We love behind-the-scenes stories here, especially when it comes to incredible wedding venues like One Great George Street. We were lucky enough to get a tour from Gabrielle, who is currently preparing for their One Great Wedding Showcase on 21st September….
Where do you even begin with organising a wedding event?
During the week when the majority of our wedding show-arounds take place, the venue has rather a corporate look and feel. This is because at this time we host business meetings, conferences and other similar events. Therefore we really wanted to create a wedding experience, which will allow our couples and industry professionals to be fully emerged into a wedding event at the venue. From this initial idea we began to set our aim, objectives, targets and goals and the planning process began.
It must be a team effort – does everyone get involved?
Absolutely, we needed the entire team to buy into the Showcase in order to ensure this event will be the best it could possibly be. To make this happen, we have had individual meetings with various departments including events, audio visual and kitchen during which time we explained our aims and objectives and asked them for their specialised feedback and ideas. Everyone understands that this event will benefit the entire organisation. All departments are regarding this as an opportunity to show the public what they do and the services and products they provide.
It must be great to see all the preparation coming together. What is the hardest part of the planning one of these events?
It most certainly is great to see. It is wonderful to see what was once an idea on a piece of paper to gradually come to life! Having said this, we are well aware that with an event like this there are elements out of our control. We have gone to great lengths to advertise and publicise our Great Wedding Showcase but when it comes down to it, we are unable to determine how many people will attend on the day. One Great George Street has not opened its doors to the public to showcase its function spaces for quite some time. I have been fortunate to have organised similar events and from experience sometimes the numbers exceed your expectations and sometimes they do not. The important thing to remember is to remain focussed on providing the finest service and to showcase the venue in the best possible way. For this reason, we are positive that it will be a memorable and enjoyable experience for all whether we have 60 or 150 guests.
We are also very privileged to work with some amazing suppliers who will heavily contribute in creating a fabulous atmosphere on the day.
Flowers, décor, staff… Is every part of your venue showcased?
It is easy to get carried away with everything tangible and the visual components of the event. I have enjoyed spending time with the florist, theming company and stationer to go through colour schemes and displays to determine how to best showcase every element on the day. However, our aim to showcase the venue in the best possible light goes beyond flowers and props. We are ensuring that we will not take any element for granted and wish to pay particular emphasis on our people and the first-class service we provide. This is what we believe will excite our guests.
You must be really looking forward to meeting all those couples and helping planning their weddings! What do they usually ask about first?
Yes I can’t wait; I can honestly say that I enjoy my job and what I do. My role is to help coordinate couples’ wedding days which is one of the most important and joyous occasions of their lives. A positive result of this ensures I deal with people who are generally excited and happy to work with me. I am looking forward to meeting the couples who are interested in hosting their wedding celebrations at OGGS during our showcase on Sunday 21st September 2014 and hope they enjoy their experience.
With regards to the first questions couples ask, this is an unanswerable question for me I am afraid as this varies from couple to couple as different things are important to different people. What I can say is that I will do my best to answer them to their satisfaction so hopefully they will decide OGGS as their perfect wedding venue and allow me to help them on their journey in planning their wedding day.
For more details on the One Great Wedding Showcase, check out their website here.
