Who is the band and when do they load in
At 10am on the wedding day, a van pulls up at the front door, not the service entrance. It is the band, three hours early, wanting to set up in the room your team is still dressing. At the same time, the florist calls to say she is on the way but has the wrong postcode, and nobody has her number because the couple booked her after the final details meeting.
Later, the photographer asks where they can charge batteries and where they will be fed. The DJ asks what time the music has to stop. Each question is reasonable, but each one pulls your duty manager away from the couple.
Suppliers are booked by the couple, not by you
Couples choose and book their own suppliers, sometimes from your recommended list and sometimes not. Details reach the venue patchily, and suppliers themselves rarely receive your venue information directly. The coordinator ends up as a go-between with incomplete information.
- Supplier names and contacts are sent by the couple in bits, or not at all.
- Arrival and setup times are not agreed with the venue.
- Suppliers do not have your access instructions, curfew times or rules.
- Documents your venue asks for, such as insurance or electrical testing, are not collected.
- Supplier meals are forgotten in the final numbers.
The cost on the day and after
Suppliers arriving at the wrong time or place disrupt setup and can clash with the ceremony. Missing contact details mean delays when something goes wrong. Documents your venue requires but never received put your duty manager in an awkward position on the day. Couples do not see most of this, but they feel it when their day starts late.
We do not decide what documents you require or check whether they are adequate. Your policies and advisers decide that.
How we build supplier lists for each wedding
- In the couple's planning area, they add each supplier with a name, company and contact email. Your recommended suppliers can be picked from a list.
- Each supplier receives a link to a supplier page for that wedding, showing your access instructions, parking, setup rules, curfew and a contact for the day.
- Suppliers confirm their arrival, setup and departure times, what they need (power, a table, a meal) and upload the documents you ask for.
- Missing details or documents are chased automatically, and the coordinator sees gaps well before the wedding.
- A supplier sheet for the day lists everyone, their arrival slots and numbers, and goes to the duty manager and setup team.
- Supplier meals are added to the numbers for the kitchen automatically.
| Supplier | Arrives | Needs | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florist | 09.00 service entrance | Water, table | Received |
| Photographer | 11.30 | Meal, charging point | Not required |
| Band | 17.00 load in | Power near stage, meal | Awaiting upload |
| Cake maker | 13.00 | Cake table in place | Received |
What the wedding morning looks like
The duty manager starts the day with a supplier sheet: who arrives when, where they go, and a number for each. Suppliers arrive knowing where to park and when to set up because they read your supplier page. Gaps were found and fixed the week before.
Suppliers who work at your venue often begin to appreciate the clarity, which helps when you want to recommend them.
Is this your venue?
- You find out who some suppliers are on the wedding day.
- Suppliers arrive at times that clash with setup.
- Your supplier rules are in a PDF couples may not forward.
- Documents you ask for are often missing.
- Supplier meals are left out of final numbers.