At a BYO venue you appoint every supplier directly. Book in order of scarcity — venue, then marquee, caterer and photographer, then bar, music and styling — and choose each one on whether they have worked a private property before, not just on their portfolio.
The two that need the most scrutiny are the caterer and the bar service, because both depend on what the site actually provides: power, water, wash-up space, room to work, and RSA and licensing requirements confirmed.
At a BYO venue nobody hands you a list, which is the whole appeal. You pick the people, and the day ends up sounding, tasting and looking like you rather than like the venue's standard package.
Here is the order, the questions, and the thing that keeps it all together.
Book in order of scarcity
| Order | Supplier | Why here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venue and date | Everything else is scheduled around it. |
| 2 | Marquee company | Sets the floor plan, the wet-weather plan and the setup schedule. |
| 3 | Caterer | Good ones book a year out, and their site requirements affect other decisions. |
| 4 | Photographer | The most date-constrained supplier after the venue. |
| 5 | Celebrant | Legal paperwork has its own timeline. |
| 6 | Bar service | Needs the guest count, and RSA and licensing requirements confirmed. |
| 7 | Music | Bands book further ahead than DJs. |
| 8 | Furniture, styling, florals | Can be decided later without losing much. |
The caterer
The most consequential appointment after the venue, and the one where a private property changes the brief. A caterer who works in function rooms every weekend is not automatically able to work out of a paddock.
Ask them:
- Have you worked a private property or marquee wedding before? Which ones?
- What do you need from the site — power, water, wash-up space, service area, shelter?
- What staffing is included, and what is the ratio for our guest count?
- Is crockery, cutlery, glassware and linen yours or hired separately?
- How do you handle dietaries, and by when do you need the final list?
- What are your minimum numbers, and do you travel to this postcode?
- Who removes the waste?
Insist on a site visit before they quote. A caterer who has stood in the space quotes accurately; one who has not will discover a problem in the final fortnight.
The bar
Supplying your own alcohol is where BYO saves couples the most money, and it comes with a short list of things to get right.
Confirm the licensing for your event. Couples may supply their own alcohol and arrange professional bar staff or a mobile bar. Any RSA and licensing requirements must be confirmed for the specific event and supplier, so ask each operator what they hold and what the venue needs to see.
Buy on sale or return where you can. Several suppliers will take back unopened stock, which removes the guesswork from quantities.
Agree the service window. When the bar opens, when spirits start, when it closes relative to the music curfew. A defined spirits window is the easiest way to control both cost and the tone of the last hour.
Sort the cold chain. Ice, tubs, refrigeration and where all of it lives. It is the detail most often left to the morning of.
Music and the rest
Ask your band or DJ about power requirements and bump-in time — a five-piece with their own PA needs more of both than couples expect. Confirm they know the curfew, and decide who is MC before the day rather than during it.
For photographers and videographers, look for private-property and marquee work in their portfolio specifically. Low light under a marquee at 9pm is a different job to a lit function room.
Five questions to ask every supplier
- Have you worked at this venue, or one like it? Experience of the site type matters more than experience generally.
- What do you need from us and from the site? Written, itemised, before they quote.
- What time do you arrive and leave? This is the raw material of the run sheet.
- What is not included? More useful than asking what is.
- Do you carry public liability insurance? Every supplier should, and your venue will want copies.
The run sheet is the whole job
Fifteen good suppliers with no shared timeline will produce a wedding that runs forty minutes late. One document fixes it.
Write it as a simple hour-by-hour table from Friday bump-in to Sunday collection: time, what happens, who is responsible, and their phone number. Send it to every supplier six to eight weeks out and ask them to correct their own lines. They will, and the corrections are where you find the clashes.
Then hand it to someone who is not getting married. A day-of coordinator with the run sheet is the difference between hosting your wedding and working at it.
Choose suppliers who have worked a paddock before. Then give all of them the same piece of paper.
How we help
There is no preferred supplier list here and no fee for bringing your own — the choice is entirely yours. We are happy to share the local caterers, bars, marquee companies and photographers we have worked with and trust, and equally happy for you to bring people we have never met.
Send us any supplier's requirements and we will confirm what the site provides before they quote: power and where it is, potable water, the homestead kitchen, vehicle access, level marquee ground, an amenities trailer providing four hot showers and five private toilets in addition to the farmhouse bathrooms, and Friday-to-Sunday access for bump-in and pack-down.
Our supplier policy in full is on the BYO wedding page.
The short version
- Book in order of scarcity: venue, marquee, caterer, photographer, then the rest.
- Insist your caterer visits the site before quoting.
- Supply your own stock, ideally sale or return, and confirm RSA and licensing with your bar supplier.
- Ask every supplier what they need from the site, in writing.
- One run sheet, corrected by the suppliers, held by a coordinator.
Common questions
What to ask each supplier before you sign.
What should you ask a wedding caterer?
What they need from the site (power, water, wash-up, service area), whether they have worked a private property before, what staffing is included, how they handle dietaries, whether crockery and glassware are theirs or hired, what happens to the waste, and what their minimum spend is. Ask for a site visit before they quote.
How does a BYO bar work at a wedding?
Couples may supply their own alcohol and arrange professional bar staff or a mobile bar to serve it. Any RSA and licensing requirements must be confirmed for the specific event and supplier. Most operators bring staff, ice, glassware and often the bar itself. You need to agree quantities, a service window and what happens to unopened stock afterwards.
How much alcohol do you need for a wedding?
A common planning figure is around one drink per guest per hour for the first two hours and roughly one per hour after that, skewed to the mix your crowd actually drinks. Your bar service will help you calculate it, and buying on a sale-or-return basis where you can removes the guesswork.
In what order should you book wedding suppliers?
Venue and date first. Then marquee, caterer and photographer, which book out furthest ahead. Then celebrant, bar service and music. Then furniture, styling and florals, which can be decided later without losing options.
Does Adeline Estate have a preferred supplier list?
There is no mandatory list and no fee for bringing your own. We are happy to share the local suppliers we trust and have worked with, but the choice is entirely yours.