Six boxes and a note saying tables
On Friday afternoon, the couple's parents drop off six boxes at reception. Inside are table name cards, jam jar lanterns, a welcome sign on an easel, a seating chart board, a box of favours, a guest book, a card post box and a cake knife and server set. The only instruction is a note from the couple: see our Pinterest board.
On Saturday morning, the setup team does its best. The welcome sign ends up by the wrong door. The favours go on the tables before the couple wanted. On Sunday, the card box, which should have gone home with the parents, is in the office, and the lanterns are mixed with the venue's own.
Decor arrives without a plan attached
Couples spend months choosing details, but the handover to the venue is a box and a verbal instruction. Setup teams work from memory of the final details meeting, if they were there. Nothing records what was dropped off, and nothing makes sure it all goes home.
- Items are not listed when they arrive.
- Placement is described in words or on a mood board, not per space.
- Venue-owned and couple-owned items look similar.
- Valuable or sentimental items, such as cards and heirlooms, are not flagged.
- Collection is not arranged with a named person.
Small mistakes that couples remember
Couples notice when their details are misplaced or missing from photos. Losing a card box or a family item is serious, and even a lost sign damages goodwill. Setup teams lose time hunting for instructions, and the Sunday team spends time sorting what belongs to whom.
How we build a couple decor list
- In the couple's planning area, they list each item they are bringing, with a photo, quantity and where it should go, choosing from your spaces: ceremony room, drinks, wedding breakfast tables, evening.
- They mark items that are valuable or sentimental, such as the card box or family heirlooms, and who will collect them.
- Drop-off is booked in a slot, and at drop-off staff tick items off the list on a tablet, photographing boxes.
- The setup team gets a placement sheet by space, with photos of each item and the couple's reference images.
- At the end of the night, flagged items are gathered to a set place and handed to the named person, with a tap to confirm.
- Anything left is listed for collection, and the couple is told what is waiting and until when.
| Item | Where | Flag | Goes home with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome sign and easel | Main entrance, drinks | None | Parents, Sunday |
| Card post box | Wedding breakfast room | Valuable | Best man, end of night |
| Cake knife set | Cake table | Sentimental | Mother of the bride |
| Jam jar lanterns | Tables, evening | None | Collection Sunday |
The morning of setup and the morning after
The setup team works from photos and a placement sheet instead of guesswork, and the room looks like the couple imagined. At the end of the night, valuables go to the right person. On Sunday, the collection list is short and clear, and nothing of the couple's ends up in your storeroom.
Is your venue in this position?
- Couples drop off decor without a list.
- Setup staff place items from memory or a mood board.
- Couple-owned and venue-owned items get mixed up.
- Card boxes or sentimental items have gone astray.
- Items left behind wait in the office for weeks.