Most wedding timelines stop at the send-off, but the venue contract keeps going: rentals stacked, décor removed, trash out, keys returned, often within an hour or two. This checklist covers that part of the night.
Use the boxes on screen or print the page. Write a name next to anything that isn't yours.
The week before
- Find the cleanup and load-out sections in your venue contract and note the out-by time
- Ask the venue where trash and recycling go, and whether there's room in the dumpster for a full reception
- Ask the rental company when they pick up and how they want items left (stacked, bagged, counted)
- Ask the caterer what they clean and take with them, and what they leave behind
- Ask the florist whether they collect rented vases and arches, and when
- Pack empty boxes and bags for décor, labeled by where they're going (home, borrowed, rental, donate)
- Choose the person who takes the card box and any envelopes at the end of the night
- Choose whose car takes the gifts home, and put the keys plan in the timeline
- Decide what happens to leftover food and cake (see what to do with leftover event food)
- Book a cleanup crew, or write down which friends and family are staying to help
During the last hour
The quickest teardowns start before the last song, in rooms guests have left.
- Gift table, guest book and card box packed and taken to the car
- Cocktail area and lounge cleared once guests move to the dance floor
- Extra chairs and empty tables folded and stacked
- Personal décor from unused areas boxed
- Leftover food boxed by the caterer or your helpers before the two-hour mark
After the last dance
Inside
- Walk every room with your phone and photograph anything already damaged
- Centerpieces, candles, table numbers and signs collected and boxed
- Candle wax scraped from tables and floors
- Linens shaken out, counted and bagged for the rental company
- Tables cleared, wiped, folded and stacked as the rental company asked
- Chairs folded and stacked, or set back in the venue's layout
- Bar area: bottles sorted, leftover alcohol packed for whoever bought it
- Kitchen and serving areas wiped after the caterer packs up
- Trash and recycling bagged and taken where the venue said
- Floors swept, then mopped where the contract asks
- Restrooms checked and cleaned if the venue expects it
- Every room swept for lost and found: phones, jackets, keys, gifts, the cake knife
Outside
- Send-off area cleared: sparkler wires, petals, bubbles, confetti
- Ceremony site: aisle runner, programs, signage, arch décor
- Smoking area and parking lot: cups, bottles, cigarette butts
Before you lock up
- Rentals staged in one place, counted against the order
- After photos of every room
- Lights, heat or air conditioning, and doors set the way the venue wants
- Keys returned or locked in the lockbox, and the venue told
The morning after
- Confirm the rental company collected everything on the order
- Return borrowed items to their owners
- Send your before-and-after photos to the venue coordinator
- Follow up on the deposit if it hasn't come back within the time in your contract (our guide to getting your venue deposit back has a template email)
Who usually does what
| Task | Usually handled by |
|---|---|
| Kitchen equipment, serving ware, food | Caterer |
| Clearing plates and glasses during service | Caterer or venue staff |
| Picking up rentals | Rental company, if items are staged as asked |
| Rented vases and arches | Florist, often for a fee |
| Sound and lighting gear | DJ or band |
| Personal décor, gifts, trash, final reset | You, unless you hire someone |
Every contract is different, so check yours. Our guide to who cleans up after a wedding goes through each vendor in more detail.
If you'd rather not
The list above is what an Event Cleaning Pros crew works through on a Full Reset, with timestamps on every item and photos at the end. A 150-guest reception at an event hall is about $683. See your price.