Read to party: success in wedding & event planning means staying on top of changing tastes, trends.

As an essential component of club operations, the hosting of weddings, golf outings, and other special events can also be an effective way of marketing a club to prospective members. Tapping the full potential of these functions, however, means paying special attention to changing and evolving tastes--from menus and decor to the size of the events themselves.

At the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, FL, for example, the club has been able to literally double their number of weddings and event bookings over the last several years. This has been accomplished by keeping one principle in mind: "We try to create as exclusive an event as possible," said Manda Aiken, assistant F&B director at Ocean Reef Club. "We give everything a completely customized approach."

Likewise, at Stonebridge Golf Links & Country Club in Smithtown, NY, "We have increased our business every year now for the past five seasons," explained Paul Riedman, CEC, executive chef and F&B director at Stonebridge. "A well-executed event gives the guest a true sense of what the club has to offer."

Changing Styles

One of the foremost areas of changing member and guest expectations comes in the area of weddings. As has been the case for the last few years, the notions behind what's included in the traditional wedding offering have been transformed by new preferences coming from brides--and grooms.

"We do about 26-30 weddings per year. Our members' guests are coming to Ocean Reef Club as a destination, so we need to make it special for them," Aiken said. "We're entertaining guests for two, three, and even four days. Guests will show up on a Wednesday and we'll have events running on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." The weddings at Ocean Reef typically range in size from 90-250 people, but they have gone as high as 300-350.

According to Aiken, "We focus on creating themes for our brides and grooms that will carry across throughout all of the weekend events. For an Italian theme, for instance, we'll do a Panini Open where we will prepare freshly grilled sandwiches. We try to capture the feeling in a food title or in a style of service." A trend that Aiken sees a quite often modern weddings is that they are based around themes that are of importance to both the bride and groom.

Furthermore, formal is being mixed with casual as couples look for a balance in their wedding events. "At Ocean Reef we are seeing more of an intricate style of rehearsal dinner, though Friday night will be the kickoff event for the weekend. For that we'll put together a theme party on the beach, doing things like a clam bake, lobsterfest, or a 'Margaritaville' (based upon by the song by Jimmy Buffett), with Caribbean buffet stations to coincide with the event."

Sixty percent of the weddings at Ocean Reef are planned from inception to be staged outside, though the club makes contingencies to quickly move the event indoors if the weather turns sour. "We have 98,000 square feet of meeting space in total here at Ocean Reef, but we only use about 30,000 square feet at any one time. When we plan our outdoor weddings and events, we'll also set up decor inside as a backup. We determine how everything can be packed up and moved inside in case the need suddenly arises."

Another trend that Aiken has noted over the last several years is that parents used to design the weddings, but now brides and grooms have much more to do with the process. "Generally speaking, couples tend to be a bit older than they were in years past, so they come into the wedding planning process with more interest and a better sense of what they want to include in the event." In terms of decor and design, "These are not the single color palette type of weddings that you used to see a generation or two ago," she said. "Couples are looking for something elegant; and by elegant, that does not mean stuffy. There are ways of incorporating modern fabrics and designs in a tasteful way that looks contemporary yet still has a classic, conservative type of feel."

At Stonebridge Golf Links & Country Club, "We did about 17 weddings last year, and many of these were smaller affairs," Riedman said. "In general, we're seeing many more bookings for weddings in the fall; October is an especially busy month. In addition, we're seeing more weddings taking place on Sunday instead of the more traditional Saturday."

In 2005, Stonebridge hosted a tented outdoor wedding involving 250 guests. "The biggest challenge was that we had to close the club for the day in order to set up," Riedman said. "We really wanted to pull out all the stops, and to complicate matters, the couple didn't want to walk on grass at any point during the event." To accommodate this request, "the tent company built a complete floor on the inside of the tent. This actually took longer to prepare than setting up the tent itself," Riedman explained. "The wedding took place over Memorial Day weekend, so the tent was set up on Wednesday, but the floor wasn't done until late on Friday. Nonetheless, it all worked out great."

At Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA, the biggest outdoor event the club ever hosted was to celebrate the grand opening of Thunderbird's new clubhouse in 2001. "We had a total of 620 people at that event. We could hold around 300 people inside, with an outdoor tent capable of hosting 320," said Javier Solorzano, clubhouse operations director at Thunderbird.

