How to choose a wedding venue!
You’re engaged!!! Finally, it’s your turn to be plan a wedding and be the one getting married! Once the initial excitement passes and you settle down to actually plan the wedding, you realize there’s a lot more to it than you initially thought! Where do you even start???
This post is for the newly engaged who are just now starting the huge process of planning a wedding day. The first step that I recommend starting with is the venue! Once you find your venue, that will help you chose your date. Once you have a date and a venue, that is a solid start! Choosing the venue/date can be a huge step, but once it is decided you will be shocked how quickly everything else falls into place. It’s good to have an idea of approximately when you would like to get married, as in what year or season, but I would caution you from having an exact date picked out before touring venues, as that can severely limit what venue options you have.
Minimally, I would give yourself a year to plan the wedding. Yes, it can be done quicker, but unless you have the ability to focus hours each week on details or hire full service wedding planning, trying to do it quicker than that will add lots of stress into what should be a fun season of life. Also, most venues/photographers book out over a year in advance, so it is important to consider that as well.
The first step of finding a wedding venue is narrowing down the location and type of wedding you want. Helpful websites such as the Knot or google can help you search by category or region. If you want a local wedding, a simple google search will help you discover many potential wedding venues.
While there is a lot to consