Wedding Venue Management

Management of wedding venues involves many parties and hence comprehensive and effective communication is crucial during planning. For any activity to succeed, it requires rigorous participation from all the parties involved. Miscommunication results to people not being able to attain all their expectations. Communication involves passing message from one point to another and applies to both human beings and non-human living things such as animals. Communication is said to be complete if the receiver of the message sends back feedback in succession. It cannot be one way. The whole process involves several components such as the sender of the message,  the receiver, the message, the medium for transmission ensuring that the messages arrive at the receiver and feedback. Without any of them, then the process is incomplete. In a business setup, noises can be presented in the form of social or cultural, or political influence. This can either have a positive or negative effect on the activities. To successfully run or manage wedding venues, one needs to be alert on the social dynamics in the environment. This is because a wedding is a social activity and things need to be done in line with societal acceptability. The owners of the venue together with the vendors need to update their standards every time to be at the same pace with the changing times. The growth of technology makes it easy for developers of this business especially in the enhancement of communication (McQuail & Windahl, 2015).

Strategies for planning

 Initially, there is a need to establish goals which are attainable, specific, and bound within a specific time frame. The different group’s involved need to be identified and thorough analysis of their responsibilities done to enhance easy planning. This includes clients, different vendors, involved departments, the owner of the company and all the staff with their equal potential. The marketing team plays a significant role because they are the able to sell the name of the company services through different channels and ensure accessibility by the clients. They are to ensure communication platforms such as the website is always updated with the newest events. The social media platform also help in reaching out to the massive population within a short period. This involves the use of the uses and gratification theory of communication whereby the clients are to be informed on the package composition and all their questions answered to exhaust their curiosity. The marketers can distribute printed details of the services as well as run advertisement through televisions.

Different people who access the information will analyze it and find if it fits with their demands and needs in wedding planning. They will, therefore, decide to contact the service providers for further information. Moreover, this will result in an interaction between the service providers and the potential clients for the development of trust. The target groups are supposed to be identified during marketing, and this mostly involves the young adults who are fond of technology and social media. The marketers are expected to be rigorous and use all marketing skills such as language and sample photos to convince the customers that their services are good. This is the group within which many are planning for weddings and getting married. Through the website and social media, communication is comprehensive such that those interested can get clarifications where needed. This helps in identifying potential customers who can further be followed up at a personal level. That involved planning to meet them one on one for a review of the services on the ground (Daniels & Loveless, 2013). The potential clients require consistent communication for this shows the determination of service providers. This needs to be done personally because of the different levels of interests of the clients.

On meeting with the customers, the facilities offered are to be presented to them alongside their costs and a whole package. Depending on their budget, the service providers help them in selecting a package but ensure that all the requirements are included. In California, the specific venues have their n preferred vendors who are recommended, but an allowance is given for the clients to propose other external vendors of their choice. The vendors are the major wedding planners and are required to meet with the clients on time. It is very important for them to master the client’s budget to fit in the services going for the set budget without exceeding the clients’ pockets. 

The vendors include décor specialists, musicians, wedding photographers and videographers, bridal hair dressers and accessory specialists, florists, wedding planners, jewelers, hotel room hosts, beauty or makeup experts, bar service providers, calligraphers of the invitation card, caterers, wedding cake suppliers, rentals personnel, transportation providers and travel specialists, and newlyweds services. The vendors are supposed to work hand in hand with the venue providers and therefore effective communication needed (Daniels, Lee & Cohen, 2012).

In case the clients come with their vendor list, they need to be linked to the facility providers so that the two parties can work as a team. The two need to be in contact two or three times before the wedding day. The décor specialist needs to view the facility, identify the venue’s theme color, shape and size to determine how to blend them with the theme color to bring out a pleasant decoration. The theme color is a choice of the clients, and so the socialists are expected to be familiar with all colors and understand their meanings and impressions. Human psychology is to be considered whereby the wedding guests’ feelings and emotions need to be lightened up on the wedding day. In relation with the facility or venue, the décor is supposed to blend perfectly and ensure that no somber mood is portrayed. This is an essential form of communication. Nevertheless, the guests’ interpretations of the view should relate to something jovial, away from their busy and stressful lives. The motive behind the inclusion of every color should be to lighten up an atmosphere for celebration (Daniels, Lee & Cohen, 2012).

