Fastlane Wedding Events?

[jas0441]

I own a boutique winery in a tourist area. There is a tremendous need here a for wedding/event venue. I am asked all the time if we 'do weddings'. I'd like to capitalize on this need and I think there is money to be made in the wedding business. I will have to invest in a new building or luxury party tent, kitchen and catering equipment, etc.

My question is: can a wedding/event venue be fastlaned? I could hire someone to manage it for me, but is that just another slow lane idea?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

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[Gary]

It may not be fastlane, but it could certainly allow you to wring out more dollar/square foot out of your current business. The upside to getting into the wedding business is the complete abandon at which people spend money, and if you're planning on supplying the food and beverage as you alluded to, most of that money will be in your pocket, not vendors. The downside is the family's emotions and the singularity of the event (nothing can go wrong). If you're fine with that pressure, push onward.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it. One piece of advice: buy used kitchen equipment. At 50 cents or less on the dollar versus new, it'll help keep your investment low so you spend more on marketing your new service.

 

[jas0441]

Thanks Gary for the feedback. I think it is a good idea too but wanted to bounce it off this forum, always a good source of ideas.

 

[awesom-o]

I wouldn't hesitate to do it. One piece of advice: buy used kitchen equipment. At 50 cents or less on the dollar versus new, it'll help keep your investment low so you spend more on marketing your new service.

I've been stung here before! Always be very careful buying pre owned kitchen equipment. I brought a used com. dishwasher for just under half the price of new. Managed to get 20 or so cycles out of it before I had /to get a repair company onto it. Once I paid 2x call out fees and around 2 hours labor to conclude the machine had such a build up of internal limescale it was a write off.

Imagine you're prepping a main for 100+ wedding guests waiting at the table and your kitchen equipment stops working...the equipment is so integral to your business one disaster like this could be hard to come back from word of mouth travels far/fast. From now on I always buy new or pre owned with warranty from a reputable dealer.

I'm in the events industry and just looking for a way out. Even with employees you'll find yourself managing 24/7 I've essentially created a job in the sector I'm in there isn't much scope for franchising etc.
With a venue however you could franchise it under a group name and expand however this will take time.

 

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[HsrJames]

Yes, I'm seeing it progress firsthand right in front of me. In my area there is a bar/grill setup, one of there locations is three doors down from my office, I talked to the owner many times when he first opened this location, his plan was to create an ideal store model and franchise FASTLANE. Anyways the guy that owns them is picking up serious momentum, opening new stores at a pretty rapid pace.

Here is how he created something awesome. He bought or leased a space in a shopping center and completely remodeled it, it has a great elegant foyer area (so you don't feel like your are at a bar) and you can go into the restuarant/bar or to the party venue. The venue has 3 party rooms that are beautiful, great bathrooms, etc. The food for the wedding or party is cooked right in the restuarant so it is fresh and restocked, they provide your own bartender etc. I think he has an awesome concept with this store because he is making money from the regular bar or restuarant people on a daily basis and also has the party venue that provides probably a lot of income on the site. If he franchises this he is going to do really well. I liked it enough to book an anniversary party for my sister there early next month.

 

[HsrJames]

Also, I'm in charge of taking the RSVP's for the event which is kind of a pain. I think there is a need with that also. I'm looking into it, there are several services, but it seems fairly labor intensive.