Once you know the why behind the event and have found a space that you think meets your needs, it’s time to visit the site in person. An advance visit will not always be possible – sometimes the client will secure the space before discussing it with you, and you’ll be forced to work with what you’ve got.

But for now, let’s assume that you’re going to have the luxury of choosing the space yourself, and you are able to do an advance site visit. Here are the most important actions to take during that all-important site inspection:

Become a Shutterbug. Take pictures of every part of the venue. They don’t have to be professional quality photos. Just use a digital camera or your phone and start taking pictures of everything—even the bathrooms. These photos will help down the road when you’re doing the actual planning, but they’re also important to show to the person who is paying you to produce the event.

Measure the Doors. You must also have accurate measurements of the doors. It’s absolutely amazing how often event planners overlook the issue of how they will get all of their décor, equipment, and people, as well as any oversized items, inside a building. An oversized item is typically an object your client rented or has had custom-created for the event. Let’s say the event must include a giant, eight-foot-tall, welded, rotating sculpture of the world, showing where all the corporate offices are located—which has been fabricated in one heavy piece. Your event is in a 10,000 square-foot room, which is plenty of space for the globe and the guests—but what about the doors? Will the object actually fit into the room already constructed? Don’t become a statistic; measure the height and width of all doorways.

Measure the Room. Measure the room’s dimensions so you can make sure all of the elements needed to produce your event are going to fit. The stage, the dance floor, all the tables, the bar, the buffet line, and production control—all these things require space. You may think you know approximately how big a space is by eyeballing it, but once the room starts filling up with tables, equipment, stage, food, and people, you may soon find that your eyes are not as reliable as you thought.

Measure the Ceiling. It’s equally important to measure ceiling heights. Let’s say that instead of measuring, you take the venue’s word for it when they tell you the ceiling measures twenty feet high. Based on that information, you are confident that your eighteen-foot-tall stage set that is being custom built for the event (which costs big bucks) will fit with some room to spare. Here is how that could backfire: You get the set inside the building on the big day with no problem (you did measure the doors!), only to find that the part of the room where the stage is supposed to go has a soffit (a box that extends lower than the ceiling, often containing lights or speakers) that drops down four feet. What that means is that a twenty-foot ceiling is suddenly a sixteen-foot ceiling—and your stage set is now too tall.

Ask About EVERYTHING.  “When doing your venue inspection, don’t forget to ask all the seemingly trivial questions you can think of.”  Tweet This Quote

Here are some of the “little things” that you may not think to ask but could make a huge difference in the success of your event:

• If it is an outdoor event, are there lots of bugs at night at this location?

• Are there any issues with the plumbing? Are all restrooms in working order and regularly cleaned?

• Is the surrounding area safe at night?

• Any other special events or construction close by that might impact the event on or around the date of the event?

• Are there any unusual, less obvious rules or circumstances that we need to know about?

There are so many details which can be overlooked during a site inspection. Not for the prepared event planner though.  In detective like fashion, every detail is uncovered to reveal event venue suitability through proper questioning.  You can never ask too many questions during a site visit.

For more information on site visit planning, please download a copy of “GOING LIVE- Insider Secrets To Corporate Event Production”

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