Lavender on the Lake is here to offer advice on key questions to ask when selecting a venue
Happy Tuesday, friends! (This is Jason’s favorite day of the week because this man loves his tacos. Despite how busy we have been, he does not let a Tuesday go by without enjoying tacos of some sort. Whether we go to Tijuana Flats or we cook our own, it is a must in this household. I’m not sure yet what tonight will bring, but here are a few of our recent Smarkle Taco Tuesday dinners-Yes, that is what we call ourselves to combine Jason’s last name, my last name, and my children’s last name. The last pic is actually of tacos that Jason made at the fire station. He tends to do ALL of his cooking there and I have a bone to pick with him, but we can save that for another day.
Ok, but seriously. I get so easily distracted especially when it comes to food. My blog today has nothing to do with Taco Tuesday and everything to do with giving you ten questions to ask your wedding venue as well as to give you Lavender on the Lake’s answers those questions for you. (Sorry if I made you hungry. You can email me if you want any recipes.)
10 Do you have a preferred vendor list? This is an important question because some venues only allow couples to select off of their vendor list. This can actually be quite standard, and the more events that we have had, I am understanding the why behind this way of operating. Here at Lavender on the Lake, we, we do have a preferred vendor list, however, at this point, we do not require our couples to select off of our list. We do require that your vendors are licensed and insured and that they are approved through LOTL no later than 60 days prior to your event. Good vendors are key to having the event of your dreams!
9 Is a wedding coordinator or Day of Coordinator required? Many venues have their own in house wedding coordinator. At this point, we do not have an in house coordinator, but we have high standards and expectations in regards to the continuity and flow of your wedding. We will have Lavender staff on site, however, we also require a professional day of coordinator or wedding planner to be sure that your day goes off as smoothly as possible. You have spent a lot of time and money planning your day; we want things to go off without a hitch!
8 Will we be able to have a rehearsal? This is a great question to ask because venues are busy hosting events and therefore you may have concerns about having a rehearsal. We have had several weddings where the couples chose to do the rehearsal off site and their weddings were still excellent. The answer to this question for our LOTL couples is that ee understand that a lot of planning has gone into your special day and we want you to feel comfortable with the day of process. If the day before your event is unavailable, we will work with you to find time during the week prior to your event for you to come in for a quick run through so that you can be ready to enjoy your celebration.
7 Are we able to bring in our own alcohol? For some of us, this may not apply as we have had many dry weddings so far. For those of us where we would like to provide alcohol for our guests our answer is, yes! We have a bar for you to use and you may bring in your own alcohol as long as you have a licensed and insured bartender to serve the beverages. Your bartender should also provide you with glassware and the appropriate fixings for your drinks. We do not require you to have extra liability and insurance for your bartenders, however, we do highly recommend this added security.
Visit ShowCase of Citrus for sweet wine!
6 Do you require event insurance? Wedding venues are requiring couples to hold event insurance more and more frequently because it protects everyone from the unthinkable. We do require our couples to purchase event insurance for your event. We are partnering with Indemn so that it is easy for you to obtain your event insurance. Once you have booked we will provide a link for you to easily purchase your insurance. Your vendors must also be licensed and insured and you must provide a certificate of insurance with an endorsement sixty (60) days prior to your event for each vendor.
5 Do you allow dogs? There are many places that do not allow dogs unless they are service animals. This is a good question to ask if you are a couple who is hoping to include your pup in your wedding. Here at LOTL, we love our furry babies and so yes, we do allow for dogs to accompany you on your big day. We do require that they have a human companion with them at all times; if any messes are made, we also expect for them to be cleaned up in a timely manner. We have specific areas for disposing of feces as well.
4 Are there hotels nearby? This is an important question because you will have people coming from all over the country and possibly the world! It is helpful to provide places for them to stay. We recommend The Wave Hotel, and The Courtyard By Orlando Lake Nona are both a shuttle away and provide for a fun night spot for your guests.
3 Do you have a rainy day back up plan? So. We live in Florida. Enough said. Well, I won’t just leave it at that. This is an excellent question to ask your venue because there is always a high possibility for rain especially if you are choosing to be married during the rainy season because, well. It’s Florida. LOTL has a rainy good day plan- our summer weddings have opted for this!- that allows you to have a beautiful wedding despite the weather. We can describe this for you when you take your tour with us, which you can schedule easily by clicking here.
2 If we want to move forward, how do we lock in our date? It is important to know the steps for saving your date and how the venue will work with you to make the process straight-forward and easy. Here at Lavender on the Lake, this is a very easy process with no surprises. You will provide us with some information for the pertinent people in your planning process, such as your partner and perhaps a parent or wedding planner. Next, we will provide you with a contract through our portal for you to take a look at prior to electronically signing and putting down 1/3 of the total payment. (You may use a credit card, check, or cash.) You will receive a reminder for the 2nd payment halfway and the final third is due 30 days prior to your event. There are no added fees other than taxes plus the discussed damage deposit and your purchase of the event liability insurance.
1 What is the cancellation policy? Unfortunately things do arise, so it is good for you to know how the venue would handle things if you needed to cancel your big day. For our LOTL couples, if cancellation is made more than 365 days prior to the event, 75% of the rental payments made to date are refunded, and 25% shall be retained by Lavender as liquidated damages. If cancellation is made 240-365 days prior to the event, 50% of all rental payments made to date are refunded, and 50% shall be retained by Lavender as liquidated damages. If cancellation is made less than 240 days prior to event, the rental payments made to date shall not be refunded, and shall be retained by Lavender as liquidated damages.
It is crucial to ask all of these questions so that you have the knowledge needed to select the venue that will allow you to have the day of your dreams!
Thank you so much for checking my blog out! I have been featuring 5 locally owned venues with each of my blogs in support of locally owned businesses. Choosing a venue that is locally owned provides a higher level of service, expertise, and dedication.
Paradox Wharf Waterfront Event Venue
XO
Shelley
