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Wedding Planning


| RECEPTION VENUES
Location, Location, Location
by Shelley Waugh

Wedding Planner's Top Five Tips for booking a wedding venue
 
When looking for the perfect place to celebrate your big day, it’s important to keep a few crucial things in mind before saying yes to the venue. Everyone wants  to look back at their wedding day and remember it as a dream come true. With a little help, and having a vision for exactly what you want, it’s possible to make the day perfect.
 
Five key recommendations when looking for the ideal wedding venue:
 
• Today’s décor: While décor theme is of course a primary consideration, it’s also important to consider what technology the venue provides. Many reception spaces now offer things that most people haven’t even thought about when planning their wedding. For example, at Bingemans, one of the wedding venues, The Tannery, has video screens that can practically surround the entire room. This allows the bride and groom to customize the entire visual experience with a variety of subtle or more apparent graphics to match their theme.
 
• Consider your guests: Even though it’s your big day, don’t forget about your guests. Are there nearby hotels or accommodations? Is there sufficient parking or will they have to walk a long distance? Will there be chairs during the ceremony or if it’s standing only, will chairs be available for the elderly? Is there a wheelchair ramp? Where are the washrooms and are they wheelchair accessible?
 
• Go all-in-one: Many weddings now are all performed at the same venue. The great thing about this is that the ceremony, photos and reception can all be done in one location, cutting down on transportation costs, traffic congestion and time spent waiting in-between the ceremony and reception. All-in-one locations are preferred simply because they take a lot of the stress out of the day. For outdoor ceremonies, make sure that the venue not only has a picturesque setting but also a backup plan in case of bad weather.
 
• Hidden costs: If a deal seems too good to be true or if you have doubts about the actual cost, you may want to take a step back and look things over again. To ease concerns, make sure you get everything in writing, have a good relationship with the wedding planner and above all, ensure that the venue has a good reputation.
 
• Get a professional: Most serious wedding venues have a wedding planner on staff to prepare your day and ensure that it goes smoothly. No one knows the ins and outs of the facility better than the onsite wedding planner and they should be counted on to make your vision a reality. The best part of course is that they are there to take the planning stress off of your shoulders, letting you focus on the fun of your big day.
 
Above all, be sure to take your time when evaluating venues and have an open mind because you never know what you might be missing out on.

Tips: courtesy Kyla Poirier, Wedding Planner at Bingemans, Kitchener, Ontario Canada.
Before looking for a place to hold your reception, decide how many guests you are budgeting to invite.

Different size venue locations
With the estimated number of guests in mind, call the catering manager at any establishment you are considering to establish some knowledge about their facility.

There are certain things that make a reception memorable, such as the ambiance of the location and how closely it fits into your wedding and color themes. The food is equally important. Check out the kitchen. Most banquet managers will have their chef prepare a dinner of your choice to sample. Check out the washrooms to make sure they have adequate handicap areas if needed; and depending on the season when you are holding your reception, be sure that the heating or cooling system is adequate for the comfort of your guests.

Remember to put the information you gather in your wedding binder to review later. Once you start checking out locations, it gets confusing as to who said what. Keep your information simple, record the time, date, place and person's name you speak to on separate information sheets for each potential venue.

There are three kinds of reception facilities that you can rent : on-site location,  off-site location and in-between location.

On-site locations:
"On-site" means that the facility is an all-inclusive venue which can provide most or all of the services you will need. They are places like banquet halls, hotels, clubs and even some restaurants. Some places of worship and community centres or historical sites have their own halls which can provide a number of services, although very elaborate food is usually catered in.

Off-site locations:
The off-site locations are places that offer no services on the premises, just the base rooms. Some may or may not have kitchens. Ask for a list of services they do provide. Also, ask for a list of caterers who have used the facility (or site).

Ask the same questions from your on-site list that are appropriate for your off-site list.

In-between locations:
The in-between location is one where some but not all services are provided. Go over all your lists carefully, even if there is some duplication. Your reception is too important to leave anything to chance.
Modern Day Ballrooms can be Transferred to Showpieces for Your Wedding

Use your dreams and wishes to transform a modern day ballroom into a showplace for your wedding. The recipe for the transformation pictured included color, design, theme and over 150-feet of pipe and drape of green crinkle galaxy drape and swag of the entire perimeter topped with swags of antique gold organza accented with gold cording and tassels. Every third or fourth swag then featured a floor drop of fabric adorned with tassels and cording and bow treatment ... read more in Décor

Tips for cost-savings: food, beverage and decor
When doing anything with food counts, one tip is to guarantee the venue, restaurant and/or caterer approximately five-to-ten percent less than expected. This gives a little cushion. The majority of the time, not everyone shows up for the function.

Socially speaking
A wedding party can reuse the florals from the ceremony and move them to the dinner portion of the evening while guests are enjoying the cocktail hour at a different location in the venue. During the cocktail hour, the event planners simply move florals such as aisle, Chuppa, and perimeter to the dinner tables, sweet table, woman's restroom or wherever required.

Cost saving tips can make any budget look great
Whether the budget is large or small from a decor standpoint it always pays to take the time to find the company with the most creativity. You’ll notice immediately the companies who simply want to sell you props, opposed to those who want to get involved and are more willing to work within your financial parameters. Creative companies offer the very best recommendations based on what you have to spend.   

Limit the size of your room to the needs of your group. Many groups utilize ballrooms much too large for their small quantity of people, and wind up paying huge sums to cut the room with fabric or drop the ceiling.

Use what your room gives you. Certain venues provide their own unique architectures and designs. Instead of focusing on developing the theme with extensive props, utilize a lighting design to punch out what you already have.

One cost-saving tip is to "piggy back" on another event’s menu. When you need to lower the cost of food and beverage, you can ask if you could "piggy back" on another event’s menu that day so the kitchen only orders more of the same food (less waste) and the preparation because easier as well.

Photo & tips courtesy ME Productions, a full-service award-winning destination event production company in Florida. Visit www.meproductions.com.
 

www.WeddingsHoneymoons.com | Reception Venues | May 31, 2011
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