The Ultimate Venue Checklist: Questions Couples Forget to Ask

Kevin Dennis (0:0.582)

All right, welcome to another episode of Now That I'm Engaged, How Do I Get Married with obviously my co-host August. But August, we have someone very special here with us today. We have the one and only Carly Martinez. Can you say a little something? I was like, can you respond, Carly?

Carly Martinez (0:12.597)

Hello?

August Yocher (0:16.769)

hahaha

Carly Martinez (0:16.862)

I was just waiting for my cue to come in, you know?

Kevin Dennis (0:20.674)

Yeah, there you go. So Carly is the expert when it comes to like shopping and buying a venue. So we are here today to ask her the ultimate questions that couples should ask when looking for a venue. So Carly, before we jump in, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got here today?

Carly Martinez (0:40.789)

Absolutely. So I started at Beats Hospitality Group. They have two venues, Cosmere Island Palm Event Center. I started when I was 16, started as a server, did setup, bartending. I was part of their banquet staff after COVID and kind of fell in love with the company and then wanted to be a on-site coordinator. And with that became more responsibilities like admin and sales and everything like that. So.

I've been with Beats for about nine years now and yeah.

Kevin Dennis (1:12.102)

I was going to say only two years. was just based on saying that you started at 16. My guess is that you've only been there for a couple years because you look so young.

Carly Martinez (1:18.004)

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (1:21.893)

Oh, I know when people like people when I tell people I've been there for nine years, they will look at me like super weird, like because, you know, looking younger and like nine years at a company at your age. And it's weird. But yeah, I mean, I started and then just kind of climbed my way up. I just love the company. So it was fun to work with. They treated you well, which kind of exudes that in your work. So yeah. And now here I am nine years later.

August Yocher (1:22.087)

Kevin!

Kevin Dennis (1:23.608)

You

August Yocher (1:34.093)

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (1:50.086)

All right, perfect. All right, so we're going to jump in and start going and asking questions that couples forget to ask. But when we're doing it, what? Sorry, take two, Carrie. I never do Carrie, but I'm doing it right now. All right. There you are.

Carly Martinez (2:5.653)

I'm making you nervous, Kevin. I was just kidding.

August Yocher (2:7.160)

Yeah, I feel like you're flustered today, dude.

Kevin Dennis (2:10.038)

I know. I got the one and only Carly here. All right, here we go. Take two. When couples start searching for their venue, what are some first things that they should recommend or think about when they're setting foot on a venue to look for a tour?

Carly Martinez (2:28.455)

Yeah, biggest thing I would say is inclusions. You know, I had my sister get married at one of our properties specifically because of everything that we do include. A lot of times you go into a venue and they make it, you know, their pictures look amazing and what they don't know is that there was so much rentals that went into it. There was so much money that went into making the space of what it is. So,

Kevin Dennis (2:34.533)

Mmm.

Kevin Dennis (2:52.806)

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (2:54.995)

One, the foundation of the actual venue to make sure that it's beautiful in itself, because then you don't have to put a lot of money and things into making the venue of what it is. And then also, I'm a big foodie. So when it comes to the food, definitely knowing the reviews on the food and having that guest experience, not walking away like, oh yeah, that's just typical wedding food. You want your guests to be part of an experience and not just another wedding day.

Kevin Dennis (3:9.510)

You

Carly Martinez (3:24.115)

be also cost effective too, because a wedding industry can be very expensive. So when you have something that's on site and they're including a lot for you, it makes a planning process and leading up to the actual wedding date a million times less stressful. So really just making sure the package that's along with the pricing is going to be less work for yourself.

Kevin Dennis (3:45.817)

Yeah, I think that

August Yocher (3:45.932)

Yeah, and for everyone listening...

Can I go? No, I'm just kidding. Carrie, gosh, we're messing up today. For everyone listening, Carly mentioned, she works with Beats Hospitality Group, Palm Events Center, Costs For Y'all. They are an extremely inclusive venue. So they also do include in-house catering as well, which is so amazing. Just makes the process a thousand times easier.

Carly Martinez (3:51.284)

Hahaha

Kevin Dennis (3:51.470)

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (3:54.706)

You

Kevin Dennis (3:58.278)

This year we're switching to a hospitality group.

Carly Martinez (3:58.965)

.

