We all know that different venues present different possibilities for special events like weddings.  Not only does each wedding venue have its own unique charm and character, but many have a myriad of different individual areas available for different parts of your celebration.  Part of the challenge, and fun of choosing your venue and planning your event is deciding which parts of your event will take place at the different parts of the venue itself and thinking about which setup combinations are right for your event.

A myriad of unique layout alternatives, however, are not the only things that are introduced by these various options at a venue.  With more discrete areas spread over the expanse of your venue can come different challenges for various types of services and vendors you may be hiring.  The extent to which the nature or design of your venue can present these types of challenges really depends on the nature and types of services that are being provided.

From a creative standpoint, and to make sure that your event setup is as conducive to a successful celebration for you and your guests as it can be, it is very important that your vendors are able and willing to do on-site meetings and consultations with you to go over your event and venue layout, and to discuss event design and flow as well.  This will help them work with you to make the best possible use of the location, it’s layout options and amenities, etc. The goal, of course, is to help give you the best result possible, and if your vendor already has experience at your venue, then their input based on experience can take a lot of guesswork out of the equation for you, and they can speak to their previous events and experiences, and can talk about the strengths and weaknesses that are presented by different venue layout options, etc.

Something you can consider in addition to your walk-throughs with your key vendors, is doing a short video tour.  This “Virtual Tour” of your venue can be given not only to your vendors to help jump-start them when it comes to the logisitcs and planning, but it can also be given to family and friends who will be participating in your wedding to help them get a better idea of what your event site and layout will be like, and more!

We LOVE this idea, and it is simple, and FREE to do!  Most of us have phones or digital cameras capable of capturing at least a limited amount of video, and uploading this video to the internet is fairly easy as well.

Here is a great video provided by one of our upcoming brides, who simply walked her venue, highlighting the focal points, the location of the ceremony, reception, dinner tables, cake and guest book, and more.  She even filmed the path that she would walk to come to the alter for the ceremony!

Some things you might want to consider covering in yours:

• Access and parking
• Loading areas (for setup and tear-down)
• Panoramic view and/or walk through of your ceremony area, as well as a shot or view of where your ceremony location is in relation to your reception area.
• Highlighting major entrance and exit areas
• Highlight location of bar, buffet tables, etc.
• Location of cake and gift tables, etc.
• DJ location, including relation to dancing area
• Anything else you like!

These are just suggestions of course.  You should highlight the things and areas that are important for you, and that you want your vendors and others to be aware of.

The cool part is, it doesn’t even have to be video!  Just a series of snapshots highlighting certain focal points and key areas of your venue layout would serve the exact same purpose.

Consider doing this for your wedding venue.  It’s not a substitute for an onsite visit or meeting with key vendors, like your DJ, but it’s just a great way to help jump-start the creative process, and to make sure everyone is on the same page for your big day!

Sounds To Go always offers on-site venue consultations for all of our local venues, and our experience at many of the areas finest and most popular venues, as well as our familiarity with their layouts, staff, etc. makes us a GREAT choice for your wedding needs!

Be sure to contact us and let us know where your wedding will be, and we can work with you make sure that no stone remains unturned in your planning process!