EDITION 6 | The Quality of the Answer Depends on the Quality of the Question

Before a venue can show you what it could do for your event, it needs to understand what you're asking it to create.

Imagine sending three venues an email saying you're planning a birthday for 80 people in October and asking them to send through their packages.

You'll no doubt get three packages.

Perhaps a brochure, some menus. Maybe a few photographs and a minimum spend.

The venue has answered the question it was asked.

Now imagine telling them that it's a 50th birthday for 80 people. You want cocktails rather than a seated dinner, guests arriving at seven, substantial food throughout the evening, a DJ and dancing later, a few short speeches, a relaxed but elegant atmosphere and an indication of what you're comfortable spending.

That's an entirely different question, and it gives the venue the opportunity to provide an entirely different answer.

Great proposals don't start with great venues. They start with great briefs.

A good brief isn't about telling a venue how to do its job. In fact, the opposite is true.

It gives the people who know the space far better than you do enough information to use that knowledge.

They know which part of the room works beautifully for arrival drinks. They know whether 80 people will feel comfortable seated or whether the space comes alive as a cocktail event. They know where a DJ works, how service flows and which menu makes sense for the evening you're describing.

But they can't know what matters to you unless you tell them.

And there's another advantage to a clear brief: comparison becomes considerably easier.

When several venues respond to the same event, you can compare their costs and ideas rather than trying to work out why one has quoted a three-course dinner, another has suggested canapés and the third appears to think you're planning a conference.

Everyone starts with the same information.

A good brief leaves room for ideas.

It doesn't need to be enormous. It doesn't need to contain every decision you've yet to make. At this stage, some things should still be open.

What it needs is enough clarity to describe the event as you currently understand it: who it's for, approximately how many people are coming, when it is, the style of event, the food and beverage direction, and important requirements.

Then leave room for the venue to surprise you. Because that's the part that can get lost when briefing is treated as administration.

A great brief doesn't restrict creativity, it gives creativity somewhere to begin.

ElleQ turns the foundations of your event into a clear Brief you can send to venues, so they understand exactly what you're asking them to respond to.