Kevin Dennis (4:14.115)

Yeah, and was going to mention that a lot of people sometimes, you know, my parents have a beautiful backyard, let's do it in the backyard, and they don't realize that once we start renting tables, chairs, everything that we need to bring in, sometimes you need to rent a kitchen for the caterer, sometimes you need to bring in bathrooms because you don't have enough of those, sometimes you even need to bring in electricity, then that's when the price goes up immensely. So therefore, having a venue that offers a lot of things, I think, goes a long way.

Carly Martinez (4:41.105)

Exactly. Yeah. Going into, um, you know, your wedding day, you definitely want to think about those things because it ends up almost being around the same price as you're adding all those fees up. And honestly, the luxury of being able to sit back and completely enjoy that day is the most amazing thing ever. I've gone to other weddings where like they're beautiful. And if you're not in the industry, you probably don't notice little things, but going to those certain events when you're like,

Kevin Dennis (4:51.238)

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (5:9.649)

And you're like looking at little things like I wish I could change that or wish I could do that, you know Having everything in house, especially your coordination and your servers and bartenders. We all work very well together I like to call us a very well oiled machine which makes for a very efficient and stress-free wedding the moment you step on the property to the moment that you leave so Yeah, definitely recommend

Kevin Dennis (5:30.148)

I'd agree with you on that.

August Yocher (5:32.165)

Kevin and I always talk about that on the podcast, like our curse as wedding professionals going to weddings is just being able to see all those little things and it's hard not to have an opinion and to see those things. So it's really rough.

Carly Martinez (5:42.387)

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (5:46.299)

It is. It makes it hard to like actually enjoy the wedding sometimes, you know, and I hate it I'm just like, you know what, no matter what, no one's not noticing those things and it's a beautiful day. yeah, so and one big thing I can say too is I come from a big family and when I'm seeing my mom or my cousins or people go around doing things, it stresses me out.

August Yocher (5:56.621)

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (6:9.105)

So when not only the bride and groom get to fully enjoy the day, but family and everyone fully get to enjoy the day and be present, I would say is like the cherry on top. It's like the best thing and everyone gets to enjoy.

Kevin Dennis (6:9.231)

Hmm.

August Yocher (6:23.054)

Yeah. OK, yeah, I love that. So just making sure couples are asking the right questions about inclusions and understanding the price points. And sometimes all inclusive is a little bit better because you end up spending the same amount of money anyway. But we also want to ask you, Carly, what should couples consider when thinking about the flow of their wedding day in terms of the venue layout and the space and the timeline?

Carly Martinez (6:46.837)

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (6:51.989)

Yeah, I think it definitely is just mainly the reflection of the couple. And at the end of the day, coming back to your partner and thinking about what is really important for the two of us. Sometimes you have couples that aren't big about dancing and they want to add in like the shoe game and things like that, you know, and then you have other couples like my sister, for instance, that dancing was all she wanted for her wedding. And that's what was going to make it most memorable. So I think it's a

Kevin Dennis (6:58.597)

Mm.

Kevin Dennis (7:17.304)

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (7:20.853)

pretty like open-ended question because it really does depend on the couple itself and what they want to make important. And then it's on their coordinator to then really reflect that for them on the day of. And then also just as far as layout goes, taking the advice of the venue that you're at, they know their space best. So really taking the advice of them of what they think will flow best with your guest count, for instance, because you you might have a small guest count in a big venue.

So maybe, you know, if the max at a table is 10, maybe consider doing eight to maximize the space. Add in some tall cocktail tables. Again, really coming back to the venue when it comes to the layout and also when it comes to, you know, your timeline to our photo super important. Do you want to go spend an hour out in sunset or do you want to let your coordinator know? Like, hey, my photographer, you know, photographers are artists when it comes to what they do. They get lost in their work, which is why we love them and love seeing the photos that come from it.

Kevin Dennis (7:53.861)

Hmm.

Kevin Dennis (8:7.364)

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (8:18.771)

But sometimes with that loss though, your coordinator needs to step in and be like, okay, you got like five minutes to come back in. They wanna start doing speeches. So again, just kind of coming back to your partner and understanding what's important for us, but also leaning on the experts that can kind of know what's important to you and then also execute what they think would be best based on their experiences as well.

Kevin Dennis (8:40.514)

Yeah, I like that. All right, what are some venue policies that tend to surprise couples once they've already booked the space?

