There’s always such anticipation when it comes to your wedding day. Getting ready, riding to the venue, taking photos, enjoying some cocktails, and of course, saying “I do!” What a lot of couples tend to overlook is the end of the night clean-up plan. Luckily, Castle Farms has thought of it all.
Firstly, we recommend designating someone to be in charge of getting your cards to a safe place. Most card boxes do not come with locks. Mid-evening, during dinner time, have that designated person(s) take your card box full of cards (or empty the cards into a bag if you’re using a Castle card box) and store them safely in a locked car. Most groups will have dropped their gifts and cards off when they enter into the reception! The remaining gifts can be taken at the end of the evening.
When it comes to closing down your event, the Assistant Venue Coordinator will be your best friend. They, with the help of your caterers and bartenders, will handle wine returns, clear tables of empties, and take out the trash. Assistant Coordinators will also remove our table linen, stack our included chairs, clean up the restrooms and close down the building.
At the end of the night, it’s important that you take everything you want to keep with you when you go. We recommend making a list of everything that needs to be taken and designating a parent, relative, or member of the wedding party to handle gathering these items. With that being said, make sure there is a vehicle that can carry those personal items, especially if you are using a shuttle service. The guest(s) you’ve delegated this task to may need to drive a separate vehicle, ready to pack your decorations in.
You can easily store labeled totes and boxes out of site under cake tables or gift tables so they are nearby at the end of the night. Whatever you don’t want to keep will be taken care of by the Assistant Venue Coordinator, and either be thrown away, recycled, or donated. If you or a guest accidentally leave a personal item, such as a shoe or piece of jewelry, don’t worry! They are set aside in a lost-and-found and are recorded in an email sent post-wedding.
When planning decorations, be mindful of what could make a big mess and instruct people helping you pack up to be careful packing up floral arrangements or anything that might leave a trail of things to clean up (i.e. pine needles, glitter, small jewels, etc). We recommend bringing a box or bag to each table these delicate items are on and carefully brushing them into the container so they don’t have to travel freely and risk falling on the ground. Though rare, if our Housekeeping Team spends an excessive amount of time cleaning up items, like the prior examples, we may need to charge an extra clean up fee. So thoughtful décor planning, great communication to those setting up and tearing down, and smart clean up methods are key!
When planning your wedding, it’s easy to focus on the fun, exciting portions of the day. It’s sad to think about your big day ending, but it’s best that everything is packed up smoothly and efficiently, to ensure that everyone leaves with a smile on their face!