Listen to the Podcast About Olio | Wedding & Event Space
Podcast Summary
In this riveting interview hosted by Katie Cronin, we are introduced to the visionary behind the remarkable Olio | Wedding & Event Space, Sarah Narcus. Sarah enthusiastically delves into the conception story of Olio, sharing how her vivid dream of creating a unique event space gradually turned into an awe-inspiring reality.
Sarah’s journey started with her first venture, a planning company named Without a Hitch. While running this business, she gained invaluable exposure to a host of different event venues. This experience helped her identify a notable gap in the market: the unfulfilled need for a distinctive, inspiring venue that catered to different types of events.
Cue in the abandoned church across her apartment street in Boston, which laid the foundation for her big dream. Sarah humorously recounts how her then-boyfriend (now husband) imagined purchasing and renovating this abandoned structure into a possible venue. Little did they know, this casual banter would indeed manifest itself into an even grander reality: Olio.
Fast forward to today, Sarah is the proud proprietor of Olio, transforming a 115-year-old theater into a vibrant and elegant event space. Laced with the charm of its historic past and the allure of modern upgrades, Olio beautifully embodies a delightful fusion of the past and present, making it a sought-after spot for weddings, corporate events, and much more.
Overall, Sarah Narcus’s dynamic journey towards creating Olio | Wedding & Event Space makes for a tale of inspiration for budding entrepreneurs and dreamers alike. Injected with persistence, vision and a keen sense for opportunities, Sarah’s story underscores how when it comes to dreaming big, the sky truly is the limit.
Learn more about Olio | Wedding & Event Space
This interview was provided by Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos
Podcast Transcript
Speaker 2 (00:24)
Hello, hello.
Speaker 1 (00:25)
Bye!
Speaker 2 (00:26)
So
excited to do this. For everyone, this is Sarah Narcus from… is it Olio?
Speaker 1 (00:31)
Yep. From Olio. So cool.
Speaker 2 (00:33)
in
Peabody. So we’re so excited to have you on today.
Speaker 1 (00:36)
Thank you, Katie. very excited to be featured on your podcast. Thanks for including me.
Speaker 2 (00:40)
Of
course. So I just want to go through kind of some ideas, some questions, learn more about Olio, learn more about kind of your, this is your baby, right?
Speaker 1 (00:50)
This was my first baby or maybe my second one. But yes, this is this business is came from an idea in my head into reality. So yes, my so cool.
Speaker 2 (00:58)
What was the moment that you realized you wanted to open your own venue?
Speaker 1 (01:02)
That’s such a great question. So I actually own a planning company as well called Without a Hitch. And I started that business just over 12 years ago. And I’d had this amazing experience over my first few years running the planning company of working at several dozen local venues. I’m sure you have this experience, Katie, of working at many different places and kind of seeing what opportunities there may be to kind of improve, kind of like think about
what’s being offered that maybe clients are looking for that maybe is not available right now. So in working at all these other venues, I had the experience of talking to couples in particular, but also corporate events, mitzvahs about what was available for venues and what they were looking for. And I recognized that there was this kind of gap in the market, but I never truly dreamed of owning a venue. I didn’t grow up thinking that this would be
my goal. actually, funny little story that I don’t often share is that where we were living when I was living in Boston with my then boyfriend now husband, had there was an abandoned church across the street from our apartment. And my husband would would joke like someday we’ll, we’ll be able to afford to buy and renovate that church and we’ll make it into a venue. And somehow that that idea just kind of stuck in my head that there could be a property that was abandoned that needed work.
that could be converted into something really cool. So I think I was pondering on it for a long time before I actually started the process.
Speaker 2 (02:28)
It had a long lead up and then it came to fruition.
Speaker 1 (02:31)
I think in these kinds of situations where you’re kind of putting your whole life on the line to do this kind of project, I think they kind of have to. To be honest, I’m pretty risk averse. mean, if you talk to other business owners, I think most folks are not risk averse. They’re kind of like, let me jump in, both feet, let me see. I am very kind of like nervous, Nellie, about stuff like that. So yes, it had to kind of percolate for a long time for me to actually do something about it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:57)
It sounds like it’s really paid off and been a great experience so far. From the pictures I’ve seen it looks beautiful. It’s a historic theater, right?
