A Week at the Venue
Remember that movie The Wedding Planner, where Matthew McConaughey saves JLo from getting hit by a car? Well, being a real-life wedding planner is kind of like that, except the car is all the things that can go wrong on a wedding day, and Matthew McConaughey is the venue staff. In the movie JLo and Matt get together in the end, and we’re not saying that you’re going to fall in love with us…but we’re not not saying that either.
To be totally honest with you, working at a wedding venue isn’t always the most glamorous job. Yes, we deal with difficult customers (we’d never call any of our brides bridezillas), answer a lot of emails, and there is so much wiping and ironing involved it’s not even funny. But there is something truly magical about being able to share in the happiness of a couple’s wedding day.
Our Event Manager, Carlee, with one of her couples, Kristen and Eric
Katie Arnold Photography
Take a look behind the curtain and see what really goes on at the venue in preparation for a wedding day.
Monday
You know how in most offices there’s usually a serious case of the Mondays going around? Yeah, that doesn’t happen here. Monday is beyond a doubt the quietest day at the venue. Seriously, this place is literally a ghost town. Everyone from the coordinators to the chefs are home enjoying a day of well-deserved rest after a busy weekend full of events. Move along, there’s not much to see here.
Tuesday
Tuesdays are like our Mondays. There might be some signs of life around the place today, but nothing too exciting is happening on the property. For the coordinators and Sales Manager there is usually a full inbox to catch up on, back in the kitchen the chefs are preparing their orders for the week, and Banquet Captain is ordering linens for the upcoming events.
Wednesday
There’s paperwork, a lot of paperwork (sorry trees). All of the information the coordinators receive from couples such as seating chart, meal choices, and floor layout are transferred into Back of House documents that are then passed along to all department managers at a weekly meeting. Sounds boring, right? It is! But these documents enable us to execute a flawless dinner service.
An example BEO or “Cut Sheet,” which is given to all department managers for a wedding day
An example of our Seating Chart Template, which couples fill out with their guests names, tables, and meal choices. This is translated into the “Expo Sheet” for the kitchen and banquet staff
An example “Expo Sheet,” which the kitchen staff uses while plating meals in order to ensure the correct meals go out in the right order.
Meanwhile, the banquet staff is getting started on wedding day set-up. Every piece of silverware and glassware is wiped and polished, every linen is pressed and ironed, and every napkin is folded. Using the BEO sheets, the banquet staff begins to bring out the correct number of tables and chairs for the first event of the weekend.
If the first wedding of the weekend has an onsite ceremony, we will also begin to set up the ceremony location for the couple’s ceremony rehearsal.
Thursday
Now we’re getting into the good stuff! Friday’s wedding will have their ceremony rehearsal on Thursday at 11:00am, and at this point Friday’s couple will also drop off all of their wedding decor such as guestbook, candles, welcome signs, and favors. Now that we’re armed with these personal touches, we can finish setting up the venue for Friday’s wedding day.
Weekend
The weekend is finally here! If the beginning of the week was like walking at a leisurely pace, now we are in a full-out sprint. On Friday at 12:00 the venue opens up for vendors such as the florist, DJ, and baker. Our staff then finishes all last-minute touches so that when the bridal party arrives everything is perfect. From that point onward, it’s all love, laughter, and happily ever after.
Curious what a wedding day looks like? Check out our example agenda.
Don’t forget about our other useful wedding planning articles:
The Grand Ballroom set up for an inside ceremony
