BYO Venues

When it comes to event venues, there are many factors that we need to consider, like the location, parking, and fit-out of the venue. Equally important is the option to bring your own food and/or drinks to the event.

BYO is the ability to ‘bring your own’, which basically means that instead of the venue providing all of the food and drinks, you have the option to supply your own.

When I say bring your own as well, this doesn’t necessarily mean you at home cooking up your own pizzas or something and bringing them along on the day. This can also actually mean bringing your own caterer or food truck into the venue for the evening.

Why is this so great? This means that the amount of flexibility is much higher. You aren’t limited to what the in-house team offers in terms of catering or drinks. You can literally bring anything in.

Whilst this is awesome, BYO venues are not super popular these days around Brisbane. Things like licensing, permits and pricing all play a factor in whether a venue goes BYO or not.

This means finding the right BYO venue can actually be a lot more challenging than you would initially think.  A great BYO venue will be super clear on their expectations of the suppliers, will often provide you a list of recommended suppliers who know the space, and don’t make their BYO costing too high.

When you do finally decide on your venue, make sure you are super clear on the cost of this from the venue. Venues will often put a per-head BYO charge (particularly for drinks) on your total bill; this can sometimes actually be more than what they would have charged you to do it in-house.

For instance, I have had venues say they will allow me to bring BYO drinks in, but their per-head corkage fee was $48 dollars, and their 2 hours drinks package was only $45. This can be a bit of a deal breaker if you’re really trying to stick to a budget!

Never fear, though; after planning hundreds of events all around Brisbane, we’ve found our top 8 BYO venues, and we’re going to give you all the tips now!

 

Our Top BYO Venues

LightspaceFortitude Valley

Lightspace is a unique warehouse venue in Brisbane’s inner city. It has lots of different open areas within the space and can fit up to 300 people for your bigger events, or you can section off areas and have smaller more intimate spaces.

The venue’s industrial style, rustic furniture and moodier colour palette makes for a great option for those events that you want to have a more impactful venue, and not fall into the ‘too pretty category’.

Lightspace has lots of recommendations on catering solutions for the space, or you can bring your own.

 

Aston Martin Model Launch
Lululemon Influencer Event

Loyal Hope, Fortitude Valley

Loyal Hope is a great spot for smaller corporate workshops all the way through to intimate weddings. It was originally constructed back in 1923 as a lodge for meetings of the Oddfellows and is now home to some of Brisbane’s best events.

The team at Loyal Hope will take care of all of your drink needs from their fully self-service bar, but bring along your best catering options.

They can hold a food truck at the front of the venue, or have on-site ovens and tables for a DIY make your own kitchen setup underneath the venue for your catering team to whip up a menu.

The Joinery, West End

With an incredibly modern and contemporary warehouse feel to it, the Joinery is a great option for your BYO event.

The function space is a completely open canvas of 4 concrete walls and a concrete floor, with the option for you to do whatever you would like to the space.

The space can be transformed into anything by including a brand activation or a really cool hanging installation.

The Lussh, Woollongabba

The Lussh has exploded onto the event scene recently, becoming incredibly popular for corporate lunches and brand activations alike.

The venue, like The Joinery, will provide you with an out-of-this-world drinks experience, complete with custom cocktails and everything you need to wow your guests.

They have an in-house kitchen that your catering team can use as they need, meaning that the options for BYO catering are limitless. Make sure you ask the team what their recommended caters are that know the space. It never hurts to work with people who have regularly worked in a space before.

Velvet Rope Entertainment greeting guests
Herbalife partner thankyou dinner

The Brookfield Hall, Brookfield

This Hall is one of the unmistakable classics when it comes to BYO venues in Brisbane. The hall lets you BYO everything, from drinks to catering and furniture and décor in between.

With a rich history and community feel to the venue, this boutique and vintage hall has both an indoor and outdoor option and a basic in-house kitchen.

This venue really does it all yourself; you will even need to supply wait staff and pick up the keys from the office before the event! It doesn’t get much more BYO then that.

Newstead Studios, Newstead

Just like the name suggests, this studio-style warehouse ticks all the boxes in terms of a modern and stylish event space.

With the option to BYO your catering, drinks and furniture, the venue really is a one-stop shop for all of you DIY-ers out there.  

Benga Box, Stafford

Benga Box is a unique BYO venue in Brisbane, perfect for your next self-catered event.

The venue houses music memorabilia, an iconic vintage music box, and, of course, the option to bring in your own drinks and catering.

Rosewood Estate, Beechmont

Set on 250 acres and with views of the valley all around this spot is an absolute beauty. They take BYO to the next level by adding BYO’ ing a marquee! You will be responsible for all the staffing, catering, drinks and even accommodation on site for your guests!

Remember BYO events are always more work! They have more moving parts and require a bit more coordinating and planning

If you need help bringing your BYO event to life or to chat about event planning or brand activations, get in contact today