How to prepare yourself when searching for wedding venues:
Here is what to ask yourself before starting your wedding venue search
Before wedding venue searching there are some important questions to discuss with your partner. This is a large and of course very exciting step in the wedding planning process so being prepared is key.
First you need to have a look at your guestlist, this will then determine the capacity of your wedding venues. Make sure the wedding venues you choose to visit are within your guestlist numbers, so you are not disappointed when you fall in love with a venue, which may mean cutting your numbers (some may like this prospect!!).
What sort of wedding venue style do you like the look of – destination, beach, country house, grand & elegant, rustic barn, modern barn, industrial, outdoor ceremony, outside seating, marquee/tipi, hotel, close to a lake, intimate, beams and wooden features, exposed brick, black metal. Brainstorm and come up with some descriptive language for what you think your ideal wedding venue looks like.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
Now you’ve got your guest numbers and venue style you like – next is to ask yourself some more specific questions about what you want from the venue:
Locations – do you want the venue to be close to where you live so your guests don’t have to travel or are you happy looking further afield?
If most of your guests will need to travel, do you want accommodation on site or is there plenty of accommodation options close by?
Is the finish time important to you? Some venues will ask for music off and bar to close at 11pm whereas others can go until 1am.
Do you want the ceremony to be on site or are you happy doing this elsewhere and then travelling in between? How long is the distance between the two on the day?
Do you want to be able to set up the day before?
Do you have particular suppliers in mind such as a specific caterer? If so you will need to check if the wedding venue allows this.
Would you like to include children, and will the venue accommodate them?
What are your main priorities from a wedding venue?
BE PREPARED TO COMPROMISE:
Now you are in a much better position to do some research into wedding venues, you can be more specific with location, guests count, style, accommodation options so you are booking in visits that are the right fit with what you want. Try not to overwhelm yourself with lots of venue visits right at the beginning, start with 3 and see how you go.
You can search for venues using the usual search engines, listing sites such as Hitched & Bridebook. Also Instagram, Wedding Suppliers and us Wedding Planners will be able to recommend specific wedding venues that fit your brief.
Be prepared that there will be some compromise made along the way. This is where your priorities come back into play. You may find one venue is the perfect location, but you are unable to set up the day before. If this is one of your top priorities then the venue may not work, or you might feel you can compromise and work around this as it ticks all the other boxes for you both.
Trust me, I get it, its overwhelming to start with if you are unsure so if you haven’t been able to completely streamline what you want, then that’s okay. The act of viewing venues can help you see what you do and don’t want, and the decision making will become clearer. Book in a viewing at a few different styles to start you off.
VIEWING WEDDING VENUES:
Make sure before you head to view each wedding venue you have a notebook and pen ready. I have created a free guide full of questions to ask venues, these questions have been carefully crafted based on what I have been asked as a venue manager. Also it gives you a whole heap of information from the venue so you can make better decisions when you are comparing venues. Definitely take these questions along with you. Take pictures and videos of each venue to remind you when it comes to that final decision.
Pop your email address down below under ‘How to find the perfect wedding venue’ and I’ll send it over.
Happy planning 😊
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P.S - Here’s a TOP TIP you need to know about. Before you book your wedding venue, if you are having a civil ceremony at the venue you will need to contact the local registry office to see what times they have available. Registry offices can have limited ceremony times available per day, as the registrars travel to multiple venues across the region. You would hate to pay a deposit for your ideal venue and then find out your ideal ceremony time is not available with the registrars. Make sure timings match up with the registrars and the wedding venue before paying either deposit.