Finally! The day has come. All the pent up excitement is about to be unleashed as you swoop in with your squad to set up for the evenings events.
Our staff has created a small post about what to expect on wedding day. Things will definitely go wrong on wedding day and you have to be OK with it particularly if you did not hire a wedding planner or event manager. At the end of the day, just remember that you're marrying your best friend and that's all that really matters!
We recommend hiring a professional event planner to avoid wedding day hiccups. Most brides hire an event planner or "Day Of" coordinator to help with the logistics of a "once in a lifetime" event. The day will go much smoother!
Up until now you've spent countless hours reading tips and hints on your online planner and emailing the venue all of your questions and concerns. Hopefully you filed them in a folder on your email server for future reference. You will have attended an open house and completed your final walk through as well as the FDA Questionnaire. As you can tell, even though we are just renting a building with a few tables, chairs and decorations, we still try to keep you updated as to what to expect. We want your event to run flawlessly and for you to look like the wedding boss that you are.
So..here we are, it's wedding morning!
Do you have the email that was sent to you containing security's emergency number? Leave a message and security will call you back within 30 minutes. He will not be able to help you with the sound system or if you trip a breaker from too many crock pots. You'll have learned how to handle these things during the open houses. Since we are not there for your event, this means the office is closed and we are not there to answer our phones so calling us won't do much good and you'll be in a bind already.
Arrival: Arrival time is listed on your invoice unless you've made other arrangements on your final detail questionnaire.
It won't be activated until 10:00am sharp! The code will unlock the door. Make sure you filled out the Final Detail Questionnaire. A completed questionnaire sends the system to open the door at the preset time.
Did you book a Friday package? Then your arrival time will be 7pm on Thursday unless you've added extra time or made other arrangements.
Troubles opening the doors? Read the email that contains the door code to make sure you're entering the correct number. If you skimmed through the email looking for 4 digits without reading the entire email, you're going to miss it. Are you early? The code activates at the time listed in the email. Are you trying to open the lounge? Check your invoice. The lounge package is "per day". Make sure the lounge was added to your invoice and the invoice is paid in full. Attending an open house will eliminate these types of problems.
Walk through: Count your tables and chairs, if you ordered extra tables, locate them and count them. This is the time to make sure your deliveries are correct. You're accepting the building as is where is so check it all out. If we don't hear from you within the first hour, we know all is well. We might check on you later or you might see security walking the grounds.
Unload: Remember don't prop the door open or the alarm will sound. The alarm reminds you to keep the door closed so the draping doesn't blow down and birds don't fly in. Yep..this has all happened.
We give tips about parking at the open houses so we rarely have any problems. Also..
review your attire, decor and bouquets for glitter. The cleaning fee is 650.00 to clean glitter.
Decorate: Inventory changes every week so what you've seen in the past may not be available on wedding day. You're welcome to use anything in the decor room but, it can't be taken outside or to other buildings. This has been stressed throughout the planning process. You also agreed to this on your contract. Security doesn't want to embarrass you by asking you to bring the decor back inside. Review your decor to make sure there is no glitter, confetti, sequins, tape on the floor. There is a chair dolly provided for you to move chairs without scratching the floor or damaging the ends of the chair legs. Open houses are set up just for you to help make your day run smoothly!
Fire Code: The table layout you see when you visit the venue is the "Fire Code" approved table layout. Your wedding planner or coordinator should be knowledgeable in local, state, or federal laws, rules, regulations or ordinances. The long wooden tables are in a fixed position and may not be moved without damaging the joints.
Get Ready: The dressing room is ready for you. After decorating, bring some snacks to the dressing room to relax before the big night ahead of you. If you decide you want more space and want the lounge, contact us through the number provided to you in your email. We will email you an invoice and get you unlocked in a jiffy. Don't call the office. Chances are you're calling on a weekend and of course, we are not there.
Party Time: Have fun! If things get out of hand, and you need to clean up, the brooms, mops and toilet plunger are in the storage room. All of these things are going to happen!! Lots of people equals lots of mess. Hire a coordinator or hostess to help keep the bathrooms clean and the food serving mess to a minimum.
End Of Evening Cleanup: Stack all of the chairs in the decor room behind the yellow line. Sweep and bag all of the trash in all of the buildings and wipe down all of the tables. If you used flower petals, sweep or pick them up including any "send off" debri. Fake petals are not allowed but, you're welcome to use real petals. Bring the trash to the area discussed in your final walk through. The dumpster is outside the north door. These are things we discuss in your contract, final detail questionnaire and final walk through. Easy peasy!
Take a picture on your way out to show you left it like you found it. You don't need to send the pictures to the venue but, keep them on hand in case of an insurance claim. Here's a helpful link. https://www.belvedereballroom.com/post/end-of-evening-procedure
Have an emergency? Call security on the emergency number. This number is different than the office/reservation number. The number provided to you is a hotline or emergency number to someone on call. The venue is closed for your event so no one is at the venue to answer your call. You'll hear the phone ring but, you're the only ones there. You'll find his phone number in the email which contained your door code.
You've been waiting for this day for a long time. It's so exciting to see how the day will magically unfold!