Open Air Business February 2017

FUNCTION VENUES
WHAT'S THE EXPRESSION? 'Man
plans and God laughs'. Nothing
could be more true of wedding
planning! While we do our utmost
to ensure that each couples’
wedding is flawless, there are
some things you just can't foresee.
I'll never forget what I refer to as
my ‘Fawlty Towers’ wedding; an
accident on the M4 meant that all
the suppliers were late arriving,
the generator wouldn't start,
the cake collapsed and, yes, the
marquee even caught fire (just a
small one thankfully!). But if you
do your utmost to plan for the
expected, with a bit of luck, you'll
only be left having to cope with
the unexpected! So, what are the
sorts of thing that can go wrong
and what can you do to prepare
for them?
SUPPLIERS/GUESTS
GETTING LOST
Your venue is likely to be rural.
That means a lot of scope for
visitors struggling to find their way.
The fact that many rural postcodes
don't correlate on sat nav devices
doesn’t help either. However,
there is always a solution: Put
your venue back on the map by
making downloadable PDF maps
available on your website. Such a
simple addition will ensure you are
always found with ease. Make it
clear to your visitors that they are
in the right place by erecting large,
well-lit signage at your driveway.
Further to this, having signage
around the estate showing the
best route for suppliers and guests
to take, and where to park, helps
to avoid on-site confusion.
RUNNING OUT OF PARKING
SPACE
You might think you have plenty
of space for guest and supplier
vehicles, but people can be very
selfish when they park and take up
a lot more space than they need.
Unless you really do have acres
and acres, you could think about
employing parking attendants for
each event so that people can park
sensibly in neat, space-efficient
rows. You might also want to
source a tracking hire company to
cover some of the parking areas
during particularly wet weekends!
DISRESPECTFUL SUPPLIERS
Suppliers on your Preferred
GETTY IMAGES
“THINK
ABOUT
EMPLOYING
PARKING
ATTENDANTS
FOR EACH
EVENT SO
THAT PEOPLE
CAN PARK
SENSIBLY IN
NEAT, SPACE-
EFFICIENT
ROWS”
Supplier List (PSL) should have
been carefully vetted so they
know what is expected of them
in terms of where to park, what
they should be wearing and their
behaviour etc. But clients will
also bring unknown suppliers to
site from time to time - anything
from a photographer who didn't
think to pack wellies to a diva-ish
band. How do you manage these
unfamiliar suppliers and ensure
they follow the guidelines? You
create a staff brief sheet. I send
one of these out to all suppliers
ahead of every wedding so I can
clearly communicate any and all
expectations from where they
park, to where they can smoke, to
which loos they can use.
DRUNKEN GUESTS/DAMAGE TO
PROPERTY
Weddings are of course a
celebration and that means
booze! This can in turn mean
guests getting out of hand. The
contract between you and your
client should make clear that the
bride and groom are ultimately
responsible for their guests’
conduct. Should there be any
knowingly troublesome guests
on the list, the client should let
you know in advance so you can
agree a plan of action. Are you
authorised to ask riotous guests to
leave, or should you hand over to
the best man to babysit? Better to
have this clear ahead of time than
to burden the bride and groom on
the day with big decisions. Your
contract should also outline the
process should guests or suppliers
damage your venue in any way.
Most venues take a security
deposit, returned to the client in
full once you have confirmed that
all is well after the day.
NOISE COMPLAINTS
Rural venues might not have a lot
neighbours, but sound can travel
surprisingly far and you can end
up alienating the few you do have.
Best case scenario? You get calls
throughout each event asking
you to turn down the volume.
In the worst case, you could
have the police turn up to shut
the wedding down, potentially
putting your license to host future
events in danger. Do not let things
get this far! Instead, work with
your neighbours encouraging a
good relationship with them and
making sure they call you before
the police should there be an
issue. Invest in a decibel reader
and walk the perimeter of the site
a couple of times per night noting
down the levels so you can agree
an acceptable level. This will also
back you up if there are ever any
problems with the council or
police. Some venues even have a
decibel limit in their client contract
to avoid problems.
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