Wildflower612 is one of the most flexible venues in the area when it comes to providing your own services. You’re welcome to bring your own refreshments or hire a professional caterer. Most of our events hire a professional for these types of events. If you choose not to hire a full service licensed caterer, you'll be responsible for following the Catering Guidelines as though you were a caterer. Since most weddings are professionally catered, we’ve provided a small prep space for them to help with the meal. On-site cooking is not allowed at the venue due to fire code, insurance and health department reasons plus..it's just not desirable to prepare food for 100-200 people AND try to enjoy your event.
Caterers prepare the food in a commercial (health department approved) kitchen and will deliver the food hot, fresh and on time.
Here are the caterers guidelines including a few tips to remember that might be helpful in reducing incurred expenses which are deducted from the escrow.
Please don’t dump ice, food products and grease down the drain or outside on the ground. The cleaning company will have to clean it up at the end of the night which results in an incurred expense and deducted from the damage escrow.
On-site cooking is not allowed due to fire code and insurance reasons. Our insurance also doesn't allow open flames of any type and your insurance will not cover you in case of damage This includes candles or grills etc.
Please remind your caterers to use covers or hot pads under their pans as to not burn or melt the tabletops.
Roaster ovens are prohibited because they will trip the breakers. Nothing can be more of a buzzkill as losing the lighting in the ballroom while everyone is dancing and having a good time. Or, to lose power which includes the HVAC system. When this happens, a qualified service man will need to be dispatched to come and reset the button. They are generally not available on the weekends or after hours which means you will be without heat or air for the duration of your event. Yep, this has happened.
At the end of the night, return decor to the shelves, wipe the tables off, sweep, bag the trash and stack the chairs along the west wall of the decor room behind the yellow line. The venue will supply starter 33 gallon trash bags but, you or your caterer will provide the rest. If you used any of our food service equipment, wash or wipe them off before placing back on the shelves.
Assign someone to mop/broom duty. Drinks and food spilled on the floor are the biggest cause of "slip and fall" accidents. Your liability/event insurance will be a blessing in disguise if you need to file a claim. Since this is a privately hosted event, you'll be responsible for claims if a guest decides to file suit. Yep, this has happened too! www.ewedinsurance.com is who you'll use to purchase your insurance from.
Most deductions from cleaning/damage escrows are due to end of evening cleanup, food or alcohol related damages. The cleaning company charges for excessive cleanup, food dumped on the ground, chairs not being stacked in decor room, etc. Your wedding planner should be skilled in making the night go smoothly.
At the end of the evening, take a picture on your way out showing that the end of evening procedure was done and that everything was returned to the position in which you found it! End of evening procedure is listed on your contract so check it out when you get a chance. Stay up to date with what has to be done so there's no wedding day surprises!
As you can see, there is a lot going on to manage a wedding. This is why planners and wedding professionals are so popular. It's sweet that your friend wants to be your wedding planner, but, she simply does not have the skill or experience to manage a mega event such as a wedding. Our open houses are a great way to come and check everything out to make sure you're fully prepared to take on feeding and cleanup for 100-200 people. We will show you where the dumpsters are located etc. If you're looking for someone to setup and cleanup or just the cleanup, let us know. We have someone that many of our brides hire to take care of the cleanup. Essentially you're adding 2 hours to your party time because you won't have to end the party to start the tear down and cleanup process.
See you at the next open house!!