Your Celebration Menu, Weather and Supplier Checklist

Create one version of the event brief

Keep a concise record of the agreed date, space, function, guest count and service window. Add the name of the person who can approve changes. When an organiser, relative and supplier each carry a different version of the plan, even a simple event can become difficult to coordinate.

Date the working document and record important revisions. Send the relevant update to the people affected instead of forwarding every conversation to everyone. The hotel should know which version is current, while a florist or photographer may need only the approved access, setup and timing information for their part.

Turn menu preferences into decisions the kitchen can use

Begin with the proposed meal style and the number of people to be served. Collect essential dietary requirements, then ask the restaurant for suitable options. A list of favourite dishes is inspiration; it still needs to become a feasible menu for the agreed service and timing.

Ask when menu choices must be final and what can change afterwards. Clarify whether portions, courses or another service basis determine the quote. For any allergy, discuss ingredients and preparation directly with the restaurant. Do not turn a general description or photograph into a promise about dietary suitability.

Agree beverage and additional-item arrangements

Confirm which beverages are included and how additional orders will be handled. Decide who can approve extras, how they are recorded and who pays. Guests should not discover at the end of the event that the organiser and restaurant understood the invitation differently.

Ask about cakes, outside food, gifts or any other item you plan to bring. Confirm permission, delivery timing and handling conditions before placing a supplier order. Do not assume refrigeration, storage, serving equipment or a particular presentation is part of the package unless the hotel has agreed it.

Keep dietary updates accurate and private

Choose one way to collect dietary information and record when it changes. Ask the guest to describe the relevant requirement directly, then confirm with the restaurant how it will be addressed. Avoid abbreviations that different people may interpret differently. An organiser’s note that says “special meal” is less useful than a clear, private explanation of the question the kitchen needs to answer.

Before issuing the final list, check guest names and remove superseded versions from active use. Tell the hotel if a late update affects a menu already agreed. Ask how the relevant guest will be identified discreetly during service. This is a coordination process, not a guarantee of dietary suitability; the guest and restaurant should discuss ingredients and preparation where that is important.

Build the service timetable around the meal

Show the restaurant the sequence of arrival, speeches, photographs and other activities. Ask where the meal service fits naturally. A toast that expands unexpectedly can affect more than the programme: it may change when guests receive food and when the next activity can begin.

Leave a margin for greetings and ordinary delays, but agree the limits of the service window. If guests are likely to arrive in stages, discuss how the restaurant will manage that pattern. A realistic sequence gives the team enough information to advise without requiring minute-by-minute control of every conversation.

Give each supplier an approved scope

For every outside supplier, write down what they are providing, the approved location and when they may enter. Ask the hotel to confirm any conditions for equipment, installations or sound before the supplier commits to a design. A photograph of another event is not an approved specification for this hotel.

Clarify whether the supplier brings its own tools, staff and removal arrangements. Record who is responsible for damage prevention, packing and collection within the agreed terms. Keep the brief proportionate to the task, but do not leave access and departure to an informal assumption that somebody else will handle it.

Check the physical route rather than just the final setup

Ask how equipment and guests reach the proposed space. A decorative item may look suitable at the table yet be difficult to move through an entrance or around existing furniture. Request advice before ordering anything large, heavy or dependent on a particular power point.

Consider guest circulation once everything is in place. The agreed layout should allow the hotel’s service to operate and guests to move comfortably. If a person needs a specific route or seating arrangement, explain that need early. Do not assume access to one area proves access to every courtyard or rooftop setting.

Plan delivery and collection as separate tasks

A supplier may be able to deliver an item without being responsible for placing it, checking it or collecting it afterwards. Clarify each step before the event. Record who will receive the delivery, whether the hotel has approved temporary storage and what happens if the item arrives earlier or later than agreed. Avoid leaving a parcel or decorative object without a confirmed recipient.

Collection needs an equally clear instruction. A successful celebration can still end with uncertainty about hired items, flowers, packaging or personal photographs. Name the person who checks that the relevant belongings have been removed and follows up with the supplier. Keep the hotel’s access and timing conditions visible in the plan so removal does not become an unplanned disruption.

Write a weather decision that people can carry out

An open-air proposal needs a clearly described alternative. Ask which change is feasible if conditions make the original arrangement unsuitable, whether the guest count still fits and what it means for service. A fallback should be discussed while there is time to adjust the plan, not first considered as suppliers arrive.

Identify who reviews the conditions, when the decision is made and how the hotel, suppliers and organiser hear it. Confirm any revised charge or equipment requirement. The aim is a practical instruction people can follow, rather than a broad promise that the event will continue in some unspecified way.

Keep financial changes visible

Use an itemised record of the confirmed proposal and any approved additions. Note the final-number deadline, payment dates and who can authorise spending during the event. Even a modest celebration can exceed its intended budget when several people independently request small extras.

Ask how unused quantities, late additions, overtime or a weather-related move are treated under the hotel’s terms. Keep separate supplier commitments identifiable so you know whom to contact if the programme changes. A shared working budget is useful, but it does not merge several independent agreements into one guarantee.

Separate guest information from the supplier schedule

Guests need a welcoming note with the arrival time, location and any practical detail that affects them. Suppliers need a more detailed operating plan. Mixing the two can confuse guests and encourage several people to contact suppliers with conflicting instructions. Prepare a short guest message and a separate organiser’s schedule, using the same confirmed times.

If a change affects guest arrival, send one clear update through the agreed channel. Say what people need to do and whom they should contact; avoid forwarding an unresolved planning discussion. This distinction keeps the event hospitable while giving the operational team enough detail to work efficiently.

Hold a short final review

Before the event, check the guest number, menu, dietary arrangements, setup plan, access times, weather alternative and contact list. Ask each responsible person to confirm their own part. Focus on unresolved decisions rather than reopening every personal preference that has already been agreed.

Use the review to remove assumptions. If one item is still awaiting approval, mark it as pending and decide whether the event depends on it. A simple, confirmed arrangement is easier to deliver than an ambitious brief with several unclear elements. Send the final operational note only after important changes have been resolved.

Plan the close as carefully as the arrival

Agree how the meal concludes, where guests meet their transport and who collects personal belongings. Suppliers should know when removal can start and what must leave the property. Do not begin dismantling around guests unless that is part of a confirmed arrangement and suitable for the space.

Afterwards, reconcile the bill against the agreed proposal and approved additions. Share any feedback through the appropriate hotel contact, with specific examples that help explain the experience. Keeping the close orderly allows the people being celebrated to leave with their guests rather than spend the final part of the occasion managing loose ends.

• Current brief, guest count and authorised organiser
• Confirmed menu, dietary questions and beverage basis
• Supplier scope, permissions, arrival and removal times
• Approved layout and practical guest route
• Weather alternative and decision contact
• Itemised costs, change approvals and final review