RNZYS Events Blog – Did the summer of 2022 come with a ring?

Did the summer of 2022 come with a ring?

Congratulations – Getting engaged is such a wonderful and special time for you, your partner and your family!

However! After the initial rush of excitement, often the weight of planning a wedding can settle in, and very quickly become overwhelming.

We often meet couples rushing out on their lunch break to see our venue, laden with multiple venue function packs in their hands and not even knowing where to start.

We completely understand this feeling, but feel confident that with our simple guide below, you will be well on your way to getting the most important things set, so you can shift your focus to enjoying the occasion!

Tip 1  – have an ideal date

It is helpful when approaching wedding vendors to have an ideal date or day of the week in mind, with some flexibility. Going in with this will save a lot of ‘back and forth’, and help you be able to make decisions quicker – keep in mind, many wedding vendors book out months in advance.

Tip 2 – figure out your guest numbers

For weddings, guests will usually make an extra effort to attend as it is a very special occasion! We would advise making a wish list of all guests you would like to invite, and make sure to check in with close family when making this list – often parents and close relatives will have other guests they wish to invite too, which can affect the overall guest numbers.

Tip 3 – Decide on your dining style

There’s three different dining styles that you can have for an event.

1. Seated dinner – either plated or buffet. In most cases when this style of menu is chosen, event venues will allocate an area for guests to gather first drinks and canapes before sitting down, which is good to ask about.
2. Walk and fork style menu. This style of dining is for a standing style space, but feeding guests a dinner sized meal served ‘canape’ or ‘platter’ style. Because standing style doesn’t require as large a space as a seated function, choosing this style of menu can sometimes mean a cheaper venue hire price.
3. Casual drinks and nibbles. This style is best for events that are mid morning, mid afternoon or later in the evening, as catering is based on the assumption that guests have already eaten a meal before arriving, so a little lighter in size.

When visiting venues and deciding your dining style, dietary requirements are a detail that you can look at closer to the event once guest list is finalised.

A wedding is such a joyous event, of which planning the day does not need to overshadow. Our team at the RNZYS have hosted many beautiful weddings and are more than happy to assist at any stage of the planning process. You can enquire with our team here – events@rnzys.org.nz