Cleanup is undoubtedly the most dreaded part of any party.
But like it or not, someone has to deal with the mess once the music and lights are out.
So who is it going to be? Is it your bridesmaids, family members, or friends?
SO, Who Cleans Up at the End of the Wedding?
SHORT ANSWER – It depends. Some wedding venues and decorators do the cleaning after the reception. But this is included in the package you will be offered. You may need to hire a cleaning crew for this task at other times. This group of professionals handles cleanup of any size or venue. Your wedding planner should assist you in getting this team. But if you know of one, well and good.
What Do Wedding Cleaning Services Involve?
If you decide to hire a cleanup team, you need to know what you are paying for.
Because there are different companies, the services offered may vary widely.
However, most cleanup experts handle the following:
1. Floors
Your team will sweep the venue’s floors, vacuum, and mop them to perfection.
Also, they will remove flowers stuck on the walls and clean up pieces of cakes you threw at each other that ended up on the walls, leaving the place sparkling clean.
2. Trash
The team can remove trash in the wedding venue, like the decorations, food trash, bathroom trash, and anything you and your guests live behind that is of no use.
3. Bathroom
The cleaning service will wash the toilets, bathrooms, mirrors, and floors your guests use during the wedding.
4. Furniture
Depending on your agreement, your cleanup team can fold, stack, and store the chairs properly and remove tables where they aren’t supposed to be.
They can also pack up dance floors in some cases.
5. Collect Lost Items
With alcohol present and people dancing, it’s common for people to leave their items behind.
A good cleaning service will collect and pack the forgotten things and ensure they get to the owners.
6. Food
Weddings involve using plenty of dishes, cups, spoons, and other cutlery.
Often, these are left behind once the celebrations die down.
The cleaning tool can remove them and help pack or dispose of food.
They will also clean sinks, kitchen surfaces, and working tops and ensure they are thoroughly sanitized.
What to Know Before Hiring a Cleanup Team?
Hiring a cleanup team can be the best decision you make. It might be your only option.
Here are some things to keep in mind before you get a cleaning crew:
1. Ask Your Wedding Venue
Read your contract thoroughly, and if you have any questions, reach out to the venue coordinator.
Make sure you know what’s required to clean up after the wedding. Some venues offer cleaning services as part of their wedding package.
Therefore, you don’t have to find a cleaning service yourself. Also, ensure you follow the venue’s rules on how you should leave it after the reception.
If the wedding venue doesn’t offer a cleanup service after the event, you will have to hire a cleaning team.
2. Consider Your Budget
Before hiring a cleanup team, consider how much money you will spend.
This service is not cheap, although it may be cheaper than the packages decorators provide. Due to a lack of funds, some people do the cleaning themselves.
This is especially true if your wedding is small and there is not much to clean.
There may be a few cleaning tasks with a short reception afterward. Therefore, you can easily manage the cleaning.
But it can get tricky if the wedding is too long and big.
Remember that you will be so busy during the wedding that you will only rest after the wedding.
With a cleanup crew, you can start relaxing immediately after the ceremony as they will cater to the mess. But does your budget allow it?
3. Communicate Your Expectations
A lot of things are left behind after the wedding. Your cleanup crew needs to know where the items will go for an easy time.
So communicate with them about this as well as what you expect from their service. Doing this saves you potential stress and misunderstandings for misplaced items.
Please remember to inform them to keep the rented decors to return to the decorator or the store that gave you.
You may also have other stuff you borrowed from your family and friends. Ensure they keep them safe; otherwise, you may be forced to buy them afresh.
Additionally, there are often leftover foods and specific decorations the couple leaves behind after the wedding. If you want them after the event, please inform your cleaning service early.
Is It Rude to Ask Guests to Help with Cleanup?
Yes. It is tacky to ask guests to help clean the venue after the reception. They came to your wedding to celebrate and have fun with you. So unless they volunteer, please do not ask them to clean up.
The same goes for your bridesmaids.
They’ve already done much work supporting you before and throughout the event. Therefore, expecting them to do more after the wedding is unfair.
Do Wedding Planners Cleanup After the Wedding?
No wedding planners are not responsible for cleaning the wedding venue. They may help find and supervise a cleaning team, but that is just it.
So if you are the wedding planner, you must pay the vendors and other bills, know the person with the marriage license, the one collecting gifts, the one packing up the décor and rented items, and whether the space is clean after the wedding.
Your wedding planner coordinates with your wedding venue. Therefore, they will inform you whether you need to hire a cleaning crew.
They will also notify you whether each vendor will cater to their own cleanup. That way, you won’t be forced to hang around the venue after the reception.
Should You Cleanup the Next Day?
If you can leave the décor until the next day, that is great.
However, we recommend that the cleanup happens on the same day.
The mess made during the night looks rather disgusting during the day.
And this is not how you want to remember your wedding, right?
Final Thoughts
We hope we have helped you answer who cleans up the wedding venue after the reception.
Please ensure you have organized the cleaning services to avoid being charged penalties.
Read the contract carefully about the cleaning rules and work with a planner who knows the contract to avoid being penalized.
References
https://www.marthastewart.com/7862506/post-wedding-cleanup-responsibilities
https://www.thebridelink.com/blog/%2Finspiration%2F2020%2F12%2Fwedding-clean-tips-part-two