonna cut it!
Swing by the venue a few times on days with different weather so you get a feel for it.
Catering. The majority of reception venues will have
their own inhouse catering. I strongly recommend you try before you buy! There’s nothing worse at an event with booze
than food so bad, no one eats it and everyone is plastered in the first
hour. There’s usually a set menu and you
set the number of courses and select the alternate drops for each.
Drinks – Where possible I prefer a bar tab. Many venues will have a drinks package they’ll
steer you towards however ask if a tab is possible. This way you aren’t paying the same amount
per head for that mate who polishes off a bottle of bourbon as your granny or
pregnant friend drinking lemonade. You can select a few wines, beers etc and specify/exclude
spirits as preferred. Watch you don’t
get charged corkage (ie the cost of glassware provision/washing/some breakage)
in addition to a tab or package.
If you're doing drinks in a gorgeous outdoor setting and the venue aren't arranging them, remember you'll need eskis, ice and possibly even a temporary liquor license.
Dessert – it is possible to use your cake as dessert but
some venues include dessert in the package.
Ask for a discount in this case if dessert won’t be used.
Toilets. It seems
an odd thing to consider, but some venues do not have facilities on site. As such your guests will be constantly asking
you (the person who picked the place) where they are and do they need a
key. Please ensure you have sufficient
toilets for both men and women and disabled access if required, within a short
walk from the proceedings. Also, do you
need to provide soap and toilet paper or is it included? There are also some really elegant port-a-loos (http://excloosive.com.au/) available for hire that won't look like Kenny will pick them up!
Décor. Does the
venue charge extra for furniture, chair covers, fairy lights etc. Can you bring in your own décor if you don’t
like theirs? What will be set up by the
staff?
Some venues also provide you with an event planner. It can be very helpful to have one point of
contact to deal with.
Venue cost. It’s
common for venues to have a room hire charge (anywhere from $500 - $5K) but
often this is waived if you spend a minimum amount on catering. Find out if this is the case early. Some venues, particularly those in the Arts like
art galleries, museums etc may rely on these hire fees to fund/protect exhibits
and as such catering costs are in addition.
Insurance. Please ensure you ask if the venue has public
liability coverage. In Australia this is
usually for $20million.
Hopefully I haven't bamboozled you too much. The biggest thing is to arrange to see the venue and have all your questions ready to ask.
