Venue Logistics Problem

Re: Venue Logistics Problem

• mdiaz38 member

  

  February 2014

  Are you 100% opposed to taking pictures before your ceremony? I totally understand if you don't want your groom to see you before but that is becoming more popular. If you took the pictures before your guests even arrived then you could actually mingle with them during your cocktail hour!

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• dodger911 member

  

  February 2014

  Is it an option to go offsite for a few photos? A friend of mine got married in a small chapel and the ceremony space was also used as the reception space. The chapel was set up with chairs for the ceremony, and after the ceremony was over the bridal party left the venue to take pictures at a nearby beach. Meanwhile the guests exited the chapel and had the cocktail party on the patio while the chapel was being converted into the reception space. All the guests were in the reception by the time we pulled up and the couple made their grand entrance.

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• KD+AR member

  

  February 2014

  He really doesn't want to see me, and I don't want him to either. We like that idea that he won't be able to.

  
  

  There is no place that close to us.... the closest place would be a 15 minute drive, by the time we got everyone organized we would have about 20 minutes to take pics and then the 15 minute drive back to be announced. I really wish we had been able to find a separate location after our first one fell through.

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• MandyMost member

  

  February 2014

  Can you have all the tables set, but pushed to the sides in the ball room, and then the chairs set up in rows for the ceremony? To make it even easier/less moving, the ceremony can be set up with all the chairs where the dance floor will be, so the tables don't have to be squished quite so much.

  
  

  Then after the ceremony, you go straight outside for pics (or upstairs to the "storage room" for just a couple minutes if you really want to), and the guests go to cocktail hour. While everyone is out of the room, the room gets flipped for the reception--essentially just moving the tables back out a bit and putting the chairs around them. If you want some indoor pics, you can do them in the ballroom before the guests come back in, and then go back outside or to the "storage room". 

  
  

  Then the guests all go back in the ballroom, and you get announced in. 

  
  

  
  

  Also, the wedding party really doesn't need drinks or food or anything while they're taking pics. It would be nice to have someone with a tray of champagne, for example, but it's not a necessity.  And don't worry too much about "hiding" from people. Everyone knows what's going on. It's fine if they see you taking pics, or preparing for pics, or waiting to go in somewhere. 

  
  

  Honestly, the most important things here are that you get some good pics, and that the guests are comfortable and always have a place to be. 

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• tammym1001 member

  

  February 2014

  Will the country club let you take pictures on the golf course (I'm assuming when you say country club that it's on a golf course) or in another location on the same property. We are getting married at a private country club and having ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in the same space. Our guests will be seated at their dinner tables for the ceremony and as soon as the ceremony is over they will bring out food and open the bar for cocktail hour.  We are going to take pictures outside. Our venue told us that if the weather is bad then we could use another part of the country club to take our pictures.

  
  

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• WildMagelet member

  

  February 2014

  Is it possible for you to skip the VIP rows of chairs and just do your seating arrangement so that your VIPs are at the closest tables to where the ceremony will be in the room?  That way everyone will already be at their seats and you won't have to rearrange anything.

  
  

  If you're set on flipping the room, I would do what PP suggested and have all tables dressed but pushed to the sides and just have normal theatre-style seating for the ceremony.

  Formerly known as flutterbride2b

  
  

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• vmj23 member

  

  February 2014

  Do you need to take pictures in room being used for cocktail hour?  Can you just go outside, take your pictures, then mingle with guest's for the cocktail hour?   Once everyone moves into the ballroom, mabye snap a few shoots while they are getting situated before being formally announced?

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• JoanE2012 member

  

  February 2014

  KD+AR said:

  So after having a couple problems with the event planner at our venue, there is a new smaller problem. The reception hall is beautiful and newly built. But its a country club that is privately owned, and caters mainly to the club members, not to outside contracts. So there is technically no place for our ceremony (which was originally at a different location that fell through 2 months ago), so we have to make one.... there is the room used for the cocktail hour which is too small, and the ballroom. So people will be sitting at the tables they will be staying at. But everyone has to be moved out to remove the 2 rows of chairs for important family members and the rearrange the tables a little. But that means there is no place for the wedding party during the cocktail hour. We can go upstairs to this little storage room, hopefully ask the people to bring a few cocktails upstairs then move outside for a few pics for the whole hour... or what we could do is go straight outside for 30 minutes, then move everyone from the side room back to the ballroom for the last 30 minutes of the cocktail hour, we can have pics taken at the fire place, sit on the pretty couches and stuff, and then be announced into the ballroom.