August Yocher (8:48.748)

I'm excited for this question!

Carly Martinez (8:51.935)

cannot stress this enough. Read your contract. Read, read, read your contract. I know it may seem like an abundance of rules or just like, you know, 14 pages of craziness, but you're this is an investment. You know, you're putting a lot of time and work and it's this one day that you get to celebrate with everyone. So if something's really important to you and then you didn't realize that it's in the contract.

August Yocher (8:55.324)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (8:56.366)

Hmm.

Kevin Dennis (9:9.455)

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (9:18.803)

You know, shoot, we have Chad GBT nowadays, put that into Chad GBT and be like, this is what's important to me. What do I think that are going to be some things that may stop my vision? For instance, like a fog machine. A lot of people like the dancing on the clouds, but you know, the fog machine gives off condensation on the ground. You have older people that are around, it's a slipping hazard. And that shouldn't maybe be the determination of whether you book a venue, but

to have those conversations afterwards is a little bit difficult. So just do your homework and reading the contract ahead of time so you can bring up your concerns then and your venue can also then give you alternatives of what they've seen because their wedding venue, they've seen plenty of other alternatives of ideas that you're thinking. So read the contract.

August Yocher (10:2.926)

Well, and Carly, do you, I mean, as someone who's in venue sales, do you think it's okay for couples to kind of straight up ask that on the tour? Just say, hey, what are some things in the contract that tend to surprise people? Are you okay if couples ask that kind of question?

Carly Martinez (: 10:20

Definitely. I rather have the difficult questions on the front end. When I sell, I'm a very transparent person. I think that our venue sell themselves. And so to put it bluntly, our bookings do show that people want to be here. So like, I want to make sure that we're the right fit for you, but you're also the right fit for us. I want to make sure that the wedding day that you've dreamed of is what we're going to execute.

Kevin Dennis (: 10:24

Mm-hmm.

August Yocher (: 10:27

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 10:44

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 10:44

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 10:49

So, you know, please ask those questions on the front end of things. And you might end up finding out where a lot of venues don't end up having that and then doesn't matter, you know, then you can find alternatives and then go with the venue that you're really liking. So yes, absolutely. If there's something that's really in your mind that you've been thinking about for that special day, absolutely ask it on the front end.

Kevin Dennis (11:8.534)

And I think asking and that goes for I think any vendor even outside of the venue is to ask all the questions ahead of time. So once you lock in that person, you know, you're not surprised with anything down the road. Good advice, Carly.

Carly Martinez (: 11:20

Yeah, thank you.

August Yocher (: 11:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so next question for you. Can couples customize their wedding vision while still respecting the venue's policies? And I feel like this kind of goes in hand with the last question. Like maybe there is something that is not allowed according to their contract. So how can they approach their wedding vision while still respecting the venue's policies?

Carly Martinez (: 11:47

Yeah, I mean, I think this day and age now with social media, you see different trends on TikTok and all these things, you know, and...

Sometimes you don't understand the logistics behind it. For instance, like the champagne tower. Who doesn't love a great champagne tower, you know, but also who wants lukewarm champagne, you know, so like there there's also logistics behind it of why you don't do that because you have to put an abundance of champagne out and then everything gets warm and it's not that ice cold champagne that you want. So the experience isn't fully there what you're thinking. So kind of going back then into

August Yocher (12:1.272)

Mm-hmm.

August Yocher (12:7.319)

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 12:24

going to your venue or your coordinator confidant and saying like, this is what I'm envisioning. How can I make this happen? And you know, maybe it's a champagne cart and you refill as you go rather than the full tower. So really then just leaning on the experts of things of what you're thinking and then how we can execute that efficiently.

Kevin Dennis (: 12:36

Mm-hmm.

August Yocher (: 12:44

Yeah, like creative alternatives, essentially. Yeah, like we can make something close to your vision, but then I think, and I think it's okay too to ask the why behind things, right? Because I think the why kind of puts it more into perspective for the couple. Like you said, like, hey, I'm a bride and I want to have a champagne tower. That's great. You can still do it, but I'm giving you the realities of the situation and let me find you a creative alternative.

Carly Martinez (: 12:46

Exactly. Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 12:47

Yeah, like we can make something close to your vision, but then I think and I think it's okay to ask the why behind things, right? Because I think the why kind of puts it more into perspective for the couple. Like you said, like, hey, I'm a bride and I want to have a champagne tower. That's great. You can still do it, but I'm giving you the realities of the situation and let me find you a creative alternative that will make it that much better and the experience better for everyone overall.