Innovativeness

Several things make the California weddings different. The venue owner does a lot of research and work hard to be as innovative as possible when introducing new unique ideas into the business. Most of the prefer forming partnership with vendors rather than working in separate ways. Depending on the venue, either garden, halls, or religious venues such as churches, vendors are carefully selected to match with the services. They are normally categorized according to the cultural themes of their target clients. On choosing their partner vendors, they communicate of urgency of partnering. The interested vendors apply, and after being thoroughly scrutinized, the adequate ones are selected, and the deal is a seal in the form of a signed contract. The contracts entail rules, regulations, limits, and consequences applied upon any violation of the rules. The contract reveals the seriousness of the business and every personnel assigned in the different segments are designated for specific responsibilities according to their description. 

Marketers

The marketers are expected to ensure a consistent flow of customer into the premises. Use of technology in the communication eases their work. They make sure that many mass media platforms such as television and radio are contracted to advertise for the venue. Social media is cheap and enables very many people to be reached within a short time. Those interested send quick messages of interest as they are linked officially with the company’s contacts to get more information about the services. The marketers however expected to remain cautious about the noises that may interfere with the original information being passed out to the public. The physical noise may be poor internet transmission or a massive population missing the information because of their interior location where a network connection is very poor. 

They need to consider that group and look for other means of reaching them for example through newspapers, text messages radio. This is because not only the residents of California become customers but also people from different states just because of the unique services offered. Another type of noise which they need to be careful about is social noise. It is not proper for them to ignore all the social influences because some are very beneficial and can play a role of value addition in the business. Therefore, the helpful part should be preserved and applied in the activities whereas the harmful influences should be kept away for safety. For example, during marketing, some customers may be very fast to comment negatively on the services advertised which may reduce the interest of others who may be potential customers. The marketer is expected to assume them and in turn, increase more force in spicing up the information to attract more customers. On the other hand, some client may lovingly criticize some areas which if taken positively, correction can be done to improve those areas. Furthermore, competitors may social affect the progress, and the marketer, as well as other vendors, should treat them with love. They should view them as a source of strength to propel them to another level. Furthermore, they should be able to pick and learn about new ideas from the competitor and show no attitude of jealousy (Fields & Fields, 2013). The other type of moist is culture. The wedding trends are greatly influenced by culture. The venue in California is classified in themes which are culture related. That state has people representing a wide variety of culture, and none of them need to be isolated. Therefore, the marketer needs to be culturally sensitive when presenting the marketing skills. They should, however, be careful not to be misled by some irrelevant cultural issues and mainly focus on those that are shared across the states without compromise.

Venues characteristics

The venues need to run continuously either in or out of wedding seasons. The high seasons are always during summer and festive seasons. This is when most of the people are on vacations and can find ample time with their loved ones. These venues are not expected to be busy only at this time because of the high population. Bookings need to be done across the year and clients can do it as early as one year to the wedding. This time allowance is very crucial for it will provide time to meet with clients, check their budgets and also meeting with different vendors who are to work at the venue on the wedding day. Depending on the type of venue, the vendor is expected to offer efficient and satisfactory services. This time will also be enough to enable the venue owner to identify all communication noises and be able to sort out the useful ones. They should act with diligence and loyalty to the customer such that all services to be charged equally regardless of the client’s financial ability. If the space for specific dates is already full, they are not to do replacements in favor of those who come for late booking. Furthermore, it is not prudent for them to overlap bookings to make extra profits (Winkler, Meyerson & Carrigan, 2014). They should aim in satisfying the clients first and making a profit to come second. There should be a rule that all clients to set a date of visiting the venue in person and being able to interact with the vendors such as the caterers, photographers,  videographers and décor specialists. Since the vendors work in collaboration with the venue, it becomes easy and time-saving to meet all of them within a short period. The service providers always ensure that the package offered is of good quality and as affordable as possible. At the first payment of deposit or any point of payment, the client should be given a date for décor exhibition as well as agree on the date of wedding rehearsal while accompanied with other wedding participants such as brides,  groomsmen maids, and best man/woman.

