Vendor FAQ

Couple: Please forward this page to your vendors!

If you are a Vendor and have been hired or are about to be hired by one of our Blenheim or Seven Ponds couples, this page has helpful information, answers many questions, and contains our policies.

NOTE: If you are unable to accommodate the needs of the venue as detailed below, please let your client know right away, and if signed, offer your client a full refund. And please let us know so we can remove you from our vendor list.

Joining the 10-day Zoom call!

We ask that the lead person, the MC, the primary contact for each vendor join a short Zoom call with the couple and our team ten days from the date of their reception. You will receive a Zoom invitation link from your couple; please sign in on time, as the early portion of this Zoom call is dedicated to vendor relations. If you cannot attend, make sure a representative from your team joins the call and updates the vendor that will be at the farm.

Showflow or Reception Timeline

Our couples depend on you, the bands, and DJ to discuss the audio flow of the evening. You may assist the couples in deciding what activities and announcements are recommended and in what order, and, of course, what music they want for their wedding. Our team must sign off on any filan timeline, and all vendors must review and acknowledge the final version. All vendors must follow the venue’s timeline or make sure that your timeline matches ours in terms of key events.

IMPORTANT: We require that all bands and DJs playing at our venue follow a detailed Reception Timeline for the evening. When you discuss the timeline with the couples, please use our Reception Timeline which has key markers for when food is served and when key announcements are made. To be successful at our venue, you must collaborate with the couple and our venue, and carefully follow the timeline that has been agreed upon. You may not deviate from that timeline or change it without approval from the venue manager (the manager will consult with the couple). Please ask the couple to share a copy of the Reception Timeline so you both base the evening’s activities on that template.

When you and the couple have a draft Reception Timeline, ask the couple to immediately share it with us so we can give everyone our feedback. Once it has been approved by our venue, it cannot be changed, and it cannot change during the evening either. That is important since our team, your team, our couples, and their families, rely on a mutual understanding of the timeline. If one party decides to change something last minute, it can create confusion and possibly create a disaster. Note, it is inevitable that the timeline fluctuates some, but the order of events must stay the same (unless it is agreed by all three parties that a change is beneficial). If there are delays to the timeline, even if it is beyond your control, it is your responsibility to consult with the venue about how we can catch up.

MC & Announcements

MC and announcements are an essential part of the Band and the DJ’s role at our farm, and those communications must be agreed upon by the couple, the farm, and yourself. Here are a few key announcements that generally take place at our farm:

-Introduction of couples and usually the bridal party or parents.
- Timely announcement of seating for the meals served.
- Introduction of speeches and dances.
- Announcement of bus departures with a 15-minute heads-up.
- Please note that the meals are pre-chosen by the couples and guests DO NOT place orders during the reception. Please NEVER announce that guests may choose protein or other choices for their meal.
- The couple should share with you their menu, and it is up to the couple if they want you to announce what is being served (especially if they do not have a menu card at the tables)
-When announcing the entree service, please highlight that much of the food is grown on the farm, foraged on our land, or otherwise acquired locally.
- Please announce clearly that dessert is served at the Dessert Bar and not at the table, and where that dessert bar is located in the barn.

Power & Space—Indoor Outdoors

The farm has dedicated outlets in the reception barn, at the ceremony site, and at the cocktail hour areas. There is ample space for everywhere for the musicians DJs to set up and play. Please bring ample extension cords for your needs, and make sure they are of heavy gauge so they provide reliable power to your equipment. We have a generator onsite in the unlikely event of an area power failure. 

The cocktail hour area is outdoors but is covered under a tent. The primary ceremony area is outside and it is not covered; however, in the event of rain, the ceremony will be held indoors or under a backup tent. Please make sure that your ceremony setup is light and mobile if it needs to be moved at the last minute and that you have some cover to protect the equipment if there is some light temporary rain. If moderate to heavy rain occurs, we move under tents or indoors. It is windy where we are up in the mountains, so also please make sure your equipment is not susceptible to noise from wind. At our venue, you will be responsible for the audio and entertainment for the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and afterparty is optional. There is ample power nearby at all three sites, however, it may be faster and easier to use battery-powered equipment at ceremony and cocktail hour.

Wi-Fi

The farm has fiber optic connections and they are as fast as in most places. While it is unlikely for the Wi-Fi service to fail, we require that all your equipment function normally if there is a short moment or longer moment of lapse in Wi-Fi service.

Food and drinks

All our vendors who perform a service during the reception will be served the same food as the couples and their guests. We require the couple to acquire food and beverage packages for all the vendors who work during the reception. Vendors will offer to eat at Entree time and will be served before the guests so that they can be ready to continue their performance or service right after Entree service. Exception: If there are speeches or parent dances (that require photos or MC to operate a mic and make announcements) during entree time, vendors will be served immediately after those speeches or dances are concluded. Vendors will have a private space to break and enjoy their food. Vendors may not eat during the cocktail hour. Our vendors love the farm because of the food we serve.

Vendors are not served alcoholic beverages as it is not included in the beverage package that the couples will purchase for you. If you want your team to enjoy an occasional beer or a glass of wine during your service, please ask the couple if that is ok, and they have to upgrade to the vendor alcohol beverages package. We do not serve hard liquor to vendors under any circumstances, and we do not serve vendors if they appear intoxicated. 

Certificate of Insurance

Bands and DJs are required to carry insurance and name the farms as additionally insured. Please refer to this link for information about what we require in the COI.

Arrival at the farm

Vendors must arrive at the farm in ample time before their services are needed. Arrival time varies greatly from vendor to vendor. Photographers should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to any contracted picture times, and leave at least 30 30-minute grace period in the event of any cumulative timeline delays throughout the evening. Hair/makeup please check in directly with the bride and the family at the farm-house, at the agreed upon time. Band and DJ’s should arrive at least at 2PM for set up, if you also are responsible for ceremony and cocktail hour. Musicians vocalists, and assistants can arrive later as long as they do not need to drive clos to the venue to unload anything. The latest a vehicle can be brought close to the barn is 3:30. After that, that area is pedestrian only.