How to Pick the Perfect Celebration of Life Venue (Including a List of Questions to Ask Venues)
Arrowood Photography
When it comes to planning a celebration of life for your loved one, people often find themselves thinking “How do I pick a celebration of life venue?” Thankfully a celebration of life venue can be as unique as the person you are honoring since there are no set rules you have to follow. The venue is a wonderful way to highlight an interest or passion that the honoree had. For example, if they loved golf the event could be at their country club. If they loved the ocean it could be at a coastal resort with a venue space. If they loved Napa wine it could be at their favorite Napa Valley winery.
If we haven’t met yet, my name is Lindsey Nickel, and I’m a celebration of life planner in the San Francisco Bay Area (I call Napa home and grew up in the East Bay). I help grieving families plan meaningful celebrations of life without feeling even more stressed out. Suddenly, things you didn’t think you cared about become important. If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place. I provide you with options, help you make decisions efficiently, and manage the event planning.
Many families know the general town or part of the Bay Area they want to host the celebration of life. The time of the year often varies on factors such as when will kids be home from college, if you want to have the celebration of life soon after the person died or far into the future, and preference for warm or cool weather.
Whether that vision is The Claremont Hotel in Spring, or a completely outdoor event in Fall when the leaves are changing, the venue is the foundation for planning the celebration of life.
When selecting a celebration of life venue, the most important considerations are:
budget
capacity
layout
date availability
weather plan options (heat waves in the summer and rain in the winter).
The initial search for a celebration of life venue in the San Francisco Bay Area can be daunting and overwhelming. Celebration of life venues offers a variety of information in different formats, which makes it challenging to compare them all. However, with some due diligence, you can find the perfect celebration of life venue to honor your loved one and make planning the event low-stress.
Jump ahead to:
How to Pick the Perfect Celebration of Life Venue
1. How to research celebration of life venues
Start by hopping on Google to browse event venues. You can try phrases like:
Celebration of Life venues
Wedding venues in _____ (insert name of town), for example, wedding venues in Orinda
Event venues in _____ (insert name of town), for example, wedding venues in Marin
Celebrations of life are a fairly new style of event in the event industry, so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t get many results from a “celebration of life venues” search. Think outside of the box for places like aviation museums, rose gardens, and hotels.
Be sure to check out my list of The Best Celebration Of Life Venues In The San Francisco Bay Area
2. Think about the celebration of life budget
Oftentimes families come to me without a budget in mind and that’s totally fine. They usually say they don’t know how much something like this costs. They are looking for nice, but not over the top. They also understand this is not the time to pinch pennies or cut costs. The main thing is that it’s important to be aware that this is an event where many professionals will need to be hired (venue, event planner, florist, music, sound tech, caterer, etc.), and that adds up. Also, the larger the guest count the larger the budget will be because more staff are needed, more flowers are needed and there are more moving parts.
At this point, you might be wondering, How Much Does a Celebration of Life Cost?
Milou and Olin Photography
3. Decide how many guests you will have at the celebration of life
When starting to look for a celebration of life venue, you will need to have an estimate of your total guest count. Will it be closer to 50 people? 100 people? More than 200 people? The number of guests will affect your venue options, so calculate your best guess. The capacity of some venues maxes out at 50 people, while other venues would feel way too large for that number and are more suitable for 120-plus guests. With a rough estimate of the time of the year and guest count, you will be able to quickly assess if a venue is a potential match.
4. Consider what the venue includes and what is not included
As you look at celebration of life venues online and receive information after you reach out, you’ll start to notice that venues are not apples to apples. Some venues (for example hotels like The Claremont Hotel) are turnkey and include rentals (tables, chairs, linens, flatware, etc.) and catering in-house. Other celebration of life venues have stunning outdoor spaces with beautiful views and you have to rent everything (or almost everything) and hire a caterer.
PRO TIP: One thing to be aware of is that the included rental items at a hotel or venue are usually more basic (white linens, standard flatware, banquet chairs, classic glassware, etc.), so you may want to invest in a few specialty rental items like pretty napkins or eye-catching glassware to add your honoree’s style and personality to the event.
Each celebration of life venue is distinctive so be sure to ask what is included and what is not included in the site fee.
5. The importance of multiple date options for a celebration of life
Flexibility with your celebration of date will provide more options, since celebrations of life have a relatively short planning lead time, the venue probably has limited dates for the month you want. This is especially important if you fall in love with one specific celebration of life venue. Since venues host all kinds of events (holiday parties, weddings, reunions, etc.) they often book out as far as eighteen months. If you can be flexible with the date of your event, you will have more choices.
Since celebrations of life are typically three or four hours, you could host it on a weekday, which might give you more options with the venue you want.
6. Why it's important to make an appointment to tour the celebration of life venue
Start contacting your favorite celebration of life venues to learn more about what they offer, available dates, and prices. Schedule a site visit of your top one to three venues; this will prove very helpful in making a final decision. Be sure to make appointments with the salespeople to tour the entire venue site. Don’t just show up unannounced and ask for a tour because the salesperson might be booked for the day or offsite working at an event.
PRO TIP: Don’t forget to take lots of photos so you can remember all the details.
PRO TIP: Ask if there are any recent event photos that you can see.
Arrowood Photography
7. Must ask questions when picking a celebration of life venue
What is your maximum capacity?
Do you include bathrooms or do they need to be rented?
What are the rain plan options (is there an indoor space or is a tent needed)? What are the heat options (do they have an inside space with AC)?
What is the parking situation? Will there be enough parking for all your guests? Do you require a valet or shuttle?
Are any rentals included (tables, chairs, podium, glassware, flatware, plates, etc.)? Who sets those up (the venue or client is responsible for hiring people)?
Check out the bathrooms, if you go for a site visit
If you need to hire a caterer, where does the caterer set up?
Will there be any other events that day?
How early can vendors arrive before the event?
Anything specific to be aware of?
What is the rental price?
Do they require event liability insurance?
PRO TIP: If you go on a site visit before booking, be sure to take lots of photos to refer back to while you decide.
Final Thoughts On Picking A Celebration Of Life Venue
Choosing a celebration of life venue is undoubtedly one of the largest decisions when planning such an important event. However, once you pick one, all of the other planning pieces will start to fall into place. From an intimate dinner at your honoree’s favorite restaurant to a gathering of 300 or more guests, to 100 people at a picturesque spot in nature, the San Francisco Bay Area offers a size, price, and season for every style of celebration of life.
