How to Host a Private Party at Your Restaurant

Some of the most gorgeous venues that host private parties are restaurants. When I am searching for the perfect customer event or cocktail hour, I want to find a restaurant that is functional, unique, and most importantly, easy to work with. I have had some great experiences with restaurant venues. Having said that, I have also had some not so great experiences as well.

Allow me to take you back to the moment when I realized how important it is to have a solid plan in order when you run events at your restaurant.

I live and work in Boston, but I have been planning events across the globe for the past 4 years. 99% of the time, I cannot see the venue before the day of the event, which makes the planning process a bit of a challenge.

A few years ago I was planning an event in Northern California, right outside San Francisco. I found a great venue located on a winery with bocce courts and a nice outdoor cocktail space. Being Northern California in the fall, the venue's event coordinators were confident the weather would be fine. Well, we were all wrong.

It just so happened to be the rainiest week that year in San Francisco and we had to move inside, turning the event into a last minute mess. Luckily, by the time the event started, we had a backup plan, and everything ran smoothly.

After my rainy California experience, I have learned a few things to help coordinate a private party or event at restaurants all across the country. This not only will help people like me who plan events, but also will help the restaurateurs become skilled event coordinators.

Here are the 5 steps of hosting an event or a private party at your restaurant.

Step 1: Know Your Space

In order for the customer to visualize the event taking place at your venue, you need to know the space like the back of your hand. Everything from the square footage and layout options to how many people fit in cocktail reception is needed for proper presentation setup. Having photos and floor layouts is imperative! I am a very visual person, and when I can see pictures of a room as well as the floor layout, it gives me the ability to plan out the setup and the flow of the event. Not to mention, seeing pictures and layouts before you can actually see the space in person gives the coordinator a huge sense of relief.