Venue Decoration

The décor specialist should get clear and precise information from the clients on the theme color, types of flowers and the preferred arrangement. Communication needs to be done one on one because if all the details are received through phone calls or emails, there may be an invasion of communication noises cause incomplete delivery of information. They should make sure to ask as many questions as possible for clarifications. Some clients have very busy schedules and may prefer social media. Photos can be easily sent through the platform through the color shades may be missed resulting to improper work. Furthermore, media communication may make the bride prone to misconception. If the wedding venue is a garden, there is a need for the guests to have a feeling complete aeration and tranquilizing effect. The environment should be as natural as possible and additional nature accessories such as waterfalls; forecast can be of added advantage. The specialists need to blend the new flowers with the already existing ones in a harmonious and blending manner to bring a feeling of uniformity. Though the choice f color is determined by the bride, the florist needs to understand how they can shape the coloring to fit the size and general shape of the venue (Cienki, Fricke, Ladewig, McNeill & Teßendorf, 2013).

Communication accommodation theory

This theory applies when the venue organizers communicate with the bride or client. Despite their expertise in venue organization, they should yield to the requests and ideas of the customers, making sure the scope of their customer’s interest is properly understood. This means that they should try their best to accommodate their way of communication to that of the customers. Attention should be made on learning the client’s personality and be able to accommodate it. On the other hand, depending on the location of the venue, regardless of the ethnic background of the venue owners, the surrounding communities’ ethnicity needs to be considered and prioritized. This involves accommodating the cultural noise and indulging any beneficial cultural ideas into the development of the venues main activities. Converging of the main societal ethnic beliefs brings out the identity of the group, and this will make many people who identify with the culture feel attracted to get the services. Therefore, the approach of the company to how they perform their routine rituals should be a reflection of their many ethnicities.

Organizational information theory

The venue owners need to be open in receiving information from outside sources either directly or indirectly as long as the information is useful. The members’ creativity and wisdom in sorting out, selecting and keeping in the useful information will determine the rate of growth and improvement of their services. This is because no one is perfect and achievement comes from continuous learning and correcting of mistakes. In group thinking, the members may tend to be monotonous in their opinions and fear to bring out outstanding new ideas because they are not sure on how it would be received. However, getting out of the box during brainstorming acts as a perfect eye-opener to a higher level of innovation. This is also a good means of diminishing the concept of equivocality which is a killer of organizational development (Braithwaite & Schrodt, 2014).

Communication from the bride’s perspective

The bride is the determiner of how the wedding day would be like. All the pictorial view of the ceremony is a result of the hard work of the bride. Many cases have occurred whereby the bride complains later after the wedding of how things turned out not as planned or as communicated to the service providers. Most issues are related to the venue in association to the specific vendors involves. All the mess can be prevented before the wedding only if communication is handled more seriously and cautiously. From the brides’ side, she is expected to be close with the service providers to be aware of every single progress. First, she should be present physically at the venue before settling on it and resolving to make the booking. The other option especially if too busy, she needs to select a trusted event planner to cross check all the venue across the area of interest with fixed opinions on the prefers characteristics of the one she prefers. The planner needs to concentrate only on the places whose bookings are not done on their chosen date from the wedding. They should, therefore, rule out the one that is already books to make it easier. This can easily be done through phone calls to their offices. They need to initially search online for all the available venue around the area of interest to avoid wasting time and resources going from one place to another physically (Fields & Fields, 2013).

Rhetoric theory

Before settling for a venue, the bride should look at the following essential of communication from the service providers. First,  their choice of words and language of persuasion is based on logic. This is because some marketers will use only sugar coat theory language to win them over but have nothing to prove of all their claims. This means that they should walk around the venue to ensure the appearance in size. Color and serenity are what they wanted. They should meet all the vendors responsible in each docket included in the package as well as being able to see a sample of their work and be content. Secondly, their emotional approach should be able to blend with that of brides because the whole planning period demands a lot of closeness and interactions. Furthermore, an individual’s emotions tell a lot about their personality and caution should be taken against infidelity to the agreement. Lastly, the service provider should be ones who value the customers’ ethical demands. For example, if any information needs to be confidential, they need to uphold that. They also need to treat the client’s satisfaction as the priority and not making profits. This can be recognized during cost negotiations whereby a good service provider will subsidize the prices unless with a genuine reason not to (Braithwaite & Schrodt, 2014). They can also be tested if later after the wedding, the pictures will not be used for advertisements without the consent of the clients.

