Choosing a venue should be at the forefront of your mind when you are newly engaged. Venues are booked out multiple months, if not a year, in advance, and they go fast. A venue is the perfect way to show off you and your s/o’s personality and lifestyle; that’s why it’s so important to take haste in booking your wedding day spot to secure the dream you have envisioned for years. Here’s a list of tips and considerations to make when booking a wedding venue.

• Location

  • Where your venue is located is something you should heavily consider. Should it be closer to your family? Closer to your s/o’s family? Will the location be better at certain time’s of the year? Is it accessible to your guests? Will it fulfill the vision you had in mind? All of these questions should be in the back of your mind when picking your location.

• Budget

  • Along with location, your budget should also be a frontrunner. Your budget allows you to put more value into your wedding destination both tangibly and imaginatively. What you dream will be more easily accessible if you have the financial means to do so. That’s why it is so important to prioritize what ideas deserve more financial care than others.

• Capacity

  • How many guests you have invited and RSVP’d can limit your venue choices as most venues have limitations for how many guests are allowed. Obviously, larger wedding parties need larger venues and the same goes for smaller wedding parties, albeit the guest capacity isn’t as restrictive.

• Availability

  • When should you have your wedding, you may ask? Most people have a general idea of what time of the year they would like their wedding to be, and that’s also dependent on where the venue is located; but what many fail remember is that sometimes your dream venue is already, well… booked. As sad as that is, that’s why it’s so important to look at venues ASAP so that you can secure your wedding date. Just possibly expect compromises to be made in regard to the date due to the venue’s availability.

• Preferences:

  • We all have our likes and dislikes of most things, and that doesn’t exclude wedding venue decisions. There are so many venue options for weddings: churches, hotels, farms, homes… the list goes on, but once you have figured out your type of venue, start your journey online to get an idea of where your preferred choices are located and what their layouts are.

• Visit

  • Once you’ve narrowed down to a handful of venues, it’s time to gather your note-taking abilities and go on a trek to narrow down your final few to a final one. Write down the pros and cons each venue has to offer and make sure that what you viewed online matches what you see in person.

• Restrictions

  • Sometimes to utilize a specific venue, they may have certain restrictions to abide by. Make sure you ask about these right away so that they don’t become a last-minute, non-refundable deal breaker, as well as informing your guests prior to your wedding what those restrictions may be.

• Facility Extras:

  • Often times venues offer extra facilities for an extra charge (or sometimes they’re included). Chairs, tables, linens, rain tents, etc are all things you should think about when planning for your special day. Sometimes it’s easier to use what is provided, but there is also a possibility you can bring in your own whether that be because it’s easier or to fulfill a specific dream.

• Caterer:

  • Check with your venue if they catering restrictions.Most times venues don’t mind who is brought onto the property, but it’s also important to know if they do have any restrictions like a specific list of catering services they allow.

Photo by Arden Photography

Photo by Arden Photography

Photo by Arden Photography

Photo by Arden Photography

Photo by Arden Photography