Common Mistakes to Avoid When Booking a Wick Venue for Your Event

Booking a venue in Wick is rarely the hard part. There are hotel function suites, community halls and larger rooms in the town centre, and outside the busiest weeks of summer you can often find a date without much fuss. The problems turn up later — a deposit that meant something different to the person who took it, a room that seats eighty but not eighty with a dance floor, a guest who cannot manage the step at the door.

Almost all of the mistakes below can be avoided with one visit and a page of questions. None of them need a bigger budget. They just need asking before any money changes hands.

Assuming the date is free, and that it suits everybody

A Saturday in July in Wick is not the same as a Saturday in February. Weddings, galas, fundraisers and family parties crowd into the warmer months, and the best-known rooms go first. If you have a fixed date in mind, ring round early rather than assuming you will sort it a few weeks beforehand.

The date has to work for your guests, too. People travelling down from Thurso, up from Lybster, across from Orkney on the ferry or in from the crofts will have their own timings to think about, and a venue that suits you may be awkward for them. Winter daylight and the state of the roads in January affect whether people arrive on time, or at all. It is worth checking what else is on in town that weekend as well. Two large events on the same evening means a fight for parking and no taxis free by eleven.

Deposit confusion: what you are actually paying for

Deposits cause more arguments than any other part of venue booking, usually because two people left the conversation with different ideas. A booking deposit is not the same as a damage deposit, and neither is the same as a cancellation fee. Ask which one you are paying, and get the answer in writing — an email is enough.

Before you hand over anything, work through these questions:

• Is this a booking deposit, a damage deposit, or both?
• Is any of it refundable, and what would stop it being returned?
• When is the balance due, and how does the venue want it paid?
• If your numbers drop, do you still pay for the number you first booked?
• Is there a minimum spend on catering, the bar, or staff hours?
• When can you get in to set up, and who holds the keys?

A booking that exists only in a phone call is not really a booking. If the sums involved are significant, or the terms are complicated, it is sensible to take proper advice before signing anything.

Capacity, layout and the numbers that catch people out

"Seats 120" can mean 120 people sitting in rows with nothing else in the room. Add tables, a buffet, a bar, a band and a space to dance, and the same room may be comfortably full at sixty. Ask what the figure refers to — standing, theatre style, or seated at tables — and ask to see a floor plan or walk the room yourself with a tape measure.

Think about the less glamorous spaces as well. Where will people queue for the buffet? Where do coats go? Is there somewhere for a band to leave cases? A quick visit at the same time of day as your event tells you more about light and noise than any brochure.

Accessibility checks best made in person

Websites and photographs hide steps, gravel, narrow doorways and long walks from the car park. If grandparents, wheelchair users, parents with prams or anyone with a mobility issue is coming, go and look.

• Is the main entrance step-free, and is there a second entrance that is not?
• How wide are the doorways, and is the accessible toilet clear of stored tables and chairs?
• Where can a car pull up close to the door to drop someone off?
• Is there a hearing loop, and does anyone know how to switch it on?
• Is the lighting bright enough for people to move about safely?
• Is there somewhere quieter for anyone who needs a break from the noise?

In winter, add ice and lighting on the path outside to that list. It is the venue's job to grit the car park, but it is your job to ask whether they do.

Catering, bars and outside suppliers

Find out early whether you can bring your own food, whether the kitchen is available and at what time, and who washes up afterwards. If the venue runs a bar, ask whether you may bring your own drink and what corkage would cost. If you are supplying alcohol at a public event, an occasional licence may be needed; check with the venue and the licensing authority rather than relying on hearsay.

Outside caterers usually need the venue's permission and should carry their own insurance. Ask about allergen information, bins, and where food can be kept cold before serving. Music licensing is worth a question too: check whether the venue's own cover extends to your event or whether you need to arrange something separately.

Sound, curfews and the small print that ends the night early

Ask what time the music must stop, what time the bar closes, and what time the building must be empty and locked. Those three times are often different, and the last one catches people out. If you are clearing up yourselves, add an hour to your plan and check whether anyone has to stay to lock up after you.

A hall in the middle of a residential street will have tighter limits than one standing on its own, and a neighbour on an early shift has more influence than most people realise. If a band is playing, ask when they can set up and sound check. A two-hour window in the afternoon is worth more than a rushed half hour at seven.

A short checklist before you commit

None of this takes long, and most of it can be done in a single visit.

1. Confirm the date, the hours you have the room, and the get-in and get-out times in writing.
2. Agree what the deposit is for, what is refundable and when the balance falls due.
3. Check the realistic capacity for the layout you actually want.
4. Walk the route from the car park to the door, and check the accessible toilet.
5. Settle catering, bar, corkage and clearing up before the deposit goes down.
6. Write down the music curfew, the bar closing time and the lock-up time.

Book in person if you can, at roughly the hour your event will run, and keep every reply in one email thread. A venue that answers awkward questions clearly is usually a venue that looks after you on the night, and that is worth more than a small saving on the hire fee.

Photo: Tama66 / Pixabay