August Yocher (: 13:10

that will make it that much better and the experience better for everyone overall.

Carly Martinez (: 13:15

Definitely. And you know, at the end of the day, my whole thing is it's also your day. So I can always inform you of these things at the back end, but I'm still going to do whatever I can to make your day special and what you want. So as long as I communicated to you of the logistics behind it and you still want to do it, let's go for it. We'll make it happen. It's your day. We're just living in it.

August Yocher (: 13:21

Mm-hmm.

August Yocher (: 13:36

Yeah. And I know a big one before was always the sparklers, right? And where we're located in California, it's kind of a big no-no, the fireworks. So I know a lot of times we would offer the creative alternatives of like neon lights or what were those things called the? Yeah, the one thing is they kind of give off the same effect in photo. There you go. Fiber optic. I was looking for that word, the fiber optic sticks.

Kevin Dennis (: 13:36

I love that.

Carly Martinez (: 13:41

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 13:47

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 13:56

to like, wand things.

Carly Martinez (14:1.105)

Yeah. Yeah. Or like the bubble guns, you know, like the bubble guns. And I know that sounds stupid, but if you actually look at pictures of like an abundance of bubbles at night and they photographers have the right lighting on it, it looks so cool. Like you just got to look it up because there are ways to do it.

August Yocher (14:6.186)

Exactly, yeah.

August Yocher (: 14:20

Yeah. Yeah. So don't be discouraged, I think, by your venue's policies. think, like you said, work with your coordinator. They know the venue best. They know the policies best, and I'm sure they have some great alternatives in their pocket.

Carly Martinez (: 14:35

And I want to say the worst thing that we ever want to tell you is no, if we can make it happen for you, we want to do it. The reason why we wouldn't be able to is for honestly a concerning reason, because it's your wedding day. We want to make things happen for you. So if we can find an alternative, still get your vision. We're always going to try to.

August Yocher (: 14:41

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 14:49

Hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 14:53

All right, let's get to the non-sexy question here. Parking, which, so I think parking logistics can often be overlooked. So what is something the couple should be thinking about, especially if they're having their wedding in the city somewhere, and how far away is parking, all that kind of stuff. So what are some things a couple should even think about when selecting a venue when it comes to parking?

Carly Martinez (: 14:56

Hahaha.

August Yocher (: 14:56

Hahaha!

Carly Martinez (: 15:16

Yeah, probably shuttling. Honestly, I think that is kind of the best answer in it, especially if you're doing the city, right? You don't want your guests going around having to find parking spots everywhere. Shuttle is going to be the best part. Also allows everyone to drink safely, make sure they get back to their hotel safely. And there's alternative ways you have lifts, Ubers, everything like that, you know, so I would definitely suggest shuttling when it comes to our venues, even though we still have a lot of

Kevin Dennis (: 15:19

Mmm.

August Yocher (: 15:19

Mm.

Kevin Dennis (: 15:33

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 15:44

parking spots. Still shuttling is very efficient. You also get the guests there on time. Hopefully a lot of people end up coming late. So it's nice to make sure that you have a timely arrival and make sure everyone's there before the bride walks down.

Kevin Dennis (: 15:49

Mmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 15:59

Yeah, I always say you want to start a ceremony. It's like the theater. You want to play to a packed house. You want all the butts in the seats. So when the photographer's taking photos, it doesn't look like half the people showed up for your wedding. So a lot of times we start late because the guests aren't there. It's not, it has nothing to do with the bride and groom.

Carly Martinez (: 16:15

Absolutely. I'll always have like a made-a-moner come out. was like, can you just poke your head and make sure this is enough people and she's okay with this? Because even when people do false start times, the amount of people that show up late is absurd. And I used to work like front door at beats and the amount of times I'd get yelled at and I like at front door, like let me in, I'm this, this and this. And I'm like, but it started like 15 minutes ago. It's not my fault you're late. Exactly.

Kevin Dennis (: 16:22

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 16:29

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 16:40

If you were this this and this, you would have been here on time.

Kevin Dennis (: 16:42

Yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 16:44

Exactly. There's maps for a reason now.

