CAPACITY
How many guests does the Event Center fit?
The Event Center can seat up to 160 guests at tables inside the reception space and seat another 120 guests at tables outside on the uncovered and covered patios.
The inside the Event Center, you can seat up to 130 people for a ceremony.
The amphitheater can seat 300 guests in chairs.
Can I have my wedding ceremony inside if the weather is rainy or cold?
Our Event Center has interior ceremony space for up to 130 guests only. If you are planning a wedding with more than 130 guests, it would be good to plan on having tents available that can be placed on our patios in case of inclement weather. We do not have tents available. You would need to rent tents from a third-party vendor.
Can I use the Tasting Room or Tasting Room Patio for my wedding or event?
The Tasting Room is available for exclusive rental use only when it is not open to the public. That means it is only available for private paries on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can also rent the Tasting Room in the mornings before we open at noon or after we close at 6pm during winter/spring hours.
The Tasting Room seats up to 45 guests inside. The Patio can seat up to 60 guests outside.
ALCOHOL
What alcohol are we allowed to serve at our wedding or event?
You can serve wine, beer, cider, or hard alcohol at events. If you only serve wine, beer and cider, the Aurora Colony Vineyards staff can serve your alcohol. If you choose to serve hard alcohol, you will have to hire a licensed and insured third-party bartending service to serve all the alcohol because Aurora Cololny Vineyards' servers are only licensed to serve wine, beer and cider.
Is there a minimum amount of wine that must be purchased if I have my wedding here?
No. You are not required to serve wine if you rent our event venue for your wedding or event. If you do choose to serve wine, however, it must be our wine. No outside wine (except for champagne) is allowed.
You may purchase any amount of wine that you would like. We do charge a 20% gratuity on all wine that is purchased for your wedding. This gratuity is then given to the bartender(s) at your wedding.
Do I have to purchase other alcohol through you?
Clients who book our venues after May 1, 2023, are required to purchase their wine, beer and cider through Aurora Colony Vineyards. We offer our estate wine plus 10 Barrel Brewing and pFriem Family Brewing beer and cider. A 20% gratuity is charged on all alcohol purchased through us. This gratuity is then given to the bartenders at your wedding. Our servers can serve wine, beer and cider to your guests.
If you choose to serve hard alcohol, you will have to hire a licensed and insured third-party bartending service to serve all the alcohol because Aurora Colony Vineyards is only licensed to serve wine, beer and cider.
Who can bartend at my wedding?
Aurora Colony Vineyards offers bartending services if you are serving beer, wine, cider, and seltzers only.
If you wish to serve hard alcohol or just wish to have a non-winery bartender, a licensed AND insured bartending service must be hired. If you would like a list of recommended bartending services, please ask the Venue Manager.
Many people ask if they can have their friends who are OLCC-licensed bartend at their wedding. The answer is no, unless that friend has proof of liability insurance. It is important that all bartenders have liability insurance in the unfortunate event that a guest causes an accident or injury after the wedding. The liability insurance that we require for our events covers the host of the event, not the bartender.
If you have questions about bartending, please ask the Venue Manager.
CATERING
Do you offer catering?
Yes. We do offer in-house catering. Please contact our Venue Sales Manager for details.
Do we have to use your catering or can we use an outside caterer?
You do not have to use Aurora Colony Vineyards' catering service, but we'd love it if you did! We do not require use of any particular caterer and do not charge a fee for using outside vendors.
Is there a kitchen available for my caterer to use?
The Event Center has a sink and refrigerator that can be used by you and your caterer. It does not have a stove, oven or freezer. Outside caterers will need to bring their own heating/warming equipment.
Do you allow food trucks and mobile bars?
Yes! We have the perfect spot right outside the event venue for food trucks and mobile bars to park.Â
We have one 50-amp outlet and one 30-amp outlet for food trucks to use.
MUSIC & SOUND
Does the Event Center and Amphitheater have sound equipment available for use?
No. All sound equipment would need to be brought by a DJ or rented from a third-party vendor. There are many power outlets inside and outside the Event Center as well as power near the Amphitheater.
