How to Choose the Perfect Wedding Venue

The most important component of a wedding day is the location. This is the foundation for everything else. It is where the guests will come to, it features the aisle you and your partner will walk down, and it is what your videos and photos will contain. 

However, choosing a wedding venue is not easy. There is a multitude of venues to choose from. Some are simple and plain, whereas others are lavish and large. The choice you make will depend on what you and your partner’s preferences are, but it can be tough to know what matches these. That’s why we’ve written this handy guide. It will show you what to look for in a wedding venue and how to find a wedding venue. 

 

    • How To Pick A Wedding Venue 

 

There are six key considerations to include when you are considering how to choose a wedding venue. These are finding a wedding planner, aligning the venue with your vision, understanding who is attending, knowing the overall costs, thinking about how guests will feel, examining what you’d like to feature in the wedding, and being authentic. We will go through each one in the sections below. 

 

  • Speaking To A Planner 

 

 

When you first find yourself asking the question ‘where should I have my wedding?’, an ideal first step is to consult with a wedding planner. They understand how weddings work and will most likely have years of experience in dealing with them. They will also know how long it will take to prepare the venue and be aware of all the details you need to take care of. 

 

 

  • A Venue And Your Vision 

 

 

When considering what to look for in a wedding venue, one of your top priorities should be whether it matches the look and feel that resonates the most with you and your partner. Some places are more suitable for contemporary weddings, whereas others are better for traditional weddings. You might want a clean and minimalist experience or one that’s filled with the sights and sounds of nature. A good way to approach this is to conduct a wedding venue search. You can do this using search engines, chatting to people you know, or driving around some towns that you like. If you type in the phrases ‘location for wedding’ and ‘venue for wedding’ into the search bar on a website like Google, and add the area you’d like to focus on, you will find a whole list of results to look through. 

 

      • Understand Who Is Coming

 

One of the most obvious elements that you should be aware of well in advance of your wedding day is the number of people attending. Once you have this figure, you can check whether your shortlist of venues will be able to contain that many people before you take a tour of them. The last thing you want is to start receiving accepted invitations only to discover the venue can’t accommodate them all. Don’t forget to check that relatives haven’t added too many guests to the invitations either. Also, many of the costs of a wedding are related to the number of people attending. This underlines how important it is to have a clear grasp of how many people will be coming as soon as you can. 

 

      • Know How Much Money You Have

 

There are numerous expenses to account for when it comes to planning and hosting a wedding. It is far from just the venue that you’ll need to pay for. Food is often charged per plate, and the same is the case for wine bottles. Decorations at the venue will also come out of your budget, and so will the costs of having your wedding recorded on film. Not only should you know the maximum amount you can spend, but the total costs of everything you expect to pay for. This avoids any unpleasant surprises happening in the days leading up to your wedding. Once you’ve made all your calculations, you might have to redo your plans so that they come in under budget, but it’s better to understand this sooner rather than later. A wedding planner can help in this area because of their previous experience with local venues. 

 

      • Think Of Your Guests

 

If some of your guests are traveling a long distance to get to your wedding, then you’ll want to make sure there is a place they can stay. Look for local hotels or motels that are within easy driving distance of your wedding venue. Additionally, don’t try to pack in the maximum number of guests a venue can accommodate. This will reduce the amount of personal space available for each person, and could make your guests uncomfortable. It could also increase the risk of accidents and make it difficult to evacuate the location in the event of an emergency. 

 

      • Consider The Services 

 

Some wedding venues will give you everything as part of their overall fee. That will include decorations, the ceremony, and the catering. Others will specify that you need to select vendors to provide the services that you want. Furnished venues also tend to cost more than those where you supply your own. One of the things you can do is to check with local suppliers to see what their rates are and compare them to the rates of your venue. This is a handy way to work out the best value for money. If your venue does provide their own services, these may only be a basic version of what you can find elsewhere, so that’s worth keeping in mind. The total costs of all the services you want to hire may also be affected by taxes in the state that you’re hosting your wedding. Therefore you should check these before you start making purchases.

 

 

  • Be Genuine 

 

 

It is quite common to pick a wedding venue based on reviews and pictures available online, but this means you miss out on experiencing it for yourself. This is a crucial step, because your wedding should be as authentic as possible, and represent your views and values. Therefore, try to visit your shortlist of venues where possible. This will help you ensure the venue you choose is suitable.

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