Tapestry's Favorite Venue Features
Wow y’all, do we love us a good venue. For those who don’t know, Tapestry aspires to own its own venue someday (working title: Party Greenhouse), so we think about venues A LOT. Every time we take a tour, we tap into what the owner is passionate about in their property and nerd out on the direction they’re taking to develop it. If professionally touring venues was a career, we would snap that up… but for now, we will settle for the next best thing: being kick ass planners discovering these wonderful spaces for and with our couples.
As humans who think a whole damn lot about venue spaces, we wanted to take time to share what we see when we take a venue tour (or in this day and age, heavily stalk a space on the internet). Here are some of our favorite features when it comes to venue spaces:
ALIGNMENT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD.
If you know us, you know we’re major nature lovers and aspire to be environmental stewards in all aspects of our work. So, it’s probably no surprise that we love venues that tie manmade spaces in with the natural environment. Give us an indoor-outdoor shelter that keeps guests dry year-round, yet preserves views of the outdoors. Give us glass reception halls that open up to lawns and fields for nighttime dancing. Give us canvas tents with open walls to let the summer breeze in. Heck, give us a stretch of land and watch us build! Our favorite spaces are ones that let nature play the star with structures playing backup dancer.
YEAR-ROUND WEATHERPROOF SPACE.
Being a lifelong PNW resident, you learn to work with the weather. We don’t get torrential downpour like you might experience in the South, but we do have a pretty steady drizzle for 8 months out of the year. Even in the summer months we are the first to catch weather currents off of the Pacific Ocean, so no month is a guarantee for perfect sunshine. (Side note: we thank the fertility goddesses for the abundant rain that makes our outdoor spaces so colorful and kick-ass in the spring through fall months). That being said, we aren’t fans of “cross your fingers'' approaches to weather predictions, nor do we rely on the Farmer’s Almanac to foretell our fate (climate change is real, people!). We would rather work in spaces and create plans that have solutions built in for multiple weather conditions, read: rain. So if a venue has outdoor covered space, tents on site, retractable awnings, or even multiple spaces around the property to flex in and out depending on the forecast, we swoon with appreciation. If those options aren’t built in, then we look for wide open grass or patio space where we can stake or weight down lovely tents from a third-party rental company.
ONSITE RENTALS.
It’s the little details that can make a big difference, especially for your pocket book. Always ask a venue about what kind of rentals they offer on site. The cost of renting chairs and tables (the basics) can add up quickly, especially if delivery fees are involved, and often surprise couples when they start to layer on tenting, linens, dishware, serverware, and decor. Some venues offer furniture-focused rentals, others that host onsite catering or a kitchen may also have dish and serving options, and others still may have a barn of decor collected over the years (we’ve seen it more than once!). Always ask what is included with the fee and if there is an additional charge for set-up and tear-down so that you’re clear on the investment. Just because a venue offers rentals doesn’t necessarily mean that you want to use any/all of them, but you can always cut costs by mixing and matching on site and third-party rented items (e.g. use on site plastic tables, then rent luxe tablecloths and real wood chairs).
Photos taken at The Georgetown Ballroom courtesy of Kate Miller Photography.
ONSITE UTILITIES.
This is one of the most overlooked details when it comes to scoping out a venue, but it’s the most important detail to address in order to host your event effectively. Where is access to potable/drinking water? Are there fridges and freezers on site that you can use? Is there a kitchen or prep station available to your caterers? Is there ice on site (A+ if there is!)? What does garbage and recycling service look like? Where are electrical outlets located and what is the total power draw on each grid? Did we get nerdy enough about utilities yet? Good, because while these questions are not sexy or romantic, we’ve run into logistical challenges at real weddings when the answers weren’t acquired in advance. So take time and be diligent about the utility details, especially if you have a specific catering or decor vision that requires a larger load on any of these categories.
STAFFING.
We cannot emphasize the impact of solid staff coverage enough. It’s the best investment you can make in your day. The very first wedding we participated in (long before wedding planning or Tapestry was a twinkle in our eye) had an onsite venue coordinator that promised to help run the day. In reality, they sent the wedding party down the aisle and reappeared to let us know when the in house champagne was running low to ask if we wanted to purchase more. They were unavailable and unhelpful, hiding out in their office and not fulfilling what was promised. So while we thank that less-than-stellar manager for giving us the “That sh!t ain’t right” spark of an idea to start a planning business, they are also a glowing example of why you want to be clear with venue owners about what you can expect from their staffing and service. Some venue owners hand you the keys on Friday and ask you “not to burn the barn down before Sunday”. Others offer to help coordinate or oversee for the duration of your event. The key is to be clear about what you can expect from your venue owner service-wise so that you can staff the rest of your event accordingly and ask questions in a timely manner for your team’s preparation and execution.
PROXIMITY TO ACCOMMODATIONS.
We work with a lot of couples who either travel to the PNW from out of state or are PNW transplants inviting their loved ones to experience the beauty of their chosen home. A big part of hosting out-of-staters is making sure they land in accommodations that make sense for the celebration. If you’re taking them more than an hour outside of the city, having local accommodation options from hotels to a robust market of vacation rental homes is important. Depending on the spirit of your celebration, you might also consider the feasibility of a shuttle service to and from some of the major guest hubs for your event.
— Kate, Tapestry Creative Director