August Yocher (: 16:48

story with that because like, you know, for our past listeners, you guys know I used to work at Beats Hospitality Group and I always told myself, just despise the people that would always show up late like that. you know, in my my teen years, my young 20s, I didn't really like go to a lot of weddings and I was finally invited to one and I told myself, I'm not going to be that person. I'm not going to be the person that shows up late. And I just want to put

Kevin Dennis (17:5.606)

I didn't really like go to a lot of weddings and I was finally invited to one and I told myself I'm not going to be that person.

Carly Martinez (: 17:11

You

Carly Martinez (: 17:15

you

August Yocher (: 17:18

disclaimer out there, this was not my fault, but I was going to my friend, Ange's wedding and it was, the ceremony was at a church first, right? And I think, I pretty sure it was like St. Patrick's or something like that. And me and my friend got in the car, we put it into our GPS, we had plenty of time to get there and we show up at the church and we can't find anybody, we're like so confused. And we find another group of people that were wedding guests also looking around, couldn't find anything.

So we like put our heads together and we realized there's two churches in the area that are both called St. Patrick's and we're like, are you kidding me? So we like bolted out of there, got to the ceremony just on time, but I literally felt so bad. We weren't like late or anything, but we had just made it. Like I saw bride outside getting ready to walk in. like.

Carly Martinez (: 17:56

Oh no.

August Yocher (: 18:11

found a seat right in the back, but I never was so embarrassed in my life. But I'm also like low-key kind of my fault, kind of not my fault. I should have looked at the address. They do, yeah. Yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 18:19

Churches start on time too. Churches, yeah. How are, so I'm curious to do, cause were like you able to like sneak in through a side door or did you have to wait? Like what did that?

August Yocher (: 18:32

So it was, it's exactly what you would think of when you think of like an old church, right? So it's literally just, I always hit that, the microphone, Kevin hates me. It's, I like, I always go big with my gestures, but it was just this cute little old wooden church. So she was kind of off to the side of the church, right? When you pull up and you just walk in, it's just all the pews and then the altar at the front. So we literally found a seat just in the last pew and we just.

Carly Martinez (: 18:37

Okay. We were literally just talking about that too.

Kevin Dennis (: 18:45

But it was just this cute little old wooden...

Carly Martinez (: 18:51

Okay.

Kevin Dennis (: 18:53

and you just walk in and it's just all the views and then it's all dressed and fine so we literally found a seat in the last view and sat down and the wedding started like two seconds later and I was like oh my god no yeah I I just I get I was like it's so fun for me to be a person

August Yocher (19:1.358)

sat down and the wedding started like two seconds later. I was like, oh my god. No, yeah, I was, I just, again, I was like, I'm so sorry for being that person.

Carly Martinez (19:5.789)

Right in the nick of time.

Carly Martinez (: 19:11

I've definitely done that before too.

Kevin Dennis (: 19:13

It's funny, another thing that you guys will change once you go through the marriage process and plan a wedding is you'll turn in your RSTPs on time. Because that is the other worst part. Yeah. It's like having to call people. Do you want beef or chicken? And are you coming or not? know, like, come on. Because it's a... Yeah.

August Yocher (: 19:13

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 19:24

Yeah!

August Yocher (: 19:30

Yeah, I do it immediately. As soon as I get the QR code, I'm like, bam, RCB.

Kevin Dennis (: 19:35

Yep, yep.

Carly Martinez (: 19:36

Yeah, definitely understanding those things when you're going through the process. Like you understand, you know, a little bit more about all the logistics that go into it. Honestly, though, planning weddings and not that I don't love the wedding industry, but sometimes it does make me just want to look when the time comes.

Kevin Dennis (: 19:41

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 19:41

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 19:44

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 19:53

Yeah, I know. I feel like when you meet people in the industry, it's one or the other. It's like either, yep, don't want to deal with all that, just going to elope, or it's the other way around. Like, you know what? No, it's my turn. It's my turn to have a party. I've been dealing with this for a long time. So I just, you get either or. It's so funny.

Carly Martinez (20:0.135)

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (20:6.590)

Yeah.

That's so true.

Carly Martinez (: 20:13

I think I just come from too big of a family on both sides of my family and then my partner will have like his family and friends and it's like, oh, I don't know if I got that money in the bank for that. That's way too much. Yes, definitely. It makes it worth it for sure. But yeah, just too many family members.