  
  

  Any other ideas are welcome.

  I find it rude that some guests are important enough to be in a couple of regular rows set up in the front and everyone else has to sit at their table.  Am I reading that right?  If so, I'd keep EVERYONE at their tables (have VIPS at the tables near the front) or find a new ceremony location.

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• KD+AR member

  

  February 2014

  Its a row of 5 chairs on each side... for my parents, his parents, a speaker and my grandmother... She is nearly blind and won't sit next to my father ( my mother mother, and parents have been divorced for YEARS, and mother long since past away just a grudging old woman) and I am the first grandchild out of 20 to get married and since the next age gap is 8 years and she has failing healthy, I want to make sure she can see the wedding. And how small the ballroom is we lose 2 tables during the ceremony because they will be behind the JP. 

  
  

  We can have pics taken outside in one place. Its a private golf club so they won't inconvenience the club members for ANY reason.. whether it be close private bar for an hour for pictures, or close 2 tees for 20 minutes for pics... really, they are very unaccommodating in some ways that we weren't made aware of until recently. 

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• tammym1001 member

  

  February 2014

  KD+AR said:

  Its a row of 5 chairs on each side... for my parents, his parents, a speaker and my grandmother... She is nearly blind and won't sit next to my father ( my mother mother, and parents have been divorced for YEARS, and mother long since past away just a grudging old woman) and I am the first grandchild out of 20 to get married and since the next age gap is 8 years and she has failing healthy, I want to make sure she can see the wedding. And how small the ballroom is we lose 2 tables during the ceremony because they will be behind the JP. 

  
  

  We can have pics taken outside in one place. Its a private golf club so they won't inconvenience the club members for ANY reason.. whether it be close private bar for an hour for pictures, or close 2 tees for 20 minutes for pics... really, they are very unaccommodating in some ways that we weren't made aware of until recently. 

  Our venue isn't closing any holes for us. That would be crazy to ask a country club to do that and it wouldn't make any of the golfers very happy. They are letting us take pictures on the golf course though. They have one hole that has a beautiful stone bridge over a pond. It's just a walk over from one green to the next tee so we won't be interrupting anyone's golf game. Does your golf course have anything like that that isn't an actual golf hole?

  
  

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• manateehugger member

  

  February 2014

  KD+AR said:

  Its a row of 5 chairs on each side... for my parents, his parents, a speaker and my grandmother... She is nearly blind and won't sit next to my father ( my mother mother, and parents have been divorced for YEARS, and mother long since past away just a grudging old woman) and I am the first grandchild out of 20 to get married and since the next age gap is 8 years and she has failing healthy, I want to make sure she can see the wedding. And how small the ballroom is we lose 2 tables during the ceremony because they will be behind the JP. 

  
  

  We can have pics taken outside in one place. Its a private golf club so they won't inconvenience the club members for ANY reason.. whether it be close private bar for an hour for pictures, or close 2 tees for 20 minutes for pics... really, they are very unaccommodating in some ways that we weren't made aware of until recently. 

  Even public golf courses often wont close holes for a wedding. They are a golf club; it would be pretty silly for them to close holes repeatedly every weekend so someone could take pictures. I'd be shocked if this club let you do that. 

  
  

  That said, clubs usually have beautiful grounds that aren't part of the course. There's no small garden or pretty landscaped corner anywhere? Can you take pictures along the path (but not actually on the course)?

  

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• KD+AR member

  

  February 2014

  No. we can't set foot on the course. Its not a large course and they cater mainly to the golfers they only serve 5-10 weddings a year. We have exhausted all options of going on the green. Its a safety thing. My DJ (who is a friend) has played at the venue before and said that there is a small lake nearby we could go.... IDK...

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