How to Design a Small Banquet Hall

Small banquet halls are ideal for intimate social gatherings, weddings and parties. With a cozy atmosphere, you don't have to worry about filling up the space in a small banquet hall, other than the necessary items you need in order to pull off a successful event. When designing the layout for your small banquet hall, determine what types of food, entertainment, activities and decorations will be present in the room so that you can map out how the space should flow from one side of the banquet hall to the other. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Draw the outline of the banquet hall. Make notes on your diagram for where doors and windows are. You don't want to accidentally design the room in a way that blocks one of the doors.

2

Work your larger structures into the diagram first. Your dining tables, for instance, will take up a lot of space in the room. Count up the total number of guests you expect attending your event, and sketch a few drafts of potential seating arrangements. Try seating arrangements with circular tables that seat six to ten people each, and then again with rectangular tables that seat more. See which type of arrangement offers you the most convenience.

3

Add your banquet tables into the design of your hall. The banquet tables are what the food will be placed on, such as carving stations, appetizer tables and buffet tables for entrees. You might also have a beverage bar. Place the banquet tables and beverage bars in a location of the room that is central and accessible to your guests. Consider putting the banquet tables next to a doorway that leads to the catering kitchen in the back, so that servers and caterers do not have to walk through the entire hall to refill the entree warmers.

4

Reserve space for a small dance floor, DJ, band or a podium where a guest speaker will be giving a presentation. Put the entertainment in a centralized location in the hall, so that guests can see it from their spots at the tables.

5

Leave room in the design for mixing and mingling. Your guests will want to walk around and go from table to table to talk to one another. As such, do not cram your tables together, making it difficult for people to get through.

6

Designate a special spot in the hall for auction items, if an auction is part of your event activities.

7

Figure out where to place decorative accents. If you are bringing in ice sculptures, large floral arrangements or chocolate fondue fountains, place them on tables that you already have set up, that way you do not need to add more tables to your small banquet hall.

8

See what items you can put on the outside of the banquet hall to save space. For instance, a wedding guest book table is best left on the outside of the banquet hall's doors, so that guests can sign the book as they enter the room. This also eliminates the clustering of guests in the hall who gather around the table to sign the book.