Kevin Dennis (: 20:23

Yeah, it's very pricey.

August Yocher (: 20:24

No. Yeah, it gets very pricey.

August Yocher (: 20:35

Yeah. Okay, next question for you. So what's one of the most unexpected questions that you've gotten on a venue tour? And should more people be asking it?

Carly Martinez (: 20:38

Yes.

Carly Martinez (: 20:49

Unexpected questions.

August Yocher (: 20:52

And if you need a second, I have a couple from my time in venue sales I wanted to share, but...

Carly Martinez (: 20:58

Yeah, no, you start off and let me see if I can think while you're saying this. Yeah.

August Yocher (21:1.286)

think of one. Okay, so I had a couple. So I was touring someone at the Palm Event Center and they were saying, or I was telling them where the bathrooms were, right? Like, it's just located right over here at the bathrooms. And then they said, oh, are those included? And I was like, what? The bathroom?

Carly Martinez (: 21:22

The bathrooms.

August Yocher (: 21:23

And I go, yeah, they're included. There's like, you know, four or five stalls at each one. And they go, okay, wow. Yeah, the last place we went to, they told us like, they had this tiered system with their package and the bathrooms were not included. Yeah, like it was either you had to like, you had to book them for an extra price at the venue. And I'm like, that is completely wild. And I, and I felt so bad, but I just could not hide the bewilderment on my face. So they were just like,

Kevin Dennis (: 21:26

There's like

They go, okay, wow, yeah, the last place we went to, they told us they had this tiered system with their package and the bathrooms were not included.

Carly Martinez (: 21:37

To have a bathroom?

August Yocher (: 21:52

Yeah, based on your face, I'm telling that's not normal. I'm like, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure you have to get some everybody a place to use the restroom, right? And that same couple asked another question and we got to the dressing suite, which or the bridal suite, some people call it. And I've actually gotten this question a couple times, but they asked if the dressing suite had a timeframe in which they were allowed to go into it.

Kevin Dennis (22:3.733)

Yeah

Carly Martinez (: 22:21

Oh yeah.

August Yocher (: 22:22

And I said, oh, what? And they're like, yeah, I was a bridesmaid at a wedding once and the event ended at 10 or 11 and they had to be out of the dressing suite by nine. I was like, what? So where are you supposed to keep all your stuff? And she said, no, exactly. We had to stop having our fun and dancing in the middle of the wedding, go to the dressing suite, collect your items, go throw it in the car and then come back and enjoy the wedding. And I'm like, what a disruption.

awful, but I guess... Yeah, so yeah, was... Seriously. But I guess maybe those are good questions to ask because it does seem like some venues do have those kind of restrictions.

Carly Martinez (: 22:53

Not in that before too.

Kevin Dennis (: 22:56

That's a pain in the ass. Like, yeah.

Carly Martinez (: 22:57

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (23:7.431)

inclusions back to like making sure you know what's included with that price because then you have these random fees that come out to it, you know, and probably also asking because when we make a quote, we make a quote that is including everything that we've gone over the facility rental taxes, you know, operations fee, all of that's going to reflect on your quote with us. So like you're seeing an out the door number. So make sure when you're looking at quotes from like venues, you're seeing like, OK, is there anything going to be charged after the fact?

Kevin Dennis (23:8.398)

Yeah.

August Yocher (23:9.397)

Yes!

Carly Martinez (: 23:35

you because you want to see that out the door number, you don't want to sign up for something and then like, oh, wait, this didn't include bathrooms, like have to pay that much more, which is so insane. I have gotten since we have our two properties that are on the same street, right? I've gotten where like, hey, can we have ceremony here and then reception at your other property? And it's like, no, we then have to treat you as two different, know. Exactly. Oh, that's a great that's yes, exactly.

Kevin Dennis (: 23:35

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 23:41

Hehehehehe

August Yocher (: 23:42

Yeah.

Kevin Dennis (: 23:59

You can, but you're gonna pay for it.

August Yocher (24:2.030)

You're paying for two venues, yeah.

Carly Martinez (24:4.689)

Exactly. I know the two of you will get this, but one question I have gotten before is can we move the candle wall? And I'm like, you mean that giant wall that's part of the structure of the building? Like that's been like exactly. So it is always interesting. And when I do tell couples that we are a private venue, that you're the only wedding we host that day, that's always a surprise too. I've gone actually last weekend when I was touring a couple around.

