RESERVATIONS
If you wish to reserve rooms for your guests, simply call and request to block off the total number of rooms you require. There is no obligation to you. At no extra charge, we will prepare pre-registration cards that may be included in your invitations. A self-addressed envelope will also be provided. The card below is a sample of our pre-registration card.
Please note: Rooms will be released 30 days prior to the date of the wedding, thus allowing us time to book unused rooms with other groups. Your guests may fill out the card and send it to us or call the Oaks Inn, thus completing their reservation
(YOUR GROUP NAME HERE)
APPLICATION FOR OAKS INN ROOM RESERVATION
(DATE OF YOUR EVENT)
PLEASE BOOK (4 WEEKS) PRIOR TO EVENT
NAME:______________________________________
ADDRESS:___________________________________
CITY:_______________________________________
POSTAL CODE:_______________________________
PHONE:_____________________________________
RATES, 1 NIGHT______ 2 OR MORE NIGHTS_____
DEPOSIT REQUIRED CREDIT CARD NUMBER OR $20.00
Room information listed here: Smoking Non Cot Courtyard
____________________________ exp _____________
PLEASE CONTACT US IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING MANNERS:
LOCAL 519-627-1433 TOLL FREE 888-627-1433
E-MAIL: oaksinn@kent.net
REG MAIL: OAKS INN (Self Addressed Envelope Provided)
Wedding Checklist
We have been in the wedding business for over 35 years and have developed a check list which may help you with your wedding planning.
Book your hall and your church one to two years in advance.
If you have a special place for photographs in mind, you should book it early as well. Places like Brander Park are in high demand especially during peak wedding months.
There are many talented decorators in the area and we will soon have a link to the decorators we would recommend. Please keep in mind that your table linens, skirting, linen napkins, and overlays are all included in the hall rental so you will not need to rent them from a decorator. We have a selection of 24 colours ranging from chocolate to violet and all colours in between including red check and seafoam.
When booking with us, there are a series of questions we ask to help guide future brides and grooms through the day to make it run as smooth as possible.
SECTION ONE - DETERMINING THE TIME FOR THE MEAL
What time is the wedding?
How long is the service?
Is there a receiving line after the church?
Will there be pictures after the ceremony and if so, where?
These four questions are key to determining the time of the meal.
Allow an extra 1/2 hour for your wedding. Weddings seldom start on time and you have to allow 15 minutes - 1/2 hour of congratulation time outside the church. Allow for travel time to and from the picture site and figure on at least one hour for pictures. If you decide on a receiving line, add 1/2 hour for every 100 guests based on an 8 person receiving line which is bride, groom, maid of honour, best man, and both sets of parents.
Here is an example: A wedding is held at the United Church at 3:00 pm with a 1/2 service. There is no receiving line at the church. Pictures are being taken at Brandor Park, 20 minutes away. The result is: 1 hour total at the church, 1 hour for photos, and 40 minutes of driving time will place the bride and the groom at the hall at 5:40 in time for a 6:00 (may be rushing) or 6:30 supper.
SECTION TWO - WHAT TIME SHOULD THE HALL AND THE BAR OPEN?
Traditonally, the hall opens one hour before the meal is served. The bar is quite often opened during that hour. Some halls, such as ours, served coffee as well during that hour.
SECTION THREE - DINNER MUSIC
Quiet music can provide a nice background, especially for smaller weddings. Keep in mind some DJ's will raise the volume as the crowd noise rises and the end result is anything but quiet background music.
SECTION FOUR - SEATING PLAN
Pre-arranged seating or open seating? Pre-arranged is the best way to go. It is more organized and it eliminates the chance of a bruised ego when there isn't enough room at a table for someone.
SECTION FIVE - TABLE SETTINGS AND SPECIAL TABLES
One thing commonly overlooked when decorating the guest tables is space. Should you choose a country style meal or a plate service meal, space is crucial. You may wish to discuss this with your decorator or you caterer.
Theme weddings can be very nice. We recently had a Cinderella themed wedding and the centerpiece for each table was a glass slipper set upon a violet pillow. Engraved on the pen set, guests signed the guest book with was, "And they lived happily ever after."
Aside from the head table, what other special tables are required? You will need one or more family tables depending on the complexity of the families. Often, there is one family table for each side yet many people prefer to show the unity of the marriage by having both sides sit at the same table. The size of the immediate family plays a large role in deciding on family tables.