Speaker 1 (03:05)
Yes, the building that we ended up purchasing was built as a theater in 1910. So the building itself is 115 years old now. And it was operating as a theater through the fifties. Like if you can imagine how they used to build theaters at the turn of the century was like, did movies, cause movies were kind of operational at that time. They had film, but they also were doing live shows. So there was a stage and there was a screen and you know, it was operating as far as we know.
you know, all through prohibition. So it’s kind of was like the fun place to go. The theater itself actually closed in the late 50s. You know, I think as TVs became more prominent, a lot of these theaters that people visited on the weekends closed as TVs were moving into people’s houses. And so at that time, the building basically, it became storage. It basically became abandoned in the late 50s. And that is essentially how we found it.
in 2017 when we first stumbled across this property. yeah, it was a theater turned abandoned property.
Speaker 2 (04:06)
That’s so cool. mean, what a labor of love it must have been.
Speaker 1 (04:10)
The restoration was definitely the hardest part of the whole story, frankly, right? Like, because you’re taking a building that hasn’t been really touched or treated in decades, and you’re thinking about, how do we bring this to modern building code, right? So you’re talking about ADA accessibility, you’re talking about structural work, the roof hadn’t been replaced in many, decades. And then beyond just like, okay, how do I get this usable?
you also have to think about what do I need for this building to be successful? Not just habitable, but also to build a successful business. So, I was coming to this renovation or to this property acquisition with a lot of experience in weddings and other events and running a business, but I had never managed a construction project of this scale. I had never dipped my toe into historic restoration.
There was a lot of learning along the way for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:09)
So tell me about some trends that you’re seeing in the wedding industry, event industry. Anything interesting?
Speaker 1 (05:15)
Well, I would be so curious if you’re seeing the same thing from kind of the entertainment side, but one thing that I’m seeing very distinctly kind of, and this started to percolate, I think during COVID, but has been really clear in the last few years coming out of it is that particularly in the wedding world, but I think it will kind of switch over to other types of events as well. I’m finding that clients really want this process of planning to be pretty seamless. And what that might mean,
you know, for them, could be really different from clients from 10 or more years ago. Like I think about when I started my planning company in March of 2013, that was kind of the height of Pinterest. I Pinterest is still around, we love Pinterest, but it was really the height of DIY and couples were doing a lot of their own decor and a lot of, you know, they were sourcing their own mismatched water goblets and paper. Like I think that was amazing and it was a really
great time to enter the market in the kind of way that I did doing coordination at that time, because I was working with couples who had a very distinct vision and had a lot of tools, right? But that client still exists, right, for sure. There are people who want a DIY, who have their Cricut, who are ready to go with their Etsy shops, and we love that at Olio. But there’s definitely a movement, particularly amongst younger Gen Z clients who want
an easy feature who want to be able to say, here’s my budget, here’s my color scheme, here’s my goal or my vision or my vibe, as the kids say, right? And how do we accomplish that without getting into the nitty-gritty? So, I think that, I know we are thinking a lot about how to make that planning process really seamless for clients, for couples especially. And I think other vendors will be too in the future.
Speaker 2 (07:05)
I definitely have heard, I was just talking to a planner who said people used to show up with a U-Haul and all of their decor in a U-Haul, which was, that doesn’t happen anymore. And people now, want it to be a lot more plug and play. Like you just click and off it goes.
Speaker 1 (07:25)
Yeah, that’s a huge shift. mean, granted, at Olio, because the style of the space is such a blank slate, we do have a lot of those DIY couples. We do have couples showing up with a U-Haul. I still love it, right? But you just, have to be able to adapt as a wedding professional. I talk to other venues and planners and professionals like yourself all the time. And I think some folks are really nervous about where the industry could be going in the future or maybe.
are resistant to new platforms like TikTok or video platforms are unsure of how to have their business be adapted to what the clients need. for me, there’s no out for me. I’m all in on this business, on both of my businesses. And so it’s really important to me to kind of keep up with what’s happening and what’s next, hopefully.
Speaker 2 (08:10)
always
good to be forward thinking and keeping up with and anticipating new trends too.
Speaker 1 (08:15)
Yeah, that’s the goal. think actually what you do, Katie, is right on trend because one of the things that we’re seeing outside of that kind of idea that clients, couples want it to their planning to be much easier, I’m also seeing folks move towards a very personalized approach to planning. that I love, which is that people are really ditching the pieces of the planning process that don’t work for them.
or even pieces of their wedding day or their event day that don’t feel like them and instead are taking those funds and moving them towards things that feel very much in their ilk, right? And so maybe instead of doing things that were always done like a cake cutting and a bouquet toss or these toasts or that kind of thing, maybe they are having really special entertainment like doing pianos. Like there’s just a lot more opportunity for couples to say like, yeah, this is our,
This is our vibe. is our thing. And let’s cut out the stuff that doesn’t apply.
