Send a venue coordination packet that answers the hard questions

A compact, current packet gives the venue and vendor team the same facts about access, layout, contacts, rules, and contingency decisions.

Do not make the venue reconstruct your plan from a proposal, a floor plan, and six email threads. The coordination packet collects the operational facts that affect the property and other vendors while leaving creative detail in the appropriate appendix.

Include the working facts

• Cover and contacts. Event names, date, guest count, service hours, venue contact, couple’s coordinator, vendor lead, on-site phone numbers, and an escalation contact. Identify who can approve changes or additional charges.
• Access plan. Arrival windows, loading entrance, vehicle size, parking, elevators, stairs, security procedures, keys or badges, and the route guests will use. Flag accessible routes and any step-free equipment path.
• Layout and infrastructure. Revision-numbered diagrams, table and equipment footprints, power locations, cable paths, rigging requests, water access, waste handling, and areas prohibited to vendors or open flame.
• Rules and approvals. Insurance documentation, sound limits, décor restrictions, flame policy, permits, tenting, fasteners, cleanup, and the venue’s required approval dates. Attach actual approvals rather than writing “approved” without a record.
• Contingencies. Rain or heat decision point, alternate layout, emergency exits, shelter or evacuation instructions, and the person who communicates the call to every lead.

Review it as a team

Ask the venue to mark conflicts directly: a door reserved for catering, a protected floor, an outlet already allocated, or a strike route that crosses guest departure. Resolve those conflicts before sending the final version to the wider team.

Assign and maintain it

• Owner: The vendor lead assembles their packet; the coordinator consolidates the event version; the venue operations contact confirms property-specific facts.
• Timing: Send a working draft before the production meeting, walk unresolved items on site, distribute the final packet with the master timeline, and bring an offline copy.
• Checklist: Version, contact sheet, diagrams, insurance, access, accessibility, utilities, restrictions, approvals, emergency plan, and load-out requirements.

A short acknowledgment from the venue is valuable, but silence is not approval. Escalate unanswered items that affect safety, access, or contracted service before they become wedding-day surprises.

A wedplan.ai guide on the Venue coordination board. More planning guides.