What time does music need to end?
All venue rentals must be end by 11pm.
Generally, music ends by 10pm so you have one hour to clean up before the site is closed at 11pm.
All DJs must have their equipment packed up and ready to depart the venue by 11pm.
If all clean-up is not finished by 11pm, you may be charged for extra rental time.
Â
COST & FEES
What is included when I rent the Event Center and Amphitheater?
Your rental includes 9 hours of use of the Event Center, Amphitheater and Get-Ready Suites (which are located in our winery building).
In the Event Center, it includes 5-foot round guest tables, chairs, 6-foot & 4-foot rectangle tables, cocktail-height tables, two movable bars, and a metal ceremony arch.
In the Amphitheater, it includes guest chairs.
We do a one-time set up and takedown of all your tables and chairs in both the Event Center and Amphitheater.
How much does it cost to rent the Event Center?
It depends on the day of the week and the time of the year. Click HERE to see our current Event Center rate sheet. For rental rates for our Tasting Room, please email events@acvwine.com.
Are there any other fees associated with renting the venue?
If you wish to rent the Event Center/Amphitheater for more than the standard 9 hours, the rate is $250/hour.
If you purchase wine to be served at your event, we will provide one server for free for your first 100 guests. If you have more than 125 guests, you may need a second server, for which we charge $45/hour.
If you would like to schedule an event on a holiday, there is a $500 fee added to the rental price. Holidays include: New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. No events will be scheduled on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
We have an Early Bird Entry fee of $100 for rental which begin before 10am. This fee covers our cost having the venue cleaning done earlier in the day.
If clean-up extends beyond your stated rental time, you may be assessed an additional hourly fee that is stated in your contract.
If you choose to have us cater your event, all catering will be done with a separate contract.
Do I need event insurance?
Yes. We require a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for events. This COI is for liability purposes and will cost you between $50-120 depending upon what insurance company you purchase it thorugh. Event insurance protects you if you or your guests damage the property or gets injured on site. You can get this insurance through your insurance agent or an online agent like Event Helper or eWed Insurance.
WHAT ELSE?
Do you require a day-of coordinator?
We do not require you to hire a wedding coordinator or a day-of coordinator; however, we will ask you for the name of a person who will be your point person on the day of your wedding.
This person should have knowledge of your plan for the day and be available if there are questions about decorating, vendors, etc. and be available at the end of the evening to ensure that the venue is properly cleaned up.
When a coordinator is not hired, we've often had couples assign this role to a close friend, aunt or mother-of-the-bride or -groom.Â
This is reassurance that your wedding day goes off without a hitch, and you have someone you trust available when you are getting ready and shouldn't be bothered with questions.
Are you pet friendly?
With prior approval, yes! Our concrete floors and grassy amphitheater are pet-friendly, we just ask that any messes are cleaned up. Dogs also need to be on leashes for the duration of the event.
Dogs are not to be kenneled in the get-ready suites under any circumstances.
What kind of decorations are allowed - and not allowed?
ALLOWED
- Real candles are allowed as long as they are in a glass container that is taller than the candle flame.
- Real flower petals must be used in the amphitheater if they will be spread or tossed by a flower girl. Faux flowers and greenery are fine inside the reception space.
- You can hang flowers and greenery from the beams using twine, string or fishing line.
- You can wrap the beams with twinkle lights.
NOT ALLOWED
- No nails or tacks in the walls. Command Strips are OK.
- No tape or hot glue on any chairs inside or in the amphitheater. If you would like to hang items on chairs, please use string, fishing line or ribbon.
- No sparklers.
- No fiber optic light wands (they are a mess to clean up).
- No confetti of any kind. Rice paper confetti does not dissolve in water as easily as they say, and all confetti is difficult to clean up.
If you have ideas for other decorations and you aren't sure if they are allowed, please ask the Venue Manager.
If extra cleaning needs to be done by our staff to clean up because you used one of the not-allowed decorations or the venue is left overly messy (i.e. frosting smeared on the floors or patio, grease on the floors left by the caterer), you will be charged $45/hour for clean-up as determined by our facilities manager.