You may also require a registration table, a cake table, and a gift table. The registration table traditionally has pictures of the bride and groom on it along with the guest book, and often a large picture with matting around it that guests may sign. Slide presentation picture frames are becoming very popular and are nice to have on the registration table or at the beginning of a receiving line.
SECTION SIX - THE BAR
As mentioned earlier, there is tradtionally a cocktail hour prior to supper. Closing the bar during the meal is a highly accepted option especially if you are serving wine during the meal. If you have made your own wine, it has to be on a separate liquor license and by law the bar has to be closed while serving the wine. The two licenses cannot conflict. Normally, speeches follow the meal. You may wish to announce that the bar will open briefly to allow guests to obtain a drink before the speeches begin. It is commonplace to have the bar closed during speeches.
With your bar, there are many options to consider:
1) Free Bar
2) Free Bar for the cocktail hour and a toonie or full cash bar after the meal.
3) A loonie or toonie bar.
4) A full cash bar.
5) A full cash bar with a limited number of drink tickets issued per guest. The tickets can be placed at each setting prior to the meal. Another alternative is creating a unique item such as a heart that would be place at each setting and the MC could announce that the heart(s) are to used as complimentary drink tickets.
SECTION SEVEN - THE MEAL
There is an almost endless number of different meals that can be served. The three basic meal types are:
Plate Service - the entire meal is served course by course to each individual at the table
Country-style - the entire meal is served at the table but it is served in bowl and on platters and the guests serve themelves
Buffet-style - the meal, including the dessert is served buffet style and your guests will go through a buffet line. Some caterers will offer a salad bar buffet first, followed by the hot buffet and last, but not least, the dessert buffet. Without question, the fastest way to served your guests but no necessarily the best. We offer an option with our buffet that the bridal party and the family table may be served while the other guests go through the buffet.
SECTION EIGHT - WINE SERVICE
Many weddings provide wine for their guests during the meal. Do you serve white, red, a blush? Do you place bottles on the tables or do you pour? Should you have three choices?
The easiest and fastest method of serving wine is to place a bottle of red and a bottle of white on each table (every 8 guests) but it is not recommended. One popular method is to offer a bottle of white or red to each table and pour a second wine per glass. This will lower your wastage. The method with the most class is to pour wine for each of your guests but keep in mind that this is time consuming. This will also provide the largest savings on your wine.
SECTION NINE - THE SPEECHES
Who should you select to be your master of ceremonies? The answer is easy. Someone who is comfortable talking in front of a large crowd, someone who can be funny without being rude and someone you trust not to get too personal.
A standard speech program would consist of the following steps:
Step One: The initial welcoming and the introduction of head table; quite often done before grace.
Step Two: Grace which is a nice touch when done by a family member. Instructions on how the meal is served.
Step Three: Usually the last step before supper, the MC will instruct the guests on how they can get the bride and groom to kiss. Use your imagination: We had a golfer get married and to get the bride and groom to kiss you had to sink a 20' putt. Others force the guests to come up and sing a poem, tell a story, demonstrate how they want the bride and groom to kiss and the bride and groom have to kiss the same way.
Step Four: After supper the full speech program begins. There is really no limit to how the speeches should go but here are some suggestions:
Thank the caterer for the meal.
There are many toasts that can be made and quite often making a toast is easier than making a speech for a nervious bridal attendant. Some of the common toasts are: To the parents, to the bridesmaids, to the groomsmen, to the bride, to the groom, and of course to the bride and groom. It has become quite common for both the best man and the maid of honour to say a few words. Both sets of parents are usually called up to welcome the bride/groom into their family. The last people to speak should be the bride and groom and most of their speech tends to involve thanking a lot of people and expressing their love for each other.
SECTION TEN - LATE LUNCH
Late lunches have become lite lunches in the past few years. More is not always good. Heavy late lunches tend to make guests lathargic and it can slow down the flow of a good party. Should you decide to have a late lunch, keep it lite. If your main meal was served at 7:00 pm or after, then you definitely need nothing more than cake and coffee for your late lunch.
Your wedding is YOUR day. Go with what feels right for you. The nice thing about weddings is that each one is unique on to itself. Simple or fancy, small or large, every wedding is special. I hope these tidbits help you plan your day and I sincerely hope your wedding day is a special one.