South Asian Weddings

Negotiating with Venues to Allow Open Flame

My partner and I are looking into venues for a blended ceremony (possibly two brief ceremonies) and a reception. The ceremony will include some Hindu traditions along with a few secular wedding elements. I've noticed that most non-hotel venues restrict open flames, which makes our venue options very limited if we choose to include the seven steps. 

Does anyone know if venues are open to negotiations to make exceptions for open flame use that is a religious or cultural custom? Perhaps obtaining a fire permit and hiring a fire marshal would allow us to include the flame. I'll of course inquire when I contact venues, but I'm curious what the odds are from those who have gone through this.

Re: Negotiating with Venues to Allow Open Flame

  • I have not gone through something like this, so keep that in mind.  But I've done a lot of event planning in the corporate world.

    My strong suggestion is that YOU ALL look into it with (I assume) the appropriate fire department as to what permitting and procedures are involved with what you want to do.  That way, when you speak to venues, you can present them with the information that it is allowed (if it is) and can be safely done, per these instructions obtained by the ABC fire department.

    Unless your area has a large Hindu community, I highly doubt most venues would know if/how they could allow a ceremony with an open flame.  And it's a lot easier to just say no, then spend time looking it up for a couple who might not even use them anyway.  You all are the ones looking for something that is unusual, so you need to be the ones spending the time to find out how to do it.

    I apologize that I don't know anything about Hindu wedding traditions and the seven steps.  But if it is possible to do the step related to fire outside, that would probably be a more comfortable option for a venue if they have the outdoor space to keep it safe and away from buildings.
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  • Doing a chunk of the research before speaking to the venue is really helpful guidance. It confirms my instincts based on some permit guidelines I've had to follow for work-related event approvals.

    I'll look into fire department requirements and procedures (just bookmarked a couple resources on the city's website to read through). I was also looking at policies and procedures for a similar venue (in a different city than where we're planning the wedding) that does allow open flames to get another example of what procedures we could propose. A couple venues we've looked at have some outdoor spaces available that could work, so your suggestion there is definitely a possible scenario to present. 

    Thank you again. 
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