Wedding professionals within the industry sometimes talk in their own language. During a venue tour or planning meeting they might casually throw out the phrases “room flip” or “Oscar style” without thinking twice about explaining what those phrases mean. There is no shame in stopping a vendor when they mention verbiage you don’t understand – their goal is to work as a team to bring your wedding vision to life and that starts with everyone understanding the meaning behind specific industry words. That’s why we’re doing a class today… Wedding “Room Flip” 101.

So – what is a room flip? When would you need one? What are your options? Let’s break it down!

A room flip is a situation where a ceremony space will need to be “flipped” or transformed into a reception set-up. There are two scenarios that would require a room flip.

Scenario One: you are planning on hosting your ceremony outdoors and your venue does not have a separate indoor ceremony location. That means your ceremony back-up plan is the same room as your reception location.

Scenario Two: you are not planning an outdoor ceremony and have chosen a venue that hosts the ceremony and reception within the same space. That means your original plan is to host your ceremony in the same room as your reception, requiring a flip.

There are four flip options you can explore, but it’s important to discuss these with your venue in case they have advice or regulations regarding specific set-up types.

If you find yourself in “Scenario One”, you’ll be keeping your eye on the weather leading up to your wedding day. Inclement weather can include rain, strong winds, an intense cold front, sleet, or snow – each of these providing a less than ideal situation on the wedding. But it could also include weather leading up to the wedding. Heavy rain with little sun to dry it out, could leave your ceremony site over-saturated and muddy, with the arbor and chairs sinking into the ground. 

Check with your venue on their specific rules and regulations around when a ceremony must be moved from its original outdoor location to inside. Do you make that decision, or do they make that decision for you? Is the decision made prior to the wedding day or on the wedding day itself? Who facilitates the transition to move the ceremony from outdoors to indoors?

COMPLETE FLIP

A complete flip is likely what you picture when hearing the phrase “room flip.” In this scenario the ceremony and reception will be taking place in the exact same location and you’d like no aspect of the reception to be set up or seen prior to the ceremony. Take a deep breath because this is the most cumbersome flip within the wedding room flip 101 course.

This type of flip requires a significant number of on-hand staff, an extended cocktail hour, and compliance from your venue. You may need to request or puchase additional access time at your venue to allow the time needed to complete a full flip. And you’d need to make sure to have a completely separate cocktail hour location so that guests can be moved out of the space while vendors quickly move furniture and unpack decorations.

While this may be what you initially envision when hearing about a “room flip”, let’s chat about three additional options that will help decrease, or eliminate, additional time and cost.

When would we encourage a complete flip?

  • If your venue access allows you an extended cocktail hour
  • If there’s storage space handy for the tables and decorations
  • If your venue has a separate cocktail hour location
  • If you’re able to hire extra hands to handle a complete flip

FULL CEREMONY FLIP

A “full ceremony flip” will have a true ceremony setup with chairs available for guests arranged into rows. The reception tables are completely set prior to the beginning of the ceremony yet pushed off to the side. The decorated tables may be behind a curtain where no one sees them, pushed against the edge of the wall where they may be seen by guests (but not in your ceremony photos), or may be towards the back of the room where guests walk by them as they enter. 

      After the ceremony, it’s best if guests are escorted to a separate cocktail hour location so the designated team (whether that be through your venue or a professional coordinator) can start moving tables and chairs into place. Once tables and chairs are in the correct reception location, the final touches will be handled such as placing salads and lighting candles. 

      With this option, your set-up team can complete as many tasks as possible prior to the wedding such as setting linens, flowers, candles, place cards and dinnerware on the reception tables. While some of the work is completed ahead of time, having to move all tables and chairs could take roughly 30 minutes to an hour depending on your guest count and the number of team members designated to assist with the flip.

      When would we encourage a full ceremony flip?

      • If you visually want everything to take place in the same room and your venue allows it
      • If your venue has a separate cocktail hour location for guests to go during the flip process
      • If you have a team ready to handle the flip, whether that be through the venue or a professional coordinator
      • If you’re okay with having a minimum one-hour cocktail hour

        PARTIAL FLIP

        A “partial flip” will allow you to have traditional ceremony photos by incorporating Oscar-style seating for select guests. You and your venue will decide how many chairs are needed on either side of the aisle to create the traditional row design; this can range from only immediate family up to half your guest count. 

        All reception tables will be decorated, but the tables that will use the chairs located at the ceremony will be pushed to the side. All the remaining tables will be set in their reception location and these guests will sit at their tables during your ceremony. This is called Oscar-style seating.

        Once the ceremony is finished, the flip team will move the few tables into place, add the chairs that were used for the ceremony, and finally place the head table. This is a much quicker process and allows you to get traditional ceremony photos without the commitment of a full flip.

              When would we encourage a partial flip?

              • If you want your immediate family set ceremony style, but are not worried about all guests being seated that way
              • If your venue allows it, of course
              • If you’d like to minimize the flip time
              • If you’d like photos with a traditional ceremony set up

                  OSCAR-STYLE FLIP

                  This is the least disruptive flip process within the wedding room flip 101 course for guests as it requires minimal table movement. And if inclement weather rolls in unannounced this may be the best, or only, option to keep on schedule with your ceremony timeline.

                  An Oscar-style ceremony is where all guests, even close family, are all seated at their reception tables to witness the wedding. Guests aren’t commonly photographed in close-up ceremony photos, but wide-angle photos of the room will show guests seated at their tables. 

                  After the ceremony, the only tables and chairs that are put in place are those needed to create a head or sweetheart table.

                  When would we encourage an Oscar-style flip?

                  • If you want the ease of no large transition
                  • If your venue doesn’t allow any alternative room flip option
                  • If your venue doesn’t have a separate cocktail-hour space
                  • If you’re making a last-minute decision to move the ceremony indoors

                        Enjoy Wedding Room Flip 101? Ready to start finding vendors for your wedding? Check out our collection of Kansas City Wedding Vendors.