The venue
Venue contracts range from "we handle everything" to "leave it the way you found it, by midnight, or lose your deposit."
All-inclusive venues and hotels usually have staff who clear tables, linens and service ware, and they reset the room themselves. You remove your own décor and belongings.
Rental-only venues (barns, estates, historic houses, community halls) often expect you to remove everything you brought, put trash where they say and leave the space broom clean. Some charge a cleaning fee instead, typically $300 to $500 (Wisteria Gardens).
Ask the venue:
- What exactly must be done before you leave, and by what time?
- Do you have an end-of-event checklist?
- Where do trash and recycling go, and is the dumpster big enough?
- Can anything stay overnight for pickup the next morning?
The caterer
Full-service caterers clear plates and glasses, pack leftover food, clean their equipment and leave the kitchen in the condition the venue expects. Drop-off caterers leave after delivery, and everything after that is yours.
Ask the caterer:
- Do you bus tables and remove food waste?
- Do you clean the kitchen and serving areas before you leave?
- Do you pack leftovers for the couple?
- What do you leave behind (chafing dishes, platters, rented items)?
The rental company
Rental companies collect tables, chairs, linens and dishes, but only if they're ready. Many want chairs folded and stacked, linens bagged and counted, and dishes scraped. Missing or damaged items are charged to you.
Ask the rental company:
- When do you pick up, and how should items be left?
- Do dishes need to be rinsed or only scraped?
- What happens if something is missing?
The florist
Many florists offer a "strike" service to collect rented vases, arches and stands at the end of the night, often for an extra fee. Flowers you own are yours to take or toss.
The DJ, band and photo booth
They pack their own equipment. Give them a door close to the stage and a time when the dance floor will be clear.
The planner or coordinator
A full planner oversees teardown and directs vendors. Some day-of coordinators take down décor; many don't, or charge for it. Read the contract for the words "breakdown" or "teardown."
What's left for you
Once every vendor has done their part, what's left is usually:
- Personal décor: centerpieces, signs, candles, table numbers, photo displays
- Gifts, the card box, the guest book, keepsakes
- Trash and recycling from guests
- Final floor sweep and restroom check, if the venue expects it
- Getting everything into cars and locking up
That's the part people forget to plan, and it's the part Event Cleaning Pros does. Our wedding cleanup checklist lists every item if you're doing it yourself.