Speaker 2 (09:09)
I’m definitely seeing a lot more of that, especially since COVID, of like, if we’re doing this, let’s make it feel very us.
Speaker 1 (09:16)
Yeah. Yes. Yes. And that’s frankly my favorite. I often tell folks when they’re touring that my goal or for me, what makes a successful event is that guests are walking in the door and they’re saying, my gosh, this is so John and Sarah. Like it couldn’t be anybody else. Right. Because they’re, they’re, they’re visually seeing and they’re kind of experiencing something that was custom built.
Speaker 2 (09:42)
and really tailored to the personality, to the aesthetic, to the vibe of the couple. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:49)
Yeah, yeah. To me, that’s what’s fun, though. Like, don’t you think that if you just did the same thing every weekend, you would think… It gets so boring. Like, I’m not a robot. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:58)
That’s what brings the magic, know? Getting to really bring something, especially, you know, as dueling piano players, we are playing all requests. So all of our shows are so tailored individually to those people at the wedding. it’s really, you know, we get a kick out of having it be really, really specific to the couple.
Speaker 1 (10:17)
I think that’s so fun and I think it’s not just on trend, but that is like the future of events in general is that they’re going to be experiential, they’re going to be personal and people are going to be thinking, not that they’re trying to one up, you know, the last wedding they went to, but they’re really thinking, hey, what did my friends do and what am I going to, what is my going to be my different thing that we’re doing?
Speaker 2 (10:37)
Definitely. Now, what about some like cringe-worthy things maybe that you’ve seen?
Speaker 1 (10:42)
so hard because I feel like I really try to sit in a place where I’m not judging, right? Like where I’m not, like, you know, every single event is different and people are coming at it from a different place. And I would say one of the very unique parts for me about owning a venue like Olio is that we have couples from all different backgrounds and cultures. Like literally, like people are coming.
from every different perspective. I learn something on this job every single day, right? Like I’m learning about, we have a couple coming up next week who’s Cambodian and they’re doing some traditional Cambodian ceremonial pieces, which I had never heard of, but I got to learn, right? I get to witness these folks kind of introducing me to their individual cultures. That’s always my perspective is I’m always like, let me learn, let me kind of sit not in judgment, but instead in kind of…
a place where I can like watch and grow. However, that being said, sometimes there are clients who just cannot get out of their own way enough to like take the advice of the professionals around them, right? And so most of the couples, specifically the wedding clients who get married at Olio, most have a planner or coordinator. We advise that, we suggest it. And those are usually professional folks who are gonna give advice that is in the best interest of that client.
And it’s always up to the client whether they want to follow that advice, right? So for example, we host a lot of Jewish weddings at Olio and we often see folks kind of the Hora, which is a traditional Jewish dance. You probably are familiar giving your background, but for folks listening, this is a traditional dance at Jewish celebrations. It’s very upbeat. It’s kind of a circle dance where folks are kind of linking arms and hands and really.
happy celebratory. And oftentimes the celebrant, if it’s the mitzvah girl or boy or the parents or the bride and groom, get lifted up in chairs, right? And so the advice from me as a venue or from the planner is always going to be, you should rent chairs that have arms on them because that will be safer for somebody going up in chairs, right? Like you can imagine, you know, we in-house have a lovely black resin.
plastic folding chair with a pad on it. It’s a great chair for kind of everyday use in the venue. However, it is not appropriate to be lifted 12 feet in the air. like I have seen people ignore that advice, right? And kind of lift up. I don’t worry so much when it’s a sprightly young 25 year old, but I have seen grandma get lifted and fall off of those chairs, right? So those are the kinds of things where I’m just like,
These are small things. We should listen to our professional vendor team and take their advice. Those are the ones where I do sit in the back and I’m a little bit like, I wish you had taken that advice and not had to learn that lesson live in action in front of me.
Speaker 2 (13:21)
Now, what about the most unique or fun idea you’ve seen recently?
