What does a Wedding Planner do at a Site Visit?

A lot of people ask, what does a wedding planner do? There are so many roles and responsibilities of a Wedding Planner that people do not realize. One of those is the fact that we need to check out our local wedding venues and vendors. Luckily a lot of wedding venues host Open Houses for Wedding and Event Planners to come and check their space and experience an event at their venue.

When a venue is hosting an Open House, they should be showcasing their venue in different set-ups and creating an experience for the Wedding and Event Planners. The planner should be experiencing the venue as a guest would, so there should be food, drink and entertainment. This allows the Planner to see the space in use, see how the staff looks and acts at an event, and have the chance to experience the hospitality and food of the venue or their preferred vendors. Hopefully the venue will send out all of the event logistics and venue specs to the planners as well.

Wedding and Event Planners are not just sipping cocktails and tasting canapes at these events, they are also checking the space out so they can properly guide their clients for events. Site visits are usually with the clients and do not involve the venue being set up for an event, it is just seeing the space, but wedding and event planners are still taking everything in and assessing the following things.

What do we look for at an Open House or Site Visit?

• If it is an Open House the venue should have good and drink for the planners to be able to sample.
• We also check out, what load in and load out would look like,
• what’s the parking situation is like
• what would be the back up it rained?
• What is the bathroom situation like?
• How safe with this before our clients and their guests?
• How accessible is the venue, what mobility challenges would there be?
• What is the catering situation?
• How is the bar handled?
• Is it picturesque for the couple to take their wedding photos here?
• How many people can the venue accommodate?
• Do they have preferred vendors or can we bring in our favourite wedding team?
• Are there any must-use wedding vendors?
• What is included?
• What would need to be rented?
• Are there any noise bylaws that we need to stick to?
• Would the couple need to get extra event insurance?
• Do they have a built-in Sound system or would our entertainment provide their own?
• How early before the event can we get in to decorate the space?
• When does teardowns need to happen?
• Will the staff be on hand for the wedding, cleaning and managing as the day goes on, or do we need to have more staffing on the wedding day?
• How much experience do the staff and venue seem to be at working weddings?
• And a whole bunch of other things that you learn in the WPIC wedding planner certification course.