Most important things to remember when planning a private party in a village hall
Venue
With the task of running a party in a local small or village hall seeming like a straight forward thing we have produced a blog with some of the problems to watch out for. It is so important from that moment when guest first arrive to be as good as you can possibly make it. A lack of atmosphere that can feel really awkward can have everyone planning their excuses to leave before they have even sat down or had their first drink. Sound too loud to talk or lighting so bright that it feels like there are no dark areas to tuck yourself away into, can kill things off before they even start.
Make sure that the venue has enough parking for the amount of guests that you are expecting. Try to make sure that the walk from the car park isn’t too far from the front door and over a hard surface that isn’t going to turn to mud as soon as it rains.
Check that it has heating and that someone is going to be around to open the venue for your event and they know how to operate and unlock everything.
Make sure that the operating times fit with what you are looking for. No good trying to do a 30th birthday when the licence is only util 10pm.
Check out your entertainment in advance, read reviews and see if there is a possibility of seeing them perform in advance of your event leaving enough time to book someone else if you don’t think they are suitable.
Check the venue lighting after dark. Depending on the time of year bear in mind sunset times etc you should check out how effective the curtains are for when your guests arrive in the summer. If lighting is fluorescent and on just one switch you would need to turn them off and uplight the room with coloured up lighters to create some atmosphere.
Check that arrival background music is going to be played, either by the band or DJ or through the house sound system if suitable. Try the sound system in advance and bear in mind that it will be a lot quieter with people in the venue than when empty. Make sure that if playing music from your own device that you have the right leads and connections to plug in to the system. Really important that the background music is suitable for the guests and played at a volume loud enough to take away that awkward silence but not so loud that guests will go outside to chat.
Try to dress the venue with details that reflect either you personality or style. Just a couple of props or lit images at the entrance or on stage can make all the difference to a room that may not look great but with the right lighting can be completely transformed.
Lit LED table centres can be hired that will give a warm low from the centre of the dining and cocktail tables. The designs can be changed to suit the event and colour can be altered to suit the occasion they even be set on automatic colour change or fade for that even more impact.