Speaker 1 (13:25)
my gosh, we do get a lot of this. So I would say a lot of folks are playing with food and beverage, which is really fun. I’ve seen smoky cocktails, which is kind of a new trend, which I love. A lot of whiskey and bourbon kind of with that smoked flavor in it. I see coffee and dessert being a huge kind of fun add-in item. know, people have been doing late night food for many years. That trend started probably 10 years ago.
with people bringing out fried food or pizza or sliders kind of after dessert. But instead what I’m seeing is more of a push towards having a more interactive dessert. So that’s been really fun. We’ve seen cannoli stations, we see a lot of ice cream bars. Just generally couples saying, hey, we don’t eat ice cream, we don’t eat cake at home, we don’t really want cake on our wedding day. So what are our other options? I’ve seen whoopie pies, I’ve seen.
you traditional apple pie, a lot of donuts. So that’s really kind of fun and interesting. We had a wedding recently that, believe it or not, incorporated a bounce house into the wedding. and that was for the grownups. Like it was not that was not for the there were no children in attendance. So this is all that to say, you like let your mind go wild, whether it’s entertainment or food or beverage.
feel like anything is possible. Although my caveat is you should ask your venue whether they allow bounce houses because there is, I learned there’s very specific insurance policies required. I’m aware of those now.
Speaker 2 (14:53)
Any advice you can help her for anyone just starting out on their planning journey?
Speaker 1 (14:58)
Yeah, in terms of like couples, maybe, or is that what you’re thinking? My best advice, because like we, have, obviously I have friends and family who’ve gotten engaged who maybe didn’t contract with us for services, but they come to me knowing what I do. I’m sure this happens to you guys all the time too, is people just kind of like, let me like kind of talk your ear off. My best advice that I give my own kind of siblings and friends and family is the
The best thing you can do at the very start of the planning process is make your list of priorities. I always invite couples to kind of sit down together. Maybe it’s over a bottle of wine or a great meal and to really dig in on what is important to you. If you have done that, every other decision will seem easier. And truly…
If you’ve planned an event of this scale, the scale of a wedding, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. There are so many decision points. This is basically just a series of decisions. I have seen couples become paralyzed by the number of decisions they have to make about how the napkin is folded and exactly how long they want to have their cocktail hour for. In essence, those decisions may matter to some couples, but not to others.
And the best way to figure that out is to, at the very beginning, or as soon as you can in the process, to say what is important to us as a couple. And there’s no right or wrong answer there because some couples I chat to, like they, for them, the food and beverage is the most important. And then like I might meet another couple, you know, an hour later who says like, you know, we don’t care about the food and beverage. We just want there to be, you know, a meal, right? What we really want is to have this 14-piece band, right? And then I might meet another couple.
an hour later who’s like, we don’t really care that much about the band, like a DJ will be perfect, but we care a lot about how the room looks, right? And so if you’re really into it knowing our priorities that we don’t want to spend over X dollars or our priorities that we want everyone we love in a room or our priorities that we have a weekend long experience, right? That will help define exactly what all of your decisions along the way are. So you kind of have to be really
honest with yourselves and especially if members of that planning team, it’s a bride and a groom or bride and a bride or a bride and a mom are not on the same page, that is where we see conflict most often.
Speaker 2 (17:15)
really good advice.
Speaker 1 (17:17)
It’s a starting point at least. You’re like, know it’s still going to be difficult. There’s still going be conflict. I mean, you’re planning this event for months, some couples for years. Things are going to come up that you don’t expect or anticipate. But if you can go back to that kind of like basic mission of why are we doing this event? Why did we not just elope, right? Why are we having a wedding? What’s important to us? Hopefully that’s a guiding light. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:41)
That’s great. Now a little rapid fire about pricing and payment. Could you give me an average event size and the cost of the venue?
Speaker 1 (17:49)
Yeah, that’s a great question. So I will say right up front, Olio puts our prices on the website. So we don’t require you to like pretend to be engaged or kind of like come out and secret shop us like in order to understand what it costs to get married at Olio. So you can go to oliopbd.com slash pricing. You can see our upfront pricing. We really try and give clients the tools to do all of their planning from home because I know that people are planning.
in the middle of the night and during the workday and on the weekends, they want to have everything in front of them so that they aren’t feeling like they’re waiting for a reply to an email or they’re waiting for a tour. So those prices are on the website. The range right now in the rates is between three and $10,000 to rent the space for the day, basically. And our rental is quite unique because we only do one event per day. So clients have this quite unique opportunity to.
kind of do what they want throughout that day, as well as the fee includes all of our onsite furniture. So that’s quite convenient for weddings or events that are basically up to about 200 people. have the furniture needed. From there, how do you think about what clients are spending on an event, particularly what couples are spending on the event? There is a huge variation, right? And so we have some couples who…
are choosing to get married on a Thursday and doing very basic food and beverage, having an event with 50 or 60 people and putting on a Spotify playlist. Like their total budget might come in, you know, in the 10 to $15,000 range, truly, right? That’s not the average. I would say it’s kind of a base, a minimum, right? Kind of the starting point. We have couples who have rented the whole entire weekend, Friday through Sunday, for setup through cleanup.
who are doing some major overhead installations of greenery and lighting and chandeliers, right? Who have a guest list of 200 people and are spending in the, I would say the low to mid six figures. So we’re talking about quarter million dollar weddings, definitely, right? So that’s big range, right? That can feel a little overwhelming to start. However, we do have a great budget guide on the website if anyone…
listening wants access to the budget guide, you can send me a DM on Instagram, which is @oliopeabody I’ll just send you the link. the budget guide kind of breaks down what folks are often spending in different categories, not required, right, but what they’re often spending. And the biggest spend, this is not specific to Olio, this is in general, wherever you’re getting married, the biggest spend you’re gonna have is on the food and beverage side.
That shouldn’t be surprising to folks when you think about what it costs to go out to dinner or buy your own groceries, right? But sometimes I think people are not fully aware of all the things that go into the food and beverage pricing. So that’s always where I suggest people start. You might find a venue that you think is amazing or you might start to set up a backyard event, Like in my planning company, we do a ton of backyard tentative events, right?
And you might think, okay, this is a really great, get the venue is free or all I have to do is rent a tent or get some bathrooms, right? But when you start to look at what the catering fees are including, you know, those are generally gonna be in the range of 100 to $200 per person and then go up from there depending on what is included. So I think that those numbers can be surprising to folks if they haven’t planned again, planned an event of this.
size and scale. if you’re kind of just getting started planning and thinking, what will this cost me? Food and beverage numbers, catering or, you know, on-site or off-premise catering, those quotes are a really good place to start.
Speaker 2 (21:31)
Now, what is the deposit amount?
Speaker 1 (21:33)
yeah, so from my end, very typical in the wedding world and event world is that Olio retains 50 % at booking of the rental fee and the other half is due three months before. So we have clients that are booked two years out and they paid us half the amount that they owe us when they book. And then we might not talk to them again for another year or two, right? Until that final payment is due or as they have questions along the way. So I think as folks talk to various vendors,
they should expect that upfront they may be spending something in that 50 % range to book a service and retain the services.
Speaker 2 (22:08)
And what’s the cancellation policy?
Speaker 1 (22:09)
Yeah, so our cancellation, probably like many folks, we took a really keen eye to it in March of 2020 to make sure that we were doing our best to be sustainable as a business, but also to do our best by our clients. And so at Olio, for example, we allow cancellations, but there’s no refunds on any payments that have been made. So you don’t get back the retainer you’ve paid, but you don’t owe me the remaining amount. again, pretty typical post-COVID.
We do suggest, and I would recommend that all clients, especially social events, weddings, mitzvahs, big birthdays, consider purchasing cancellation insurance. So this is a policy that you can get through any major insurance broker. You can definitely get them online. Read the terms closely because there are certain caveats that allow you to cancel or postpone, and there are certain ones that do not.
will feel like a protection of this large amount of money that you’re expending. we, as a venue, it’s right in our contract. It says while we don’t require cancellation insurance, we do strongly recommend it.
Speaker 2 (23:12)
Now in terms of catering, do you have an in-house catering service or do couples need to provide their own caterer?
Speaker 1 (23:17)
Yeah, so something in between that, which I think is really truly what sets us apart is that we have six options for catering. that’s pretty huge in the Boston area, particularly north of Boston. Most venues have one exclusive caterer or do on-premise catering, on-site catering. And that can be great. So like, don’t let me like say anything poor about some of these amazing catering companies that are doing exclusive catering, but it takes away the opportunity for clients to
make that choice like we were talking about earlier. It takes away the chance for clients to say, know, food is the biggest thing, the biggest thing that we care about, and we want a farm to table experience. Well, at Olio, you have that choice to work with one of our caters that offers a farm to table boutique catering experience, right? And then on the other end of the spectrum, sometimes we have folks that come in and they’re looking for something more casual. They want to do barbecue. They want to do flatbreads.
