Choosing Your Wedding Venue

Making any decisions in planning a wedding is stressful, especially when you don’t know where to start. Lucky for you though because in our newest blog series, we will be walking you through the big questions to consider when picking any of your wedding vendors. Today we are going over one of the first vendors decisions newly engaged couples make: the venue.

Budget

This is always the big one that people think about when booking their venue so I decided to start off with it. it’s important to have a rough budget planned out, both total budget and budgets per vendor, before looking too much into specific venues. However, we often recommend looking around at the cost of different types of venues before setting a hard budget so you set a reasonable amount aside. That being side, go into your venue meetings with a number in mind so you make sure not to stray too far away from budget and are forced to compromise later down the road.

Outdoors, Indoors, or Both?

Another important aspect of choosing your wedding venue is if you want it outdoors, indoors, or both. We have had brides do just about every combination and they always turn out beautifully. Many of our brides choose to have an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception. We also have many brides who decide to do a completely indoor ceremony and reception. For our brides who love the idea of having their full wedding outdoors, many rental services and venues offer tent options to help control the climate of the reception and provide coverage in the event of poor weather. However, the season you choose to get married in will largely impact this decision.

Availability

This is a big one for my couples that have a specific date they want to get married, most often for sentimental reasons. Since venues are often booked around a year in advance, the venues will know if they have your specific date available. In many cases though, couples have a rough estimate of the time they want to get married but not one date nailed down. However, in the wake of COVID-19 and many couples rescheduling their weddings, I would recommend keeping in mind that venues are quickly filling up for next year already. Therefore, if you love a venue and are sure, don’t wait too long before signing your contract.

Outside Vendor Contracts

It is not uncommon for venues to require inhouse vendors or specific vendors such as catering and rentals. While it is often nice to not have to worry about adding more things on your wedding to-do list, it gives you less control over the budget of your wedding. When you are able to shop around for other vendors outside of your venue contract, you are able to weight different ones that better suit your budget. The control over your budget and vendors is definitely something to consider when booking a full-service venue.

Size

Many venues can only accommodate a certain number of guests. Therefore, it is often important to know a rough estimate of the size of your guest list before choosing your venue. You wouldn’t want to be stuck cutting some important people off of your list due too a venue that can’t accommodate them.

Photography by Rustic White Photography