CBIZ INNKEEPERS INSURANCE BLOG

Insights and liability tips on how to protect your inn or bed & breakfast, giving you and your guests peace of mind.

Ward, Hayden
/ Categories: BLOG Articles

The Ultimate Guide To Planning A Wedding At Your Inn

Outdoor wedding at a bed and breakfast

Inns are timeless wedding venues that offer nostalgic memories for not only the happy couple but also their guests. Couples who want a destination wedding or an intimate setting flock to bed and breakfasts. While hosting a wedding at your inn may sound like a fairytale, organizers must shoulder a significant burden — prime responsibility for ensuring overall health and safety at the event.

As an inn owner and wedding venue, it can be difficult to do your job while knowing that you will be accountable for health and safety slip-ups. You can keep employees, contractors and members of the public safe at your event by following some easy-to-adopt guidance.

Planning a Wedding at Your Bed & Breakfast 

When initiating the wedding planning process, remember to keep the level of detail in your planning proportionate to your event’s scale or degree of risk. Establishing such limits early will help you avoid overlooking important health and safety hazards.

Next, choose a dedicated team to assist in your various duties. Assess your strengths and weaknesses and pick individuals that can provide support in the areas where you feel weakest. Make sure there is a clear understanding of who will be responsible for what. Good communication from the start will support the whole planning process.

Liquor Liability

Open bars, custom cocktails and champagne walls are all major wedding trends. All it takes is a single liquor liabil­ity claim to put your entire business at risk. A bartender is legally liable for serving alcohol to a patron who becomes intoxicated and then injures a third party. According to the Insurance Information Institute, liquor liability exposure is not limited to those whose primary business is the sale of alcoholic beverages. You are considered a social host if you provide alcohol to individuals in a noncommercial manner. It is important to know the law in your jurisdiction and take the appropriate steps to control your risk.

Host liquor coverage is intended to cover an occasional “party” situation hosted by the business. It does not cover you if you are in the business of manufacturing, distributing, selling, serving, furnishing, or giving away alcoholic beverages.

Catering

If your team is also catering the wedding, food spoilage is a key concern. Regardless of what type of food you're serving, the amount of food that your employees will be handling and the consistent potential for contamination create significant risks. Purchasing food items in bulk is logical, but improper storage or handling practices (especially during the transportation process) can result in mass spoilage and major financial losses.

The potential for food poisoning and allergic reactions is ever-present, making continued patron safety a challenge. If one of your patrons becomes ill due to your food or accidentally ingests a foreign object found in one of your food items, your company could face legal ramifications and suffer irreversible reputational damage.

Candle Lit Ceremonies

Nothing says “I do” quite like the glow of candles. They set the mood and completely transform spaces. Unfortunately, real candles pose a few problems. They put you at high risk for a fire. Not only is fire a big concern, but hot wax-coating objects can also be extremely dangerous.

Each venue is as unique as the couple exchanging vows. While some inns allow open flamed candles, others strictly prohibit them. It’s so important for the inn and the wedding planners to make sure they are on the same page to comply with their policies. It may mean hiring a fire watch security guard during the event to keep an eye on any open flame. 

In the past, flameless candles looked nothing like real candles. Now, there are so many realistic options for flameless candles. The secret behind finding a good is getting ones that have moving wicks. Up close, you'll see a little piece of plastic balancing on a thin wire to give it a real flame effect.

Transportation Management

It’s easy to get caught up in the wedding bliss itself and forget about the traffic and transportation operation side of things. To efficiently manage the car traffic and parking at your event, take time before each event to map everything out, assess risk areas and create the correct parking signage. Don’t forget to work with the party host on providing alternative transportation if people have been drinking and intend on driving home.

Ending the Night With a Bang

Fireworks during a wedding reception are the ultimate showstopper. There are two different categories for event fireworks: consumer and professional. Typically, wedding fireworks are larger than the average “safe and sane” fireworks, but they fall under the consumer category. If your state and county allow consumer fireworks and you feel comfortable with them at your property, it’s a wise idea to brief your team on firework safety.

The Perfect Marriage — CBIZ Innkeepers Insurance

The wedding day will come and go, but their love for your inn will forever grow. Whatever the magnitude or nature of your events, we have all the resources to create an insurance solution perfectly tailored to your inn. Enjoy the sense of stability that comes with insuring your property and event and bolstering your planning efforts with thorough risk management.

To find out more about protecting your inn, connect with one of our CBIZ Innkeepers Insurance experts today!

This blog may contain scenarios that are provided as examples only. Coverage is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy issued. The information provided is general in nature and may be affected by changes in law or the interpretation of such laws. The reader is advised to contact a professional prior to taking any action based upon this information.

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