We do a fair number of South Asian weddings. So you wanna be able to bring in Indian food, right? So that’s kind of the opportunity that we offer that is quite unique and distinct is that ability to choose the caterer that is the best fit, both on the budget side, but also who really gets your vision.
Speaker 2 (24:25)
and to understand the vibe like we were saying, yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:28)
Yep. I think that’s really important because you’re going to spend, I don’t know, half of your total budget with the caterer. That’s an approximation, but very typical. You want to spend that with someone who’s really listening and who understands what you’re looking for, who you feel like is going to deliver the service that you need on this big day.
Speaker 2 (24:46)
Are there preferred vendors that you recommend? Are couples required to use them?
Speaker 1 (24:49)
So beyond the caterer, we really have an open vendor policy and that’s also quite unique. think that clients love that opportunity to bring in their favorite florist that their friend used or have their cousin who’s a photographer in Chicago shoot their wedding, right? Like that’s really important to me. And that goes back to that piece around every day is different, right? Because every single event that we walk into has a different vendor team.
Would it be easier if we always had the same three, four, five vendors on site? It probably would be an easier job, frankly, but I think it’s way more interesting and fun to have a different group. And it allows us as a venue, it allows us to meet an amazing crew of people every weekend. It’s like a one-time opportunity to execute with this team that will never again be in the same place together. So we really encourage folks to…
bring in the best fit for them in terms of vendors. That being said, we always suggest that clients, particularly social events, hire a planner and that a planner will be able to provide personalized referrals. So this is like the conversation with the planner about, know, this is our budget, this is our style, what kind of vendors would be a good fit. The planner is really the best resource for that.
Speaker 2 (26:05)
Got it, okay. What’s the maximum capacity of the venue?
Speaker 1 (26:08)
So our fire code is 500 people. It’s a big space. But that’s like a cocktail style party. So when we do weddings, most of our weddings are between one and 200. We can go over 200 with the configuration of the room. And we do, especially like in the 2020 years, right? Like in the last couple of years, we’ve done many events that are under 100 as well. So the room is adaptable. It’s quite unique to be able to fit all sizes. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:37)
Okay, is there a designated bridal suite or a changing area?
Speaker 1 (26:41)
So we don’t have on-premise, like on our property actual wedding suites, but we have a neighboring property that we have a partnership with. So there’s an inn that opened up right next door to us about a year and a half ago, and we have a special partnership with them. Even better than having it on-site. And I know a lot of venues do advertise that they have on-premise wedding suites, but in my experience, they usually don’t open in a timely enough manner for folks to actually start.
doing their hair and makeup at the time that they actually have to start, right? So you really want access to those rooms at seven, eight, nine a.m. You wanna be in a light-filled room, natural light in particular. And so really important to kind of have a great space. So having the inn next door has been perfect for that.
Speaker 2 (27:24)
That’s amazing. Are there any noise ordinances or curfews to be aware of?
Speaker 1 (27:29)
Our city permit actually allows us to party until midnight on Friday and Saturday. And we have slightly earlier times on other days of the week, but that’s also quite unique. you know, having worked all over New England, I can tell you that every town has its own noise ordinance rules. Every venue has its own rules. There are towns within 20, 30 minutes of Boston that require all music to be off at 9 p.m. 10 p.m. is pretty typical on the Cape.
So, you know, as folks are planning, that should be one of the first questions that you ask if you’re looking for a nighttime evening party. So really pleased that we are allowing parties till midnight.
Speaker 2 (28:05)
Is there ample parking available for guests? it complimentary?
Speaker 1 (28:08)
Yeah, so we are right in the middle of a city, which is really quite fun because we are walking distance to a ton of accommodations, right? So we have a hotel walking distance, we have bars, we have restaurants, there’s a brewery next door and a new children’s museum across the street. And so that being in the middle of a city has its pros and cons. So we don’t have our own private parking lot because we’re on Main Street, but we have access to all the city parking, which is quite abundant.
I’ve never had a problem with folks finding a spot and all the parking is free at night and on Sundays in our particular downtown. So really nice option to drive, would say for social events in particular, many folks don’t drive. They tend to want to party and they might grab an Uber or a cab, which are really easy to do because we’re in the city.
