Choosing your wedding venue is one of the very first things you will probably look at when you begin planning your wedding. It also massively affects several different aspects of your day so you'll want it to be one of the first things ticked off your to-do list!
Before we head straight into it if you want a bit more help with planning your wedding go ahead and download my FREE Wedding Planning Checklist and Guide.
Location
The first thing to decide before you even go looking for wedding venues is where you are going to get married! Are you staying in the country or going abroad? Which town/city do you want to get married in? What 'type of venue' are you looking for? This can be something specific like a beach wedding or a barn wedding or it could be slightly more vague for example an 'elegant' wedding or a 'boho' wedding etc..
Capacity
After deciding the location you want to think about capacity, if you're wanting a huge wedding with hundreds of guest that will massively limit the amount of venues you consider, or even if you want a really small intimate wedding, the same applies. you wouldn't want 20 guests in a giant ballroom! So think about how many guests you'll hope to have and look for venues that are accommodating for that number.
Choose a Season
I highly recommend choosing a whole season that you would like to get married in. I know this is contrary to what most people do, but I always think it's better to not be set on 1 or 2 dates but to actually have a whole season you're happy with getting married in, that way if you fall in love with a venue and they're already booked on the dates you'd hoped for it doesn't matter because you're happy with any date in 'Autumn' for example.
Questions to ask BEFORE venue tours.
Below I'm going to list a few questions for you to ask the venues before you even consider viewing them to make sure that you rule out any that don't meet your requirements and therefore don't waste any time on venues that won't work for you anyway! Some of the answers you might find already on their websites and some you may need to just give them a quick phone call or pop them an email. So without further ado, here they are:
What is your rental rate?
Do you have a mid-week or off-season discount?
What is your capacity? (how many guests are we allowed)
Have you got any availability for {Insert chosen season} in {Insert year you want to get married}?
Do you have a phone number and email that I can contact you directly?
So these are the questions you need to ask before so you can rule out any venues that don't work for you as a couple and then move on to book a date to go and have a venue tour.
These questions, and more, can be found in our Wedding Planning Bundle - so make sure you sign up for our monthly wedding planning tips, and let us help you to take the stress out of planning for your special day!
Questions to ask DURING venue tours:
Hopefully, after the above steps, you've now found a few venues that you really like and have availability in the season you would like to get married in. Venues that fit all your requirements and your budget etc..
Go ahead and book a venue tour for each of the venues you've opted for and ask the following questions during the tour. I highly recommend your record their answers on your phone so that when you get home you can listen back over it. It's very easy to forget which venue said what to each question if you're just doing by memory!
Questions:
Do you have separate rooms for ceremony and reception?
Is there a specific place for drinks/ 'cocktail hour'?
What is included in the rental hire? e.g. tables, chairs, table linens etc
Do you have extras we can hire? e.g. decor, in house caterers, dance floor etc
What is the capacity for seated and unseated guests? (a lot of venues can have more guests later on in the evening but can't have them seated for a sit-down meal.)
What are the drinks costs or bar charge? Do you have your own bar or do we need to hire an external bar? Can we bring our own toast drinks or do you provide this?
Are there any restrictions? e.g. Candles? Confetti? etc
What time is the venue available for us to set up and pack down? e.g. can vendors or family come in and set up the night before?
Are there any decorations already in place? Are we allowed to move them?
Is there a smoking area?
Are there any noise or time restrictions?
Do you have sufficient heating/aircon? (For example: sometimes for a dry hire barn or marquee you might need to hire some large heaters if they're not already provided by the venue and you're getting married in a colder season.)
Catering: Do you have in house caterers? Is there a kitchen other caterers could use?
*Just for outdoor ceremonies* Do you have a weather contingency plan?
Do you have parking? Is it free? Do guests need to have their parking validated?
Who are your recommended suppliers?
Ok, so those are the main questions you should ask that will set you up well for choosing your venue and get you officially started on your wedding planning journey. Don't forget to download my FREE Wedding Planning Checklist and guide so that you make the most of your wedding planning right from the get-go! Pop in the comments if you're getting married soon and if you've got any more questions, and feel free to check out any of my wedding planning videos on Youtube below!
Blessings
XOXO
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