Choosing your venue can be one of your biggest tasks when planning for your wedding. Here are some of the major things to factor in when making your decision. If you choose to hire a professional wedding planner, they will help you with choosing the venue that suits your style, fits into your budget, and gives you the most options for your wedding & reception.
These are the categories, and in depth information is required in all of these, to understand what is included. Nothing worse than a big bill at the end of the evening for something you thought was included.
- Look – does it suit your style?
- Capacity – can they accommodate your guest count, with a dance floor?
- Location – how far will your guests have to travel and will you need to provide transportation?
- Cost – what does it include, chairs, tables etc.?
- Date – is your date available? Are you flexible to get the venue?
- Insurance – what do they require from you for the event?
- Catering – do they have in-house catering and are you required to use them, can you bring in your own food or your favorite caterer? Will they provide all table settings, do they set the tables, do they provided servers and clean-up crew?
- Cake & desserts – will they cut and serve the cake, is there a fee? Will they provide a serve at a dessert bar?
- Alcohol – do they provide a bar set up, bartenders and alcohol, or can your caterer or independent bar Service Company provide that?
- Time – how many hours are included, how early can you arrive, and what is their end time?
- Décor – what is allowed and what is absolutely NOT allowed; such as sparklers, balloons etc.?
- Music – do they allow live bands and/or dj’s? Is there a noise limit for them, what is it, and when must they stop playing.
- Parking – is there adequate parking for your guests, do they offer a valet service and if so, is it licensed and insured?