Speaker 2 (28:53)
Okay. Do you have a backup plan for outdoor weddings in case of bad weather?
Speaker 1 (28:57)
Yes, so our space is fully indoors and this is a really attractive feature. I don’t know if you guys remember, kind of, I think it was two, two June’s ago, it rained every single weekend. And I remember because it was a little traumatic, frankly, because, you know, my planning company is still operational without a hitch, still up and running. So we have weddings all over the place, many, many outdoor weddings. And I just remember every single week looking ahead at the forecast and saying, you’ve got to be kidding with me. Like every Saturday rain, rain, rain.
And that was really the moment where I was most appreciative of having an indoor venue like it nothing about the plan has to change nothing about the timeline has to change there doesn’t have to be this moment where the couple says man it’s raining on our wedding day what a bummer right I actually think that the rain lends itself really nicely to them to the kind of the moody nature of the lighting in this space so I’m into it I’m into the rain so we don’t have to kind of
devise any alternative plans, which is awesome.
Speaker 2 (29:54)
So how early in the day can vendors access the venue for setup?
Speaker 1 (29:59)
Yes. So because we just do one event per day, ultimately it’s up to the client to decide what’s best for them, right? In terms of what window they may need. We include in our rental fee 10 hours, so a bit more than most venues. Most people are setting up three, three and a half hours before the ceremony, if there’s a ceremony on site, and then budgeting about an hour for cleanup. And that means the wedding itself might be five to six hours long, but…
every single event is different. So it’s not like, okay, at 11 a.m. every Saturday we open for setup because every client is allowed to set the best time for them for the ceremony, right? So we have some ceremonies that are happening in the mid-afternoon or later in the evening. Every single client has their own specific timeline. So yeah, when vendors reach out to me with that question, I basically answer just like that, which is like, it’s really up to the client to choose what time is best for them.
Speaker 2 (30:50)
Is there an event coordinator or like manager on site during the day?
Speaker 2 (30:55)
We have a venue staffer on site. So very different than offering on site planning or coordination. We have somebody on site who’s there to work on behalf of the building. So we’re gonna make sure your heat, your air conditioning is working, the bathrooms are neat and tidy and restocked. We’re gonna help people with handicap access and make sure everyone follows the rules, frankly, right? So there’s always somebody from my team who’s doing that. And then we offer on site coordination as an optional add on.
Many, many clients, particularly wedding couples, come to us with a planner. So we don’t want to bundle the cost of that planning service into our rental because we want to encourage couples to choose the best planner for them. That being said, we recognize that not everyone has a planner when they start to contract with us and might be looking for something as simple as event coordination. So we offer the event coordination as an add-on, which I kind of…
put on my other hat of my planning company and we provide the service through that company.
Speaker 1 (31:54)
Now, who would be the main point of contact prior to the event?
Speaker 2 (31:58)
Right now it’s just me. So the team is very small. Like this is kind of the nature of starting a venue in 2019 and then being closed for a year and a half due to COVID is we’re kind of in growth mode here. We’re very, very busy, but right now I’m still doing all the sales, all the marketing and all the client management. So right now clients work directly with me for all of their questions in advance. We have some great resource guides and tools that we share with couples.
And again, we’re kind of sending folks off to work with a planner on those kind of more in-depth questions. But yeah, if you chat with any existing or recent past couples, they will say that they got to work directly with me for many years, kind of asking me any questions they may have about the venue.
Speaker 1 (32:43)
sounds like you’re really involved in that process.
Speaker 2 (32:46)
Seven days a week I work on this business, yeah. Is there any other way though? mean, truly I love it. Like I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s a balancing challenge. I have two young kids, so it’s hard, right? But I also built something that I love, and so there’s nothing better to me than to be working on behalf of it, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:09)
Well, thank you so much, Sarah. It was great to talk about Olio. It looks like a beautiful space. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It’s been a great conversation and I hope everything goes well the rest of your day.
Speaker 2 (33:22)
Thanks, Katie. I really appreciate it. would invite any listeners to follow us on any, we’re on all the platforms at oliopeabody, but particularly active on Instagram and TikTok. If those are places where you guys are, hit us up and you can send me a message. It will come right to me. So I’d love to say hi.
Speaker 1 (33:41)
Well, everyone go follow oliopeabody
Speaker 2 (33:44)
Thank you, Katie
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