A new club is taking a fresh new look at how to package and provide club weddings-and from their bookings, it looks like they may be on to something.
When Brandon Lejeune, General Manager of RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve, began selling wedding packages last December, the “clubhouse” at his stillunder- construction Oaks, Pa. property was nothing more than a concrete slab. Not the most romantic image for a wedding site, to be sure; yet months before completion of RiverCrest’s new 48,000-sq. ft., two-story clubhouse, Lejuene and his team have already secured bookings (each one averaging about 250 guests) for every Saturday from March through the end of 2006.
Their secret? A comprehensive package— formed from intensive competitive analysis and the advice of experts (bridal couples foremost among them)—that seeks to take the fear factor out of wedding costs, while still providing the assurance of a truly special and memorable event. One Price for All The couples Lejuene consulted before shaping his new club’s approach said they generally found club wedding package descriptions and pricing overly complicated and confusing, which in turn led to discomfort and distrust.
“Although they wanted their events to reflect their individual style and taste, they didn’t want to have to plow through 20 or 30 pages of menu options,” he explains. “They were also concerned about pricing—with all that information, it was hard for them to determine what was included in a ‘basic package,’ and what would be extra.”
Lejeune’s solution was to create an all inclusive package encompassing every aspect of an affair— from rental of the facility to tax and gratuities— in a single quoted price. With this streamlined system, couples can easily determine the bottomline cost of a reception by simply multiplying the per-head price by the number of guests.
Since there was not yet a brick-and-mortar facility to show for the clubhouse’s inaugural year, Lejeune designed his initial package around a special pre-construction starting price of $89 per guest. For 2007, packages begin at $107.
“Whether we were their first stop in the facility- finding process, or their last, they could use that simple equation to quickly compare our amenities and prices with other [possible venues] they had visited or planned to visit,” he says.
RiverCrest’s basic wedding packages include one hour of unlimited hors d’oeuvres service, a four-and-a-half-hour open bar, choice of soup or salad, plus three entrée selections, beverages and a custom designed wedding cake. The bride and groom also receive dinner at the club on their first wedding anniversary.
But price alone is not the only issue that the RiverCrest team is trying to address in a new way. Since the opening of its uniquely designed course two years ago, the club has established a reputation as an upscale venue. “Our clientele is looking for value, not rock-bottom prices,” says Lejuene. “So everything in even the least expensive package is top-of-the-line—from top-shelf liquor for the one-hour open bar to a designer wedding cake served on beautifully painted plates garnished with Grand Marnier-marinated strawberry slices.”
Well Beyond Rubber Chicken
To create signature banquet and dining room menus for its clubhouse, RiverCrest hired Vincent Alberici, a Certified Executive Chef whose career has spanned 25 years at such high-profile properties as Philadelphia’s four star Bellevue Stratford Hotel and the city’s Adam’s Mark Hotel’s four-diamond “Marker” restaurant.
Under Alberici’s direction, the “standard” items on RiverCrest’s banquet bill of fare are now anything but the usual varieties. For example, “chicken” may be prepared Saltimboca-style with prosciutto and sage essence, or filled with wild mushrooms and herbs in a marinara sauce. “Fish” may be red snapper on braised aromatic vegetables, grilled salmon with soy cider glaze, or Chilean sea bass topped with crabmeat. Further, recognizing an increasing number of requests for vegetarian entrees, Alberici has created a variety of non-meat options, ranging from pasta primavera to lasagna.
Couples also have a number of options to upgrade their hors d’oeuvre offerings to include caviar or raw seafood bars, carved baby rack of lamb, sushi and sashimi displays, Peking duck, or Italian antipasto stations. Dessert may be expanded to include chocolate-covered strawberries, a Viennese table and a coffee station. Custom ice sculptures and floral arrangements are among other available event enhancements.
“We make sure couples know they can have an elegant, individualized event without adding these enhancements,” says Lejeune. “But we also want them to know that we can create anything they can imagine in terms of food and décor.” Clients are invited to meet Alberici to taste a variety of entrée preparations or discuss special requests.