Kevin Dennis (: 24:17

Yeah, it's attached.

Kevin Dennis (: 24:28

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 24:33

They said that a certain venue, I think it was in Napa, that you can either choose essentially like AM or PM time for your wedding. Do like two weddings in a day. And I mean, most likely you're going to get trickle over from one of the weddings, you know. So definitely knowing whether or not your venue is exclusive is always really nice. I know people love the idea of a golf course, but are there going to be golfers playing? Most likely because their club members are the ones that are continuously like bringing them in revenue.

Kevin Dennis (: 24:41

Hmm.

August Yocher (: 24:43

Mm-hmm.

August Yocher (25:2.624)

And it's the weekend.

Kevin Dennis (25:4.326)

Or ducks. They have ducks and geese that show up at the wedding. I didn't even go there. I didn't even go there.

Carly Martinez (25:6.887)

Exactly. And that comes with poop everywhere too, so who wants that?

August Yocher (: 25:10

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Meg, who was on our podcast not too long ago, we talked about her wedding experience and she got married at the Brazilian room in Berkeley. it was the same thing. Like you said, there was an AM and a PM and she didn't want, you know, an AM group in there. So she had to pay extra to have both the AM time and the PM time.

Carly Martinez (: 25:17

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 25:33

Oh

August Yocher (: 25:36

So, and it also helps with like setup and all of that too. So yeah, great, great questions to ask. Absolutely.

Carly Martinez (: 25:37

Wow.

Carly Martinez (: 25:44

Definitely, definitely, definitely. also just asking your representative to like, are some, you know, because a lot of people are new going into touring and things. So ask them like they're the experts. Ask them like, hey, when I'm visiting other venues, what are some things that you see that I should be asking questions about? You kind of comparing and contrasting because at the end of the day, yes, it's a wedding day and it's very sentimental on your hearts in it. But it's also a business deal at end of the day. Right. So like we have to talk logistics and we have to know again that we're the right fit.

Kevin Dennis (26:0.773)

Yeah.

August Yocher (26:1.293)

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 26:10

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 26:14

for each other. So definitely ask those uncomfortable questions on the front end because it's a sale at end of the day. So we both want to be on the same page.

Kevin Dennis (: 26:22

Yeah, I like that. All right, we're getting to the end. So I'm going to ask you, kind of wrap it up. What advice would you give couples who are torn between different venues or undecided about what to prioritize in their venue search?

Carly Martinez (: 26:36

Yeah, it then comes back to what the two of you want to envision your day. As I said, I'm a foodie, so food is going to be my biggest thing. And then also to what's going to essentially be the least amount of work for you, you know, not having to source out, you know, too many different vendors and also going on that vendor list.

Kevin Dennis (: 26:41

Hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 26:50

Hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 26:58

your preferred vendors, I know you might know a friend of a friend and things like that, totally understandable, but those preferred vendors know it's like you're coming into their home, right? They know what's going to work best throughout there. So really entrusting and knowing what's coming in that full package of things and looking at, you know, reviews of what other couples have experienced. If you know someone who's gotten married at her sister property or things like that, you know, asking people what their experience with things.

August Yocher (27:7.790)

Mm-hmm.

Kevin Dennis (: 27:21

Hmm

Carly Martinez (: 27:28

I'm really big on hospitality, so it really would come from my tour experience on, right? The response time, that's going to show you what they're going to hustle for on your day of. Kind of knowing how they treat you from the very beginning with that sales process and how on top of it they are in the beginning, because that's just going to show what they'll carry you through with the rest of your kind of experience with them.

August Yocher (: 27:36

Yes.

Kevin Dennis (: 27:50

Love it. All right, girl. We always ask everyone, well, first, thank you. And you're amazing. And I feel like we're to have to have you back because we didn't. Yeah. You're going to be our regular guest on here. anyway, what is your favorite? We ask everyone, what is your favorite part of a wedding? So what is your favorite part of a wedding?

Carly Martinez (: 27:52

Oh.

Yeah!

August Yocher (: 27:59

Carly!

Carly Martinez (28:1.802)

I love it.

