Choosing your wedding venue is t-o-u-g-h, tough. You have so many options, so many fish in the sea but how do you choose? Lucky for you that’s what us destination wedding planners do! A lot of our couples come to us when they are in need of choosing a wedding venue and don’t know where to even start. Knowing these important tips to choosing your dream wedding venue will not only make your life easier but will make all of the decisions after that *hopefully* a little bit easier as well.

Define Your Budget

First things first, please make sure that you are defining your budget. You need to know how much you’re planning on spending before you can start narrowing down your options! Your budget not only consists of what the venue may cost but everything that it will take to decorate your venue. So keep in mind that if you’re wanting a bunch of flowers or rentals at your wedding venue, this may cost you more $$ than you’re willing to spend. When defining your budget, make sure that you are realistic with what you can and cannot spend. As destination wedding planners, some services that we offer are to work with our couples to ensure that they are managing and staying within their budget. Knowing where to splurge and where to save is key here!

Start Looking Early

One of the biggest factors that will lead to successfully finding your dream wedding venue is to start looking early! You’ve probably heard that you need to start booking your wedding vendors months (even years) in advance. Well, that also includes your wedding venue! I recommend to start looking early when you’re looking for your dream wedding venue. Weddings, in general, can get booked out VERY quickly and the last thing we want is for you to find the wedding venue of your dreams just to find out they are booked out on your wedding date. It is never too early to start looking for wedding venues. You would much rather be early in inquiring about your wedding date, rather than find out they were completely booked because you waited!

Vision & Theme

Now I know all of us who’ve been waiting to get married to have our own little Pinterest boards with inspiration. Don’t lie… we all do – lol. Anybody who is currently planning a wedding has to decide what type of vision and theme you’re having for your wedding day. Your vision and theme are all about what kind of experience and story you are wanting to tell. Some things to ask yourself are:

• Do I want something more moody and industrial?
• Am I wanting more editorial and city-like?
• Maybe I want something more romantic and whimsical?

Knowing this will help you in narrowing down your search for your dream wedding venue.

Determine The Number of Guests

Knowing how many guests you’re planning on having at your wedding is key when choosing your dream wedding venue. That’s why before choosing your wedding venue, it’s important to determine how many guests are attending. Most wedding venues will disclose their maximum guest capacity for their event space. This will help give you a better idea of how many guests you can invite and how much space you will actually have for your celebration. Remember, you don’t want any of your wedding guests to feel squished or uncomfortable in too tight of a space!

Amenities

Think about the kind of amenities that certain wedding venues offer for their couples and their guests. If you’re looking for more hands-on support from your wedding venue, then you may be looking for one that has more amenities. Some amenities that some wedding venues may include when you book your wedding there are:

• Table, Chair & Linen Rentals
• ADA Accessibility
• Indoor & Outdoor Options
• Outdoor Tent(s)
• Lighting Equipment
• Wedding Reception Setup & Breakdown
• Hardwood Dance Floor
• etc.

It can be easy to get caught up in how you want to experience your wedding day. I mean, after all, it is your day. However, you also have to think about your wedding guests’ experience as well!

Guests’ Experience

This leads me to my next point which is all about your wedding guest experience. Before choosing your wedding venue, it’s important to understand what kind of experience you’re wanting your wedding guests to have. If you’re planning on having a lot of your wedding guests travel for your wedding, consider choosing a wedding venue with an attached hotel or one nearby.

You also want to make sure that your wedding venue makes your wedding guests feel comfortable. Going along with your guest count, choosing a wedding venue that can accommodate and fit all of your wedding guests is super important. The last thing you want is for your guests to feel cramped in one little room because the ceremony/reception space is too small.

Communication With The Venue

What’s that saying… communication is key? Well, that applies here perfectly! So when it comes time to choose your dream wedding venue, make sure that you are able to effectively communicate with the wedding venue. You want to ensure that you are asking all of your questions and setting your boundaries in place for when you speak to the venue. Whether you speak to the owner, manager, or coordinator it’s important that you establish good communication and let them know exactly what you’re looking for. This will also help you determine how well they communicate with their couples and how responsive they will be throughout the wedding planning process.

Determine How Much Privacy You Want

Some of you may not know this, but some wedding venues will host multiple weddings in one day. To maximize the number of weddings they can take per year, some wedding venues will have more than one wedding in a day and some couples may not like that. Determine how much privacy you want and stick with it! Do you mind if there is more than one wedding happening at the same time on your wedding day? Or are you someone who is looking for a bit more privacy? These are things that tend to get overlooked during the wedding venue search but are super important.

Focus on What You Want

At the end of the day, please remember that it is your wedding day. It can be very easy to get caught up in what other people want, but those other people aren’t getting married. Do not let anybody else decide how your wedding day should be run. If you’re wanting to go all out, I say go for it! If you’re wanting to do something small and subdued, that’s fine too! Your wedding day is one of the most special days of your life, and don’t you forget that! Choose a wedding venue that aligns with you and your vision and you will be golden.

Tips To Choosing Your Dream Wedding Venue From a Destination Wedding Planner

Hopefully knowing a few tips to choosing your dream wedding venue will make the process a little bit easier. However, if that isn’t the case we are always here to help! You can always check out our services on our website or you can cut right to the chase and book a call with us here!