Benefits of bride’s effective communication

After settling for a venue, the two parties need to soberly negotiate on the payments and whether the bride will accept the whole package including vendors or just partly. The decision made should be respected and no unnecessary enticements required. The communication needs to be clear on what services are offered apart from availing the venue. A good venue owner will give out offers as a sign of appreciation if the bride decides for the whole package. It is good for the bride to prepare before the meeting on the decision to make to be firm and decided. This is because if the unprepared decision is made, there may be an interference with the already set budget. On meeting the vendors, they should officially present an overview of theory work mostly samples of what they have done before. Photographers and videographers need to show theory already captured photos and videos and explain every beat of the process to the bride. In case of any dislikes from her, she needs to give feedback immediately. The dislikes should fro if the bride realized something that is contrary to what was said before during marketing. Upon such as scenario, the bride has the right to demand compensation or correction which if not adhered to she can terminate the contract. However, it is more logical to withdraw a single segment rather than terminating the whole contract because it can cause more expenses for her to begin the whole process of looking for another venue.  By this time she may end up not getting any with that date unoccupied, and this can be so frustrating. Communication involves more than just verbalism. In fact, nonverbal communication passes much more communication (Jureddi & Brahmaiah, 2016).

Social exchange theory

The theory emphasizes on the fact that any relating parties receive satisfaction only if their self-interest are recognized and have a way. Self-interests can either be handled positively or negatively. It is not a bad thing because when the parties recognize each other’s’ self-interests, each will make an effort not to frustrate their counterparts and this eventually develops the relationship to a mature level. In an instance of wedding plan agreement between the client and the service providers, the opposing ideas eventually lead to the two parties settling on a concrete agreement. This is because both parties thrive to get a return which is fair and just and the interpersonal posit does exactly that. However, when dealing with the vendors, the bride usually have more of their self-interest having a way because the can drop the vendors any time a reach for another with better deals (Braithwaite & Schrodt, 2014).

Uncertainty Reduction theory

It is natural for the service providers to have a hard time communicating with the bride on the first official meeting. This is because the two parties have different backgrounds and levels of exposure. It takes time for them to merge their understanding. However, as time goes by, they get to familiarize with each other’s areas of interests which may be social, cultural or ethical. This can easily be identified in their cognition level and behavior. They mostly act in uncertainty on how they can behave in front for each other because at that moment it’s difficult to predict the response from their counterparts. Communication is, therefore, the best tool to decrease the uncertainty because it acts as an entrance to an individual’s mind. Nevertheless, if an individual gets educated on how to communicate about human psychology, he or she will find it easy during business negotiations. A client can be able to distinguish genuine deals from fake one just at the first conversation with a service provider. That can end up saving them from loses and frustrations (Braithwaite & Schrodt, 2014).

Conclusion

Wedding trends are always seasonal, and the venue manager needs to be always alert to mark the changes of time. Any client will appreciate if their dream wedding turns out just as they wished. On the contrary, it can be a great disappointment if all they wished for used not come to pass. All this can be determined by choice of venue and other services during wedding preparations. In California, most of the venues get filled up with bookings before the end of the first quarter of the year. This is because of the growth of communication due to the developing technology. However, technology growth is in turn accompanied with more technical challenges that need to be handled with more effort than before. For example, a lot of hackers have found their way into many organizations’ systems through their malicious testing on the internet. This demand a lot of professionalism in wedding venue management and organization to remain on track. Furthermore, the majority of the clients get exposed to many venues available, and this had resulted to some venue gaining more fame than other hence much imbalance. Also getting one’s services to be aired in advertisements needs a lot of money. That is however advantageous because of more input results to more profit.

References

Braithwaite, D. O., & Schrodt, P. (Eds.). (2014). Engaging theories in interpersonal communication: Multiple perspectives. Sage Publications.

Cienki, A., Fricke, E., Ladewig, S. H., McNeill, D., & Teßendorf, S. (2013). Body-Language-Communication

(pp. 310-319). C. Müller (Ed.). de Gruyter.

Daniels, M. J., Lee, S., & Cohen, T. (2012). The attributes influencing wedding reception venue selection. Event Management, 16(3), 245-258.

Daniels, M., & Loveless, C. (2013). Wedding planning and management: Consultancy for diverse clients. Routledge.

Fields, D., & Fields, A. (2013). Bridal Bargains: American’s# 1 Best-Selling Wedding Book: Secrets To Planning A Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget. Windsor Peak Press.

Jureddi, D. N., & Brahmaiah, N. (2016). Barriers to effective communication. Journal of English Language and Literature, 3(2), 114-115.

McQuail, D., & Windahl, S. (2015). Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge.

Winkler, D., Meyerson, R., & Carrigan, E. (2014). U.S. Patent No. 8,750,906. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.