The Site Visit

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

If you have been in or introduced to the event industry for any length of time you should be somewhat familiar with "the site visit." Obviously, site visits are critical when you will be working some place you have never been before. They allow you to get a gauge for space, layout, flow, and also potentially meet with the people you will be working with on-site.

But also, something you may not have considered - site visits can be valuable networking tools. Try visiting a site where you have not worked a wedding before but would like to. Remember to be reasonable, and pick places that would be feasible or likely for your typical clients to be interested in. For example, if you typically service low budget brides, touring a mansion would not be in your best interest. Exploring a venue that has potential for your clients will not only give you one more place to recommend (or steer clear from, if your experience there is not positive), but also give you one more place that might refer your services.

So, when you go, put yourself in the shoes of the bride - ask questions that your brides would want to know about the venue:

• How many people can it accommodate?
• What is the pricing for the venue? For the food, if applicable?
• What other rules and regulations do they have? (For example, can they bring in outside catering? What about an outside cake?)
• If applicable, what kind of room set up options are there?
• If applicable, where would the dance floor go?

And so on. Also, if you can, take photos. Photos from your experience will be a lot more real and convincing to your clients because they aren't the contrived ones from their website or marketing materials. Additionally, it will help you jog your own memory - what color were the walls? What was the flooring like?

Recently, the MasterPiece Weddings team made a site visit of our own to the lovely Black Diamond Ranch. Find out more about our visit here.