As wedding season nearly begins, you’ll likely be asked by your venue coordinator to do a final walkthrough about a month or two before your wedding day to go over details. Below are tips to make it a successful meeting.
Invite your wedding vendors to attend.
When you first saw the space, you probably viewed it with your partner and maybe a family member or two, along with the venue coordinator. At the final walkthrough, it may be the same people and if you have a wedding planner the planner should certainly attend. It’s recommended to also invite your caterer (if they are not in-house a the venue), florist, rental company, and band/DJ. They may or may not attend depending on how familiar they are with the space but will make for a smoother process to extend the final walkthrough invitation to those vendors if they are on your team.
Go over logistics and timing.
Find out when you and your vendors can get access to the venue. This is especially important for setup. It’s also important to know when everyone must be out of the space to avoid additional fees. Ask the venue if there are any instructions for load-in that you need to provide to your vendors since they may have specific entrances, elevators or timeframes vendors need to abide by. If you plan on having décor items like table numbers, menus, card box, guest book, signage, etc. that you need setup and the venue has storage space, find out when those items can be dropped off. Finalizing the timing of events (ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, etc.) is also key.
Ask the right questions.
There will be a ton of questions you ask throughout the wedding planning process, but some of the most important questions to ask at the final walkthrough include:
- Who will be the venue’s main point of contact on the wedding day? Likely it will be the person who booked your event, but it good to double check so you can tell your vendors.
- Where do you recommend everything (dance floor, head or sweetheart table, gift table, band stage or DJ booth, cake table, etc.) going in the space?
- Who will create the final floorplan? Most of the time someone at the venue will create the floorplan, but it’s good to double check.
If the venue is also providing catering, ask the following:
- When is the final headcount due?
- How long will dinner take?
- What are vendor meals? How much?
- Where are vendor meals served?
- How many hours of open bar do we have?
- When is last call?
A final venue walkthrough is an essential meeting to making sure your wedding day goes off without a hitch. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to getting married without any hiccups!
Friday, April 15, 2022
