Picking your wedding venue can be one of the most difficult decisions in the wedding planning process. The venue is such a crucial part of your day as it not only sets the tone for the whole event, it generally takes a large chunk of your budget. Ultimately it is the place where you will be getting married so you want it to be as perfect as it can be.
You want to know early on in your wedding planning process what your venue is so we have created the Ultimate Venue Question List to help you and your partner pick the venue of your dreams:
Always start with availability. Once you have determined a possible date, check with your top venue choices to see if they will have availability for you to book your wedding there. Venues are often times reserved up to 3 years in advance so you want to make sure your date is not already taken.
It is also important to plan ahead with this as venues have peak seasons and slower seasons. Generally in the slower seasons, they may be doing construction to update/renovate their space so you want to make sure your wedding date won’t be in the midst of that.
Accommodations can come in many ways that will be unique to you and your guest list. Make sure to know what those questions and variables might be as they can affect where or not you choose that venue.
This may seem like an unnecessary question but the answers tend to differ depending on venue location. If your venue is located in a country club, they may have specific hours for louder music and sound to be off in respect to residence. If you were looking to have a lively reception well into the night, that may not be the venue that is best for you and your wedding.
Especially at this time, size does matter. Virtually all venues have a maximum (and sometimes a minimum) when booking with them. Not only for safety but also logistics (catering, rentals, area flow.) It is also important to consider what their maximum is for their dance floor because you don’t want too much chaos on the dance floor.
You can plan as much as you would like but we can’t control the weather. Particularly with an outdoor wedding & reception, it is crucial to have a rain plan. Venues tend to have options for that and by working with your wedding planner (we’ve done it MANY times), we can ensure the best option in case the rain starts to pour.
One obstacle many couples have found is with vendors. Venues will sometimes have a list of exclusive vendors and if you choose to book that venue for your wedding, you will have to use those vendors. It’s always good to clarify if their preferred vendor list is a suggestion, or requirement.
Rentals are a large expense that can add up in your wedding budget quickly so it is important to know if or which rentals could be included in-house. Whether those are chairs, tables, vases, tablecloths, all are crucial to know what your venue may provide to make sure those costa are accounted for.
We recommend getting ready on-site whenever possible to avoid extra stress of transportation and logistics. It is important to ask if that space is available as well as what time is the space available. Whether it is a few hours before your wedding or you have full-day access, it can make a difference. It is also very important to know the size of the space. Whether it is large enough for your entire wedding party along with hair and makeup.
For the full wedding weekend experience, welcome parties and/or farewell brunches are becoming more and more common and we LOVE them. They are the perfect addition to the celebrations and a great opportunity to celebrate your love even more.
If you are considering adding one or both to your wedding itinerary, it is important to ask your venue if they could accommodate those events. Depending on that availability, you will either be able to add on to your package or have to search elsewhere for a venue for those events. You will also want to know if there would be a discounted rate if the availability is there for both events.
The sun plays an important factor in your wedding day, especially if you are holding any part of your wedding day outside, especially your ceremony. While to sun came make your photos look amazing, you have to be mindful of where the sun will be and set at your venue during your wedding.
Will it be in front or behind you during the ceremony?
Does it shine directly into guests eyes?
Will cast shadows in your photos?
All of these and more are important questions to consider when booking your wedding venue. We love sharing all of these tips and tricks with you for your big day. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more from Terra Coast Events.
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