On the subject of outdoor weddings, Aiken noted: "Outdoor events are inherently more challenging; we have to set up very early in the morning so as not to disturb the general membership." Also, Aiken steers away from the use of tents. "After all, why would you tent the Florida sky?" However, she pointed out that the advantage of an outdoor wedding is that you don't have to spend so much attention on the decorating details, as it tends to get lost against the canvas of the natural setting.

Menu Matters

For weddings and special events in general, there is a renewed emphasis on the quality and diversity of the food. At Thunderbird Country Club, Solorzano emphasizes the importance of theme dishes set up in a number of interesting, creatively used buffet stations. "A popular dish at Thunderbird is paella--a Spanish dish of chicken, shrimp, rice, and vegetables," he said. "We do a very small number of private parties per year in our season, which runs from November through May, though April and May are our biggest months. We tend to go primarily with the buffet stations, though we occasionally will do a sit-down."

Likewise, the split away from formal dining and a broader appeal for more casual events is a pervasive trend that doesn't look to be diminishing any time soon. "We tend to see a lot fewer sit-down events for the various outings and events that we have," Stonebridge's Riedman said. "During the 2004 season, if we did 30 outings, only 10-12 would be sit-down. I also see people getting more casual with their themes--barbecue is in big demand, especially theme barbecues for dinners. Also, no name cards for seating, as people would much rather have a more relaxed setting."

The stations approach works particularly well for Stonebridge's wedding events. "For a stations wedding reception it can be basically a glorified cocktail hour," Riedman noted. "Say if there are 100 guests, they will go into a cocktail room and sample from between 10 and 12 hors d'oeuvres, passing them for around an hour. Everyone in the wedding party is then introduced, and then all of the guests can pick from several different types of stations--pasta, carvings, Oriental, raw bar, and chafing units. People tend to circulate more with this type of reception, and it is more casual and relaxed."

Ocean Reef Club's Aiken added: "A favorite casual element that we include in our wedding events is the use of a themed beverage that we hand out to guests as they walk from the on-site wedding chapel on their way to the reception." The drinks include the "Reef Cup"--a potent 'sailor's drink' that is a signature beverage at Ocean Reef Club; tropical fruits mixed with champagne; and the "Mango Bango," a fresh rum drink. Ocean Reef Club also promotes their locale's Cuban influences through the serving of the Mojito.

Speaking of locale, Aiken suggests that it's always a good idea to spice up an event menu with flourishes that reflect your club's location, seeing as many of the guests may be out-of-town visitors. "Incorporate foods from your locale into the menu. Here, we may offer a black bean soup served in a coconut shell. It's important to take that extra step to make every little detail unique. You can also serve up a salad with a piece of bamboo in it--again, just to bring that element of the locale into the menu." Furthermore, "Weave the event's color palette into the food that's served. Events are truly a sensory type of experience--understand what you want your guests to feel."

A wedding planning veteran--having owned her own catering company before coming to Ocean Reef Club--Aiken sees one of the greatest differences now than in years' past is in the knowledge people have of food. "The popularity of such things as the Food Network is really broadening people's understanding and appreciation of food," she said. "There also seems to be a return to the importance of sharing a feast with family and friends, and really understanding the value of making these occasions stand out."

Flexible Planning

To further accommodate members' changing preferences, try to be flexible enough to accommodate their specific needs and requests--particularly those who are looking to keep things small.

"Since buffets are a more casual atmosphere, we can get away with having one or two waitstaff per a table of 20," Riedman said. "For a sit-down dinner you have to have an experienced staff that knows wine service, how to clear, how to get temperatures just right. For those situations we will have at least one waiter per table of 10."

He continued: "You can't sell a $135 per head wedding for $90, but you can make different arrangements and be flexible in some areas to make the event happen. This approach has worked out for us, as people will come to us again and again for the different events in their lives. For instance, for some members we've done the bridal shower, the wedding and reception, and then later on a christening and first communion."

By better understanding your members' tastes and preferences when it comes to their special events, you can better serve your existing membership and better position your club for added gains in the future.