Look at these pictures. They were taken at a fantastic wedding reception just after guests had traded the dinner tables for the dance floor. The meal was wonderful: signature cocktails, champagne, salad, and paella (all thoughtfully described on paper menus tucked into neatly-folded napkins). Each guest’s place at the table was marked with a handwritten name card. The fourteen 10’ rustic wood tables were decorated with bud vases bursting with dahlias, zinnias, scabiosa, dara, and greens; the vases were interspersed with elegant ivory pillar candles. Coloring pages and crayons were set out to keep the younger guests entertained.
After dinner and toasts, guests had dancing and dessert on their minds. Do you know what wasn’t on their minds? CLEANING.
Don’t expect your wedding party or family members to be excited to tackle your tables after they’ve had a lovely meal and a few drinks or after they’ve worn themselves out with dancing.
Be sure to ask your caterers, bartenders, and venue how much cleaning they will do, and what cleanup tasks are required of you. Some bartenders and caterers bus glassware, plates, and utensils; others do not. Some caterers and venues collect dirty napkins and tablecloths while others do not. Some handle their own trash and recycling; some don’t. Some venues ask renters to sweep and mop. Some venues and rental companies ask that all tables and chairs be collapsed and stacked. It’s important to find these things out early on in the planning process so you know how much extra cleaning help you will need.
The tables shown above, with place settings for a total of 150 guests, took 4 efficient workers 2.5 hours to completely clean, and that did not include breaking down the chairs or tables. The workers bussed all plates, glasses, utensils, and napkins; scraped, rinsed, and stacked all plates; rinsed and re-crated all glassware; soaked and re-boxed all utensils; bagged all dirty napkins; collected all cans and plastic cups; collected all paper trash items; wiped food and spilled liquid off tabletops; and bagged all trash and recycling. Note: Removal of tabletop decor, such as table numbers and vases, is included in your planning package!