Carly Martinez (: 28:14

Great question. All right. My favorite part of the wedding is going to be two things. The open bar and the dance floor. No, mean, hey, if you're on a liquid diet that day, definitely make sure you eat so you can sustain throughout the whole night. Food's definitely important. A late night treat. My sister did a French fry bar and that, oh my gosh, cherry on top of the night. If you do a late night

Kevin Dennis (: 28:21

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Not the food?

Kevin Dennis (: 28:37

Oh, those are my favorite.

Mm-hmm.

Carly Martinez (: 28:42

definitely do a late night treat for your guests. You want them to walk away and be like, yeah, they had a French fry bar, you know, it's delicious. But yeah, for me, it definitely is the dancey portion having a great DJ like good old Kevin Dennis over there, you know, keeping those, keeping those people on the dance floor and really just making sure that, you know, my guests walk away from that experiencing I just had the best night ever. So yeah, dance floor in that open bar.

August Yocher (: 28:56

Yeah

Kevin Dennis (: 28:57

Mm-hmm

Kevin Dennis (29:9.626)

I love it.

August Yocher (: 29:11

Perfect answer.

Carly Martinez (: 29:12

Not the romantic answer, but you know, sometimes I'm not the mushy-gushy one, so.

Kevin Dennis (: 29:14

No!

Kevin Dennis (: 29:18

You know what's funny? that'll change as you go through life. definitely, once I had kids, it changed for me as well. And I will agree with you with the late night food. Because my wife and I got married many, many, many, many years ago. And we had late night snacks before late night snacks were cool. Because we got married on New Year's Eve, and we wanted drunk food. No. We did it before it was cool. But still.

Carly Martinez (: 29:36

Oh yeah

August Yocher (: 29:37

Such a trendsetter.

Carly Martinez (: 29:39

I know, look at you, Kevin. What was your later treat?

Kevin Dennis (: 29:44

We actually brought in Papa Murphy's pizza and And where I and where I got married had 12 Racks in the oven. So we brought 12 12 pizzas and still to this day people like the food was so good and then it just kept coming and then at one point they brought out pizza and and then we also had We rented a popcorn machine and we had a popcorn machine by the bar the entire night that they

Carly Martinez (: 29:49

Oh!

Carly Martinez (: 30:11

What?

Kevin Dennis (: 30:12

that they kept popcorn going because my wife loves popcorn, I love pizza, and so that's what we did.

Carly Martinez (: 30:20

There you go.

August Yocher (: 30:21

Murphy's is so slept on. Like, people need to appreciate it more.

Kevin Dennis (: 30:23

I know.

Well, I got lucky because now late night snacks are expensive. My late night snack for pizza cost me $180. So I mean that you can't. Yeah. Yeah. For 12 pizzas. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So all right, Carly. How did people get in touch with you, Carly?

August Yocher (: 30:31

Yeah, Slay.

Carly Martinez (: 30:32

for a pizza, oh my gosh, that's how much it cost me to order pizza at the end of the night of a drunk night on DoorDash. I'm like, how did I spend a hundred bucks on pizza last night?

August Yocher (: 30:44

No, yeah

Carly Martinez (: 30:49

With me specifically or just like the venue and everything is that what you're asking? Okay Yeah Well, I mean you can inquire on our website Casa Rial or Palm Event Center or Beats Catering also on WeddingWire and the Knot Lots of different places that we're on and then you can always just ask for me too when you call in the office We're really good about our inquiries and response time is usually the day of so call in

Kevin Dennis (: 30:52

all the above. What if I want your digits? do I go?

August Yocher (: 30:56

She's taken! She's taken.

Carly Martinez (: 31:16

asked to talk to me and I'm happy to you know always be there for advice or guide you through anything to make you feel more comfortable about your wedding day.

Kevin Dennis (: 31:24

Well, next time I need advice, I'm definitely calling you. So all right. So thank you. I shh. I might. I just might do that. All right. Well, Carly, thank you for being here. We hope to have you on again because you were actually a lot of fun. So.

Carly Martinez (: 31:27

You got my digits. Just don't give them away

Carly Martinez (: 31:41

Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's always such a pleasure to be in the presence of the two of you. So thank you so much. A little cherry on top. Thank you guys so much.

Kevin Dennis (: 31:46

Oh, wow. All right. We do August. August. We definitely have to have her back after that. All right. Bye, guys.

August Yocher (: 31:46

Wow.

August Yocher (: 31:52

Yeah.

August Yocher (: 31:56

Bye!