White wedding venue room

How To Choose A Wedding Venue

Your wedding venue is likely to be one of the large expenditures you make. As such, it’s imperative that you know precisely what to look for and how to choose a wedding venue that feels right for you, your wedding and the style of celebration that you hope to have.

Photo credits: The Stunning tent company

The Basics

Who: do you want to invite? When you have a rough idea of your guest list, you will know what capacity you’re going to need to accommodate your number of guests.

What: kind of a wedding do you want to have? A church wedding followed by a luxry hotel reception? An outdoor festival style wedding filled with stunning tepees? A regal manor house with a breathtaking backdrop? There’s no point at looking open, airy barns if you’re thinking of an intimate wedding filled with architectural details.

Where: do you want to get married? Though tradition dictates weddings occur in the bride’s hometown, there’s no reason why you have to adhere to this. Is there a place that is special to both of you? Would you prefer to get married nearer to where you live now than where you grew up? Do you need easy access to the airport for your international guests? Or does the idea of a destination wedding appeal?

When: do you want to get married? Venues tend to get booked up quite quickly, so it can be helpful if you are somewhat flexible about when you get married. Weekends and public holidays are always going to be the most popular dates (and priced accordingly), so if you can choose a weekday or get married outside of peak season, you’re likely to find far more possibilities.

White wedding venue room

Photo credits: Claridges

Money Matters

Different venues have different price structures, ranging from minimum spends to comprehensive packages. Given that you are allocating a large proportion of your overall wedding budget to the venue (potentially including the catering and drinks costs if you are thinking luxury hotels such as The Ritz), you need to make sure that your shortlist of venues are within your price range.

red-room-wedding

Photo credits: Snapdragon | London

It’s always worth checking precisely what you are getting for the quoted price. If it’s a dry hire venue, you will need to get separate costs for everything, including production, furniture, flowers, catering etc. If it’s priced per head, you’ll have to check there’s no extra room hire charges or ceremony fees hidden away. Ask for a detailed breakdown of what is and isn’t included.

You may feel pushy by asking too many questions, but there is no point in letting your heart fall in love with a place that your head knows you can’t afford. Therefore, we’d always advise you to ask:

  • Whether VAT is included in the quoted price;
  • If they charge a corkage fee and how much;
  • Whether any overnight accommodation is included in the price;
  • Whether they take commission from suppliers on their recommended list, as this will ultimately lead to inflated prices for you.

As boring as it may sound, you ought to also check that they have the adequate insurance before you sign any contracts and make sure you are clear on the payment process and options.

Viewing Venues

Once you’ve put together a shortlist of venues that you like the look of, you must go and visit them in person. You can never really get the sense of a place until you’ve been there and tried to envisage your own wedding.

Whilst you’re there, try to look at every possible area, from the ceremony room through to the loos. As you’re walking around, make note of what furniture is in place, how it’s configured and whether you would want it to be part of your wedding (and if not whether it can be removed). How much styling will be required to make the venue look how you want it to? Can you work around the existing décor?

spectacle-venues

Photo credits: Cliveden

There are also boring practical things to look out for: where are the power sockets for your ceremony music/speeches/DJ? Is there disabled access? Is there adequate heating/air conditioning? Is there a separate room for the bridal party to get ready in? How far away is the kitchen from the room you’ll be having your wedding breakfast in? Is there enough parking?

After each venue visit, make sure you have a list of pros and cons that you can look back on to compare it to other places you look at. It’s entirely possible that you’ll have a gut reaction and know when you have found ‘The One’ but in reality, you may need to put a bit more thought into it.

Working Together

Early on in your planning process you ought to make sure that you’ve established who your wedding venue contact will be. If it’s the same person from start to finish your life will be a lot easier. In many cases, you’ll have a sales associate or administrator who deals with your initial enquiries, a wedding co-ordinator once you’ve confirmed your booking and then you’ll be handed over to the events or banquet team on your actual wedding day.

You should also ensure you know about their supplier policy. Is their recommended supplier list compiled based on people who have worked at the venue before and are trusted by the company or have they paid to be endorsed? Are you allowed to source outside suppliers or do they insist you use the ones they recommend?

Some of your wedding suppliers such as your florist or photographer may want to see the venue prior to your wedding day. Make sure you ask whether preliminary visits are allowed and also be clear on when suppliers will be able to get into the venue to set up and strip down your wedding.

Restrictions & Conditions

It’s all very well and good to want an enormous firework display to finish your evening, but if your venue doesn’t allow it your plans will be scuppered. Aside from noise restrictions, which usually limit the volume of a band and decree a set finishing time, here are some of the main conditions you ought to enquire about:

  • If they have a licence to carry out civil ceremonies
  • Whether marquees are allowed
  • Whether other outdoor entertainments are permitted
  • If you can arrive by helicopter
  • Whether they’re licensed for firework displays
  • What the confetti policy is
distance-wedding-venue

Photo credits: The Stunning tent company, Claridges, The Ritz, Snapdragon Parties, Cliveden

Sometimes it can feel like trying to choose the right wedding venue is an absolute minefield, but with diligent research and plenty of questioning, you ought to be able to find the place that feels just right to celebrate the start of the rest of your lives together. A good luxury wedding planner will make this both an enjoyable and seamless process!