A Planner with the Package
Even with simplified package pricing, private club banquet clients—be they members or nonmembers— expect their events to be distinctive in every element from décor to menu, emphasizes industry veteran Rod Clement, who recently joined RiverCrest as Club Manager. So both Clement and RiverCrest’s Event Director, Maryrose Drucis, make it clear from the start that they will work closely with each couple to create one-of-a-kind receptions. “Because Maryrose specializes in planning and executing major events, [we point out that] couples don’t have to hire a separate wedding planner,” says Clement.
Once the particulars are determined, Drucis is responsible for handling all of the details of the event, including coordination between the club’s internal departments and outside vendors (photographers, florists and musicians), all the way up to and through the day of the wedding. Throughout the process, she provides ongoing support for the wedding couple.
“As far as we’re concerned, Maryrose is our client,” Clement explained. “With one person at the center of everything, the chances of misunderstandings or communication breakdowns are pretty much eliminated.”
In Clement’s view, the majority of problems at banquet facilities are caused by gaps in internal communication, rather than a lack of capabilities. Effective communication becomes even more crucial when clients request upgrades or other changes close to the event date.
Between 30% and 40% of clients don’t focus on optional upgrades at the time of the initial contract signing, notes Lejeune. Because booking the facility is one of their first considerations, many don’t even know what their bottom-line budget will be until after they have factored in such other basics as photography, music, flowers and invitations. “We know that five or six months down the line, they may well want to reconsider adding a martini station or chocolate fountain,” he says.
Chaos Control and Checklists
For the day of an event, RiverCrest’s central kitchen has been designed to prevent potential clashes by having two independent cooking lines—one for the dining rooms, and the other for banquets.Walk-in refrigerato
rs and icemakers located in the clubhouse and “golf house” (a separate building for the club’s golf operations, where some golf outings will be held) will provide insurance against equipment failure.
RiverCrest’s policy is to host only one wedding per day, leaving Drucis free to keep close track of the proceedings, using a detailed checklist to ensure that each facet of the event comes off as planned. If there is any hitch, she’ll catch it and bring it up for discussion at a meeting of key team players held shortly after each event. From this post-mortem, Drucis will generate a document with key lessons learned and suggested changes for future events, which will then be distributed to all managers.
When the client couple returns from their honeymoon, they will also find a letter from Drucis thanking them for celebrating their special day at RiverCrest and inviting their comments. “These can be an invaluable source to help us continue to improve our services, add amenities, or simply reaffirm we have done our job well,” says Lejeune. A second letter will be sent as the couples approach their first anniversary, to remind them of the special dinner that’s the final part of their wedding package. “It’s a good way to maintain contact and keep the good feelings going,” Lejeune notes.
Friends in the Right Places
But no matter how well-prepared, -staffed and -equipped a club tries to be, sometimes the unthinkable does happen. Clement, for example, recalls the time he was working at another club and a clubhouse fire rendered the facility unusable for a big upcoming bash, but he was able to move his entire event to a neighboring club. “That’s when you realize how important it is to have good relationships with your colleagues at other clubs in your community,” he notes. “The sharing—not only of facilities in emergency situations, but of ideas, information, and even referrals when one of us has capabilities the other doesn’t— makes us all stronger and better able to serve our clients. So while it may seem natural to think of other clubs as competitors, it’s important to keep in mind that we’re all colleagues, and in that way we’re the most valuable resources any of us could have.” C&RB
Summing It Up
• Weddings are intimidating to plan, but offering a bride and groom complete packages to choose from can lessen the confusion.
• Wedding and banquet meals don’t have to be boring. There are a million ways to prepare chicken, beef, fish and even vegetarian meals that guests will enjoy rather than suffer through.
• An in-house, dedicated wedding planner can simplify the planning process and also prevent the miscommunications that often occur when too many people get involved in the process.
• Careful analysis of each event’s logistics can help smooth future events and strengthen your club’s reputation for quality service.
• Even the most prepared management teams can meet with disasters—so it helps to maintain good relationships with nearby clubs, just in case an event has to be relocated at the last minute.
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