What to Include in a Venue's Vendor Onboarding Packet

A vendor onboarding packet exists to answer, in advance, the questions a new vendor would otherwise ask on the wedding day itself — load-in logistics, parking, house rules, contacts. Done well, it meaningfully reduces day-of questions. Done as a formality, it gets skimmed once during booking and never looked at again, which means the coordinator ends up answering the same questions live anyway.

What actually belongs in it

Load-in and load-out logistics. Where vendors park, which entrance to use, whether there's a loading dock or if everything comes in through a main entrance, and any time restrictions on when setup can begin.

Power and utility access. Where outlets are located relative to common setup areas (ceremony space, reception space, DJ/band area), and whether extension cords or additional equipment are the venue's responsibility or the vendor's.

Water access, especially relevant for florists — is there a source near where florals will be set up, or does water need to be brought in?

Kitchen and prep space specifics, for caterers — what's available on-site versus what needs to be brought in, and any restrictions on outside food and beverage.

Noise ordinances or sound restrictions, particularly relevant for DJs and bands — cutoff times, volume restrictions, and any neighborhood-specific rules the venue is subject to.

Venue-specific house rules — anything from candle policies to confetti/rice restrictions to specific areas that are off-limits for photography or setup.

A day-of contact and their phone number — who a vendor should actually call if something comes up, which may not be the same person who handled the initial booking.

Insurance and licensing requirements, if the venue requires vendors to carry specific coverage — stated clearly, ideally with a way to confirm compliance before the wedding date rather than discovering a gap on the day.

A basic site map or floor plan, especially useful for larger venues or ones with multiple spaces, so a vendor unfamiliar with the property isn't navigating blind on arrival.

Why a packet often fails to actually reduce questions

The packet itself usually isn't missing information — most venues that have one include the essentials above. The failure mode is usually about when and how it's delivered: sent once, early in the booking process, as a PDF that gets buried in the vendor's inbox by the time the wedding actually happens months later. By the wedding day, the vendor either doesn't remember receiving it, can't easily find it, or received an earlier version that's since been updated without their knowledge.

What actually makes a packet effective

Attach it to the wedding itself, not just the initial booking. If a vendor can access venue logistics from wherever they're already looking at the wedding's details — the timeline, the vendor list — rather than needing to separately locate a PDF from months earlier, it's far more likely to actually get read close to the date, when it matters most.

Separate static information from per-wedding specifics. Load-in rules, parking, and house rules are usually the same for every wedding at the venue — this only needs to be written once and reused, not recreated per booking. Per-wedding specifics (this couple's day-of contact, this event's exact timeline) are what actually change and need to be current for each individual wedding.

Update it once, and have every current and future vendor see the update. If a venue's policy changes — a new noise ordinance, a change to parking — that update should reach every vendor with an upcoming booking automatically, not require re-sending a new PDF to everyone individually.

What this looks like in practice

On Amorum, a venue's static logistics — parking, load-in, power, house rules — live once, attached to the venue, and are visible to every vendor booked there automatically, alongside that specific wedding's timeline and contacts. There's no separate PDF to lose track of, and updating the venue's information updates it for every vendor with an upcoming booking, not just the ones who happen to still have the original email.

The takeaway

A vendor onboarding packet is only as useful as its accessibility on the day it actually matters. The content is usually not the problem — most venues know what belongs in one. The problem is a packet that was read once, early, and forgotten by the time the wedding day arrives, months later, when the information would actually be useful.