Wedding Venue Flower Access: The Coordination Checklist

Get the load in window in writing

The first question is not what time the wedding starts but what time the florist may enter the space. Many venues host a function the night before and will not release the hall until it has been cleaned, which can be as late as three hours before your guests arrive. Ask for the entry time in writing from the venue manager, not verbally from whoever answers the phone. Then ask the florist how long their setup needs, honestly. If the two numbers do not meet, you have a problem to solve now, with an earlier release or a smaller install, rather than at four in the morning.

Map the route from the truck to the stage

Flowers arrive in a vehicle and end up on a stage, and everything between those two points is where the day goes wrong. Walk the route yourself. Where does the vehicle park and for how long. Is there a service entrance or must everything come through the lobby. Are there steps, and how many. Is there a service lift, what are its internal dimensions, and does it need a key or an operator. Is there a corridor turn too tight for a two metre arch. Send the florist photographs of the route, not just the hall. A garland arch that cannot enter the lift becomes two garland arches assembled on site, which is a decision to make in advance.

Power, water and the boring essentials

Ask where the working power points are near the stage and the entrance, and whether they are live during setup. Ask where the nearest water tap is, because conditioning flowers on site needs buckets filled repeatedly and a florist carrying water from a bathroom two floors down loses an hour. Ask whether there is a cool room or a shaded holding area for boxes, particularly for a Bengaluru afternoon or a Kerala morning. If there is none, the florist needs to plan a later delivery for the perishable items rather than let them sit in a hot hall from dawn.

What the venue will and will not allow

Venues have rules that rarely appear in the brochure. May anything be nailed, taped, stapled or drilled. May anything hang from the ceiling grid, and is there a weight limit. Are open flames, candles or diyas permitted. Is loose petal scattering allowed or does it attract a cleaning charge. Are marigold strings permitted on painted walls. Is there a restriction on the height of an entrance structure. Are there designated fire exits that must stay clear. Get these in one written list and hand a copy to the florist, the decorator and the photographer at the same time.

Name the people

Every access problem is solved faster when the right two people can call each other. Before the week of the wedding, exchange numbers between the venue's on duty manager, the florist's site lead, and one family member or planner who can make a decision. Do not make the bride or the groom the contact. Put the three numbers on a single sheet and share it. Also decide who signs for deliveries, who counts vases and props on arrival, and who is responsible if an item is missing at the end, because rented vessels and stands go missing at almost every wedding.

Sequence with the other vendors

Flowers cannot be installed on a stage that is still being built, and lighting cannot be focused on an arrangement that has not arrived. Agree a rough order: structure and drapes first, then lighting rig, then flowers, then final lighting focus, then sound check. Give each vendor a slot rather than telling everyone to arrive at six. Two teams working in the same three metres will slow each other by more than the time either would take alone. Ten minutes on a shared sequence saves an hour on the morning.

Plan the teardown before the setup

Ask what time everything must be out, and whether that is the same night or the next morning. Many venues charge for an overnight, and many will not allow a team back in at six the next day. Decide in advance what the family is keeping, what is being given away to guests, what is rented and must return, and who is physically carrying it. If arrangements are being taken to a second venue or to the family home, name the vehicle and the driver. Teardown is when tempers are short and things get broken, so it deserves a plan of its own.

Build a buffer into the timeline

Whatever the setup estimate is, add ninety minutes. Traffic in Bengaluru, a lift out of service, a hall released late, a flower delivery from Hosur that leaves an hour behind, any of these will eat that buffer. The buffer is not a luxury, it is the difference between a florist finishing calmly and a florist still tying garlands while the first guests are seated. If the ceremony is at an auspicious muhurtham that cannot move, the buffer must be bigger, because there is no possibility of delaying the start.

The one page access sheet

Put all of it on a single sheet and circulate it: venue name and full address with a map pin, gate to use, parking instructions, load in time, setup deadline, ceremony time, teardown time, lift dimensions and key holder, power point locations, water access, fixing rules, restricted areas, and the three names and numbers. Send it a week ahead and again the night before. Every wedding we run has this sheet, and it is the least glamorous and most useful document of the whole project.

If you would rather not run it yourself

Coordinating access is exactly the kind of work families should not be doing on the morning of a wedding. If you want us to hold it, tell us the venue and the date through the begin page, or read the experience page for how we structure a day. If you are only ordering flowers from us, we will still send you this sheet to fill in, because the flowers are only as good as the hour they arrive. You can see current pieces in the bouquets edit.