Venue stress

Yeah every venue says that cuz they never know if someone is booking the venue for the day before your wedding. however just pack all the stuff for the venue and leave it ready to go and when they tell you what day/time yoiu can go just go drop it all off. this happens to EVERYONE dont stress!

This was us. So, we had a plan for if we had the hall Friday and if we only had the hall Saturday. Then, we found out we could have the hall Friday, but the staff member we were dealing wasn't going to be there that weekend, so we were to call his second in command Thursday morning to see what time we could go there Friday. Well, that guy did not want us coming in on Friday because they had to get the tables and chairs set up and he didn't like when his boss told people they could come early. That's what stressed me out. My husband then called him and got it sorted out and we were able to go in on Friday. But, if Friday hadn't worked out, the guys were going to go in Saturday morning before they had to get ready to hang lights and friends were going to set up the centrepieces and ceremony space.

It was frustrating not knowing, but it all worked out in the end. Get people to help, have a clear plan laid out for them, and trust that they can do a good job!

The venue I have is setting up for me which is super convenient. I also got a Baker who will deliver and set up my cake so I dont have to worry about that!


Otherwise, try having a family or friend on standby willing to help you out on shirt notice. Don't stress yourself out on your big day.

We couldn't set up our ceremony space until an hour before guests were to show up - Yup, on HOUR! Thankfully, we had my godmother, our MC's wife, and some of my mom's friends who offered to set up since we couldn't before. We could set up our reception space, but a lot of the decor was also used for the ceremony so the decorating committee had a 2 hour gap to set up the reception.

I would see if there is a few people who'd be willing to help set up day of. Guys have more downtime than us gals so maybe see if your FH, groomsmen, and dads can set up morning-of. I'd also talk to your venue about what to say to the rental company. If your space isn't available the night of, the venue might be able to store stuff until set up the next morning.

I work for a venue and more often than not we have a Friday wedding so our Saturday couples can only set up the morning of. (or Thursday events before a Friday wedding).

1 - don't panic, I promise you you'll have enough time if all your diy elements are complete and your boxes are organized that is half the battle. If the venue allows you to bring your stuff to the rehearsal or day before do that it saves at least an hour of loading and unloading the car

2- more hands doesn't always means a faster set up ... I've seen groups of twenty people set up less decor than 3 people who understand where everything goes. Sometimes family or friends helping set up are so in their heads about if they are doing something right and either nag the bride or take forever

As for your specific situation re: rental company

Your venue will probably appreciate and be more willing to help you coordinate rentals if they are coming in day of (rather than day before when they might have another event to worry about). Maybe you do get the venue the day before BUT maybe you don't so

tell the rental company to come day of .... if you do get access to the venue the day before awesome - set up everything else and then you only have the rentals for the morning. additionally, I don't know how your rental company calculates days but that might also potentially save you some $$$

It is pretty common not having the venue the night before. This is so they leave the space open in case they are able to rent it to someone. Remember it is a business for them and that extra time does cost money. Each venue is different. See if your venue has a place you can store your decor. It is easier to do set up when it is already there. Otherwise ensure it is all in one central location to ensure it is easy pick up and ready to go. DIY is always a challenge, however can be done. You will likely need the support of your wedding party and parents. My fiancé and his clan are doing most as I get ready, and I am going in after to touch up and ensure it was done correctly.

Check the contract. If there's nothing on there about the day before I would see what it might cost to guarantee that space is available to you when you need it. It might be worth it to reduce the stress.

The wedding coordinator should have a definite answer for you to set up. The rental company should be arranging with them if your not able to get any word the week before the wedding day. The stress to you of last minute notice is improper on their end.

View quoted message I did consider this actually, but most of my stuff is diy and the decorators and they like when you rent from them. I do have a day of coordinator already who will help with the set up and take down, but she won’t be doing it all alone.

View quoted message That’s a good idea! I didn’t even think of that. Thank you so much!

View quoted message Good point! I will have to do that.
Congratulations!! I can’t wait, it’s coming so fast!

I have no idea if this is a possibility for you but have you considered a decorator? I never would have considered it except that it cost extra to rent our venue the Friday for set up and the Sunday for clean up. It actually would have been another $900. The lady I was working with at the venue suggested looking at a decorator. She sets everything up the morning and takes it all down for you. All we have to do is drop off our centrepieces (she could have provided those as well but I had something already). In the end it’s costing me about the same as if I would have paid to get the venue longer and all my friends and family can’t stop thanking me for making it so they don’t have to decorate or clean up.

Maybe you could have your rental company contact your venue directly so they could work something out? If they still can't commit to anything specific, I'd put a trusted friend or family member in charge of setup on the morning of, then if you get in the night before it will be a bonus!! That way you can still relax and enjoy getting ready knowing that someone you trust is handling the setup!

We have this issue with our venue except it’s likely we can’t set up anything the night before because there’s a golf tournament.


I think what we are working on is bringing stuff to the venue anyway for them to store for us. Then the venue employees will place things where they need to be.
I would talk to your venue more to see if they have a storage area you could use.

Double check your contract! if they originally said you could be in the night before and it’s in your contract, they can’t take that back!


ps - i’m 06/06/2020 too! great choice!