The event planning checklist for a Michigan venue, twelve weeks out to the day after

Twelve weeks out

• Nail down your guest count first, since it decides which room fits: the Roostertail's event spaces run from the Club at up to 55 guests, to the Marine Room at up to 300, to the Palm River Room at up to 800.
• Pick a format for the food, either stationed hot appetizers or a plated or buffet dinner, and decide up front whether you want alcohol served, since only Packages 3 and 4 of the special-event menu include an open bar.
• Request a written quote that separates the per-person price from venue rental, tax and gratuity, since the special-event packages here add 6% sales tax and 24% gratuity on top of the food and beverage total.
• Book the date with the venue's sales team, Shawna, Nicole or Chantal, before you print anything or promise a room to your guests.
• If this is a corporate event or a milestone party running past 300 guests, confirm the Palm River Room's availability first, since it is the only room built for a crowd that size.

Eight weeks out

• Firm up a headcount range so the kitchen can plan quantities, even though the exact final number is not due yet.
• Choose the menu, plated dinner, buffet or stationed appetizers, and flag any dietary needs now instead of the week of the event.
• If you are planning a private party like a shower, reunion or milestone birthday, decide whether your group wants a seated dinner or a stationed reception, since that changes the room layout.
• Send invitations or a save-the-date now, and build in extra runway for out-of-town guests if your event lands between November and March.
• Ask your coordinator what staging and AV the room already has, versus what a DJ, band or presenter needs to bring in themselves.

From the moment we began planning our event, the Roostertail team demonstrated a level of attentiveness and dedication that went above and beyond. Our guests raved about the culinary delights served at our event.

Priscilla Perkins, corporate event, 2023

Four weeks out

• Lock your headcount as close to final as your contract allows, since catering, staffing and the bar all scale off that number.
• If alcohol is part of the event, confirm which special-event package you are on and how long beverage service runs, 3.5 hours on every tier.
• Confirm parking with your coordinator. It is free and on site, which matters if you are inviting people who do not know downtown Detroit well.
• Ask whether Wi-Fi access will be available for a band, DJ or AV vendor who needs to stream or sync equipment, and get the answer in writing.
• If you are hosting a graduation party in late spring, book early, since late spring is prom and graduation season on this calendar.

Two weeks out

• Give your final, contracted guest count, since this is usually the last number the kitchen and bar build against.
• Walk through the day-of timeline with your coordinator: arrival, when doors open, when dinner starts, when the bar opens and closes.
• Confirm arrival windows for every vendor, florist, DJ, photographer, cake, so nobody is standing in a parking lot waiting for a door that is not unlocked yet.
• If your event runs into the evening between November and February, ask about the room's lighting plan, since sunset over the river can land before 5 p.m. in December against after 9 p.m. in June.
• Reconfirm the seating chart or floor plan with your coordinator, especially if your count moved in either direction.

The week of

• Check the forecast and ask your coordinator to walk you through the indoor backup for anything you had hoped to do outside, since Michigan weather can turn inside a single afternoon.
• Confirm what time vendors can start loading in, and give each of them the venue's address and a parking plan.
• Send a final run-of-show to your coordinator, your vendors and anyone giving a toast or a speech.
• Pack for two seasons in one night: a coat for the walk in, since even a mild afternoon on the river can turn colder by the time your event lets out.

The day

• Arrive at your own call time, not your guests' start time, so you can walk the room before doors open.
• Let your coordinator run the room. Their job that night is the timing, the staff and the service, which frees you to stay with your guests instead of managing logistics.
• Confirm the bar is open and staffed at the hour your invitation promised, especially if you built in a separate cocktail hour before dinner.
• Give your coordinator one point of contact for last-minute questions, not a committee of well-meaning relatives.

After

• Settle the final bill, including tax and gratuity, within the window your contract specifies.
• Send thank-you notes to vendors, speakers and anyone who helped pull the night off, while the details are still fresh.
• If the event went well, ask the sales team about a tentative date for next year before the calendar fills.
• For a recurring event like a company holiday party or an annual gala, reach out to the sales team for next year's pricing before your budget cycle closes.

Michigan additions to your event planning checklist

Every event planning checklist Michigan venues hand out should carry a winter weather line: for anything booked November through March, confirm the indoor backup for an outdoor plan now, not the week of.

Sunset timing swings hard on this river. A June event holds daylight past 9 p.m., while a December event loses the view by around 5 p.m., so plan photography or patio time around the season you booked.

A corporate event planning checklist for a December party should treat the date itself as the scarce resource, since Michigan companies compete for the same Friday and Saturday nights every holiday season.

A party planning checklist for a venue this size should include a question about where coats go from October through April, since guests will be in coats before dinner and out of them by dessert.