SUMMING IT UP • Properties are renovating spaces to accommodate more intimate groups—an especially appealing distinction for attracting wedding business. • Up-to-date applications of furniture, drapery, and window treatments, matched with neutral wall colors, will help to pull in more banquet bookings. • Some properties, sensing a trend away from church weddings, are positioning themselves as “one-stop” spots for weddings and receptions, by offering such special amenities as gazebos and changing rooms.

With the banquet market changing every few years, club facilities have to stay current while maintaining a timeless feel.

Carl Pia, General Manager of Quicksilver Golf Club in Midway, Pa., describes Quicksilver’s newly remodeled and spacious banquet room as having “beautiful contemporary architecture with a spectacular view of our scenic, championship golf course.” With ample seating for 250 to 300, the club’s staff provides endlessly creative design/decor options matched with equally professional recommendations.

It wasn’t always so grand, though. When Pia joined Quicksilver six years ago, he embarked on a large-scale project to renovate the club’s banquet facilities. The older facility, with its outdated decor and unattractive amenities, capped seating around 140, maximum. “With most events, the magic number is 275,” says Pia. “So, not only did we need to update the look, we needed more space so we could hold larger events.”

Having space to accommodate both large and small events, if there is room, can make good financial sense for a club. Alongside the newly renovated larger facilities, Quicksilver has simultaneously positioned itself as the right space for more intimate groups—a niche that can prove to be an especially appealing distinction to attract wedding business—with its alternate banquet room that seats up to 130.

The new, larger banquet room, which is enclosed in glass, has tasteful draperies and sheers that, Pia says, “make a huge difference to the entire look and feel of the room. Before, the windows had heavy shades that would hide the gorgeous views,” he says. “Now, it’s a very elegant space that overlooks one of our most prized attributes, the golf course.”

The goal when choosing decor was to keep the look neutral and flexible, like a blank canvas, so that it could be transformed as needed to match any and all color schemes. Pia used soft colors and recessed lighting to help create a room that can work for every occasion.

Luckily for Pia and his staff, they inherited a kitchen with more than adequate space that needed no adjusting to the now-expanded banquet space. Not all clubs are as lucky to have the kitchen and banquet space come together so well, though.

Avoiding Cross-Purposes

“One of the most important aspects to consider when renovating a banquet facility is the location of the kitchen,” says the CEO of an architectural and design firm that specializes in club facilities. “Improper location impacts not only the flow of service, but the efficiency and quality as well.” Many older clubs have kitchens in the back of the building, he explains, which often leads to staff and members crossing paths.

While fixing this can be a costly project, when it’s done well, the benefits will be readily evident. “Access to the room is important, so a staff can serve without interfering with what is going on in the banquet room, be it a speaker or a band,” the design expert adds. Having a clear separation will eliminate frustrations from both the back and front of the house. As an added bonus, it can help set a club apart from other nearby banquet facilities, by providing a more seamless service.

If you can’t relocate your kitchen, there are still ways to improve back-of-the-house design to provide better service. A leading consultant from a company that specializes in commercial kitchen design and installation stresses the importance of the flow of the kitchen itself. “Since a lot of time is spent preparing the food, a slight modification to the space can make the cooking process even more efficient,” he says.

An Inviting “Canvas”

The interior design is the first thing guests notice when entering a facility. So it’s important to make a first impression that clearly says the space is going to provide the perfect canvas for the client’s vision of the event.

When choosing colors, one designer recommends “keeping everything neutral so that the food, the people, even the linens, become the color and primary focus of the room.” Much like at Quicksilver GC, banquet rooms should be a very flexible space. “The room should speak to all different kinds of groups,” the designer adds.

Another important aspect to a banquet facility is lighting, which can be used to create different moods and add visual interest or color. Various types of lighting, from the soft glow of a chandelier to wall sconces to recessed lighting, can all add to the ambiance of a room.

Aside from lighting, the easiest way to upgrade a room is through millwork. Adding lots of millwork, like wood molding, instantly updates the look and feel of a room.

For example, when High Ridge Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., updated its outdated banquet facility, the club introduced stained millwork, multiple lighting sources, acoustic upholstered panels in a vaulted ceiling configuration, Tuscan columns, movable partitions and neutral colors to provide a more desirable “background” environment (see photo at left) for a full range of affairs.

Lobbying for a New Look

Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., recently unveiled its redesigned lobby area—a modern and lively “interactive” living room setting that overlooks the dramatic outdoor vistas surrounding the resort. Now known as the Lobby Bar, this new resort venue has fast become the heart of the hotel and affords guests a distinctive location for social gatherings, large or small.

“The Lobby Bar really sets the tone and mood of the resort—it’s one of the first things that guests see when they come into the hotel,” says Debi Bishop, Sawgrass’ Managing Director. “Not only is the space ideal for accommodating the resort’s social scene, it is also available for private functions that require a more animated setting.”

The Lobby Bar is on the ground floor of the resort and can be accessed by a sweeping staircase that descends from the lobby overlooking it. The setting is defined by a warm but contemporary design flavor and a two-story glass wall that looks out over the resort’s lush tropical surroundings. It is accentuated by fresh, artistic lighting and light, billowing drapes that give the area a “South Beach-meets-Ponte Vedra Beach” appeal.

The Lobby Bar offers a menu and refreshment selection that is a balanced blend of light snacks, appetizers and desserts. The menu includes everything from marinated olives with goat cheese and grilled bread to such intriguing items as a White Tablecloth Burger and a Chocolate Stout Bread Pudding.

The restaurant offers a broad selection of sparkling wines, champagne, white wines, rose and red wines, ports, cocktails and specialty beers, as well as 10 varieties of exclusive martini creations, including the resort’s signature Sawgrass Sunset Martini.

Prospective guests interested in planning a gathering or event at Sawgrass can now choose between The Lobby Bar and a long list of other conference, restaurant and venue opportunities.

New “One-Stop” Wedding Spots?

If a major renovation isn’t in the budget, updated equipment can be a cost-effective way to upgrade banquet facilities.

In the back of the house, one of the best pieces of equipment a banquet facility can purchase is a combi oven, one leading foodservice consultant says. “We recommend it to every single client,” he says. With a combi, food is simply plated, put in the walk-in, and then rolled into the oven about five minutes before service.

In the front of the house, a growing number of clubs are beginning to use portable dance floors. Where a permanent dance floor doesn’t always mesh well with an event’s layout, the portable variety allow the floor space to be customized, depending on the intended use.

Kay Farrar, Food and Beverage Manager at River Pointe Country Club in Hobart, Ind., says a portable dance floor has become a huge asset to the club’s event business, by providing a whole new level of flexibility when it comes to creating the right environment and space for any given event. And flexibility, Farrar adds, “is a necessity with today’s clientele.”

Beyond its ability to remove and/or relocate the dance floor to encourage customized events, River Pointe has gone a step further, renovating part of the club specifically to help draw in wedding business. “People are moving away from church weddings,” Farrar notes. “So we built a bridal changing room and a gazebo on site. This makes it easy for both the wedding and reception to be held at the same facility.”

Here, too, Farrar agrees, “by keeping [decor elements] neutral, you can more easily add what’s in style.” One unique feature that is not-so-neutral at River Pointe, however, is the club’s midnight-blue high ceilings with white lights.

“Yes, it is a risk,” Farrar admits. “But the ceilings are quite high, and the balance between the color and the light provide for a really unique atmosphere.”