How to get recommended by wedding and event venues
Every venue gets asked the same question most weeks: who do you recommend? This is how a venue decides whose name it gives, and how to become one of those names.
Who they are
Venues come in every shape: function centres, wineries, golf and bowls clubs, hotels with a ballroom, restaurants with a private room, heritage homes, farm venues and university or council venue collections. Most have an events or wedding coordinator who runs dozens of events a year and talks to every client before the day.
That coordinator's reputation rides on the whole event, including the parts the venue does not control. If the florist is late or the hire company scratches the floor, the client remembers the venue. So coordinators keep a short list of people they trust and give those names out when a couple or an event client asks.
Venues also buy. They need cleaning after events, gardens and lawns kept up, pest control, carpet and window cleaning, and photos of their own spaces for marketing. A venue can be a referrer and a customer at the same time, often through the same person.
What they’ll ask a new supplier for
- A public liability certificate of currency in your trading name, current on the event date. $20 million is a common minimum for venues and events.
- The venue named as an interested party on that certificate, if their terms ask for it.
- Workers’ compensation cover for any staff you bring on site.
- Any licence your trade needs, such as a food business licence for caterers and cake makers.
- Your bump-in and bump-out needs: access time, vehicle size, power and setup space.
- Photos from events at their venue, or at one like it.
- Your rough pricing, so they can give clients a fair idea before passing on your details.
What they buy, and what they pass on
Photographers
Couples ask the coordinator early. Venues also need fresh photos of their spaces for their website and listings when a room or garden changes.
Florists and stylists
Recommended for almost every wedding. Coordinators favour the ones who know the room, the bump-in rules and what fits through the door.
Celebrants
Venues with a ceremony space get asked for celebrants all the time, especially by couples from out of town.
Cake makers and dessert
A common question from couples, and coordinators prefer suppliers who deliver on time and set up without fuss.
Hire, lighting and AV
Furniture, marquees, lighting and sound. A venue recommends the companies that know its power points, loading dock and finish times.
Cleaners
The venue’s own buying: post-event cleans, carpets, windows and kitchens, often after every event or on a weekly schedule.
Landscapers and gardeners
For venues where the garden is the selling point. Regular maintenance, plus extra work before the busy season.
How they choose who to use
They have seen you work
A coordinator recommends people they have watched on a busy Saturday. One good event at the venue counts for more than any brochure.
You make their day easier
On time for bump-in, out by the finish time, following the venue’s rules and leaving the space clean, without being chased.
Your paperwork is ready
A current certificate of currency in your trading name, sent before they ask.
Clients come back happy
Couples and event clients tell the coordinator who was good. That feedback travels.
You suit the venue
A rustic winery and a city hotel ballroom attract different clients and budgets. Coordinators recommend suppliers who fit theirs.
Getting on their list
Venue lists work in three ways. Some are exclusive: only listed suppliers can work there, which is most common for catering. Some are approved: anyone can work there once the venue has checked their insurance and briefed them on the rules. Most are preferred: a list of names the venue suggests, while clients can still bring their own.
The way on is usually the same. Work an event there first, do it well, then ask the coordinator what their process is. Send your certificate of currency and a few photos from that event without waiting to be asked. Some venues charge suppliers to be listed or ask for a share of bookings. If one does, ask what you get for it and whether clients are told. Our guide to getting on a preferred supplier list covers the wider process, and business partners explains how these arrangements work.
How to approach them
Start with venues you know
List the venues you have worked at in the last year and the ones closest to you. A venue that has seen your work is your easiest yes.
Find the right person
Write to the events or wedding coordinator by name, not the general manager or the bookings inbox. The name is often on the venue’s website.
Lead with a real event
Mention the date and the room, and what went well. Offer photos from that day they can use.
Send the paperwork early
Attach or offer your certificate of currency and any licence. It removes the first reason to say not yet.
Stay in touch once a season
A short note with new photos of their space or a date you have free. Not every week.
A first email that works
Hi Sam, I’m Jess, a florist in Toowoomba. I did the flowers for a wedding in your courtyard back in March and loved how the afternoon light came through. If you keep a list of florists you send couples to, I’d like to be considered. I know your bump-in rules, and I’m happy to send my certificate of currency and a few photos from that day for your own use. Is there a form I should fill in, or would a quick chat be easier? Thanks, Jess
An example only. The business is made up.
Three mistakes that cost the work
Sending a catalogue to the general inbox
It lands with whoever answers bookings, not the person who recommends suppliers. It rarely gets passed on.
Pushing against the venue’s rules on the day
Running over the finish time or taping things to walls is what a coordinator remembers. It can take you off a list for good.
Paperwork that doesn’t match
A certificate in a different name, or one that has lapsed, makes you look like a risk. One university’s event guidance says suppliers who delay or withhold it should be avoided.
Businesses that work with venues
Part of More business relationships. See every kind of business we write to on Who buys from you.
Questions people ask
Do venues charge to be on their supplier list?
Some do and many don’t. If a venue asks for a fee or a share of bookings, ask what it includes. If a venue is paid for recommending you, the client should be told: secret commission laws apply in every state, and in several states they can catch the business that pays as well as the one that recommends.
Do I need $20 million public liability?
Not always. The amount usually comes from the contracts and venues you work with, and some trade licences set their own minimum. Many venues and councils ask for $20 million, so check what your venues want before you renew.
How long before a venue recommends me?
There is no set time. Most coordinators recommend people after they have seen them work, so the first event at a venue matters more than the first email.
What if the venue only allows listed suppliers?
Then the list is the only door. Ask the coordinator how suppliers are added and when they next review it, and get your documents in order before you ask.
Should I contact the venue or the couple first?
Both matter, but they are different jobs. A couple books you once. A coordinator who trusts you can send you couples for years, so the venue is worth the extra effort.
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