Open Air Business February 2017

FUNCTION VENUES
“AS YOU MAY
HAVE GATHERED,
PREVENTION IS FAR
BETTER THAN CURE
WHEN IT COMES
TO PREPARING FOR
THINGS THAT COULD
GO WRONG ON A
WEDDING DAY”
keep the first aid kits and fire
extinguishers easily accessible.
Better to be safe than sorry.
As you may have gathered,
prevention is far better than
cure when it comes to preparing
for things that could go wrong
on a wedding day. The vast
majority of issues that arise can
be prevented by simple and clear
communication between venue
and client (or venue and supplier).
It never ceases to amaze me how
many start-ups fail to draw up
proper contracts which clearly
outline roles and expectations for
both parties.
For the record - my 'Fawlty
Towers' wedding? Smooth
and flawless from the client’s
perspective… they never knew a
thing had gone wrong.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isabel Smith has 10
years in the wedding
industry behind her
as one of the UK’s top
wedding planners and
business consultant
to venues and other
suppliers. Isabel’s
expertise spans
marketing, sales and
operations as she
helps new vendors
launch as well as
assisting established
businesses should
they find their
sales falling. www.
isabelsmithconsulting.
co.uk / www.
isabelsmithweddings.
co.uk
GETTY IMAGES
GRTTY IMAGES
RUNNING LATE
Running a little behind schedule
on the day isn’t that big of a
problem. However, you want to
avoid things like the photographer
leaving before the cake cutting,
evening guests arriving before
the main meal has finished, or
running so behind that you only
get 45 minutes of dancing before
the night has to come to an end!
The key to sticking to a schedule
lies in a detailed function sheet
which outlines the timings of the
day. This needs to be read and
approved by all of the suppliers
ahead of time (each being an
expert in how long their own parts
will take during the day). This
means that timescales stated are
realistic making sure you don't run
too behind.
TRUE EMERGENCIES:
FIRES OR INJURIES
It's the worst thing that can
happen at a wedding (or
anywhere really), but fires and
injuries do occur. You must be
absolutely up to date with your
health and safety knowledge, and
have completed thorough risk
assessments for the whole site.
This means putting in place
anything and everything you
can to prevent possible injury;
be that placing hand railings
where required, roping off ponds
and lighting pathways etc. You
want to prevent injury where
you can but also make sure you
are 100 per cent covered legally
should there be any serious
problems. Keep your first aid
and fire training up to date, and
18 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM