If you are looking for a unique venue in London with the complete freedom to create your own special event from scratch, you may wish to dry hire a venue. What is provided is a blank canvas for you to work with: literally the bare building. It is then up to you to add furniture, decorations, catering, equipment, entertainment or any type of installation.

Dry hire venues can be perfect for product launches, trade shows, fashion shows and exhibitions where a high degree of corporate branding is desired. They are also well suited to weddings, where that special personal touch is everything.

If a blank canvas venue sounds like the perfect solution for your event, here are some useful tips you may like to consider before booking your venue.

1 – Know your event

Be very clear about your overall vision for the event and exactly what that entails. It helps to have a mental image of exactly what will be happening on the day and how.

Then make a long list of everything that will be required to achieve this. That way, you will be able to tell immediately if you’ve found the right venue and whether it will be able to accommodate each of your requirements.

2 – Discuss all the details

Once you’ve chosen your preferred venue, arrange an in-depth meeting to discuss all your requirements and the event schedule with the Event Manager there.

It’s best to do this in situ, so you can walk around the venue and describe in detail what will be happening where and when, so that any potential glitches can be spotted straight away.

3 – What’s included in the venue hire?

Depending on the size of the venue, there may be detailed information already provided, along with inventory and equipment lists and FAQs.

If not, you must check the exact spaces and facilities that are part of the venue hire, including furniture and equipment, kitchen space, cooking equipment and tableware. Make sure you know what staff members will be included – kitchen, security, cleaning, cloakroom, event management…  You don’t want any unwelcome surprises on the day!

4 – Get the team together

Don’t leave it all until the big day for your hospitality team to meet and see the venue for the first time.

If you use experienced caterers and suppliers, their knowledge of working at many different venues will help enormously. If your event is large, it is useful to take a delegation from your events team to see the venue beforehand, so that everyone has the chance to ask questions specific to their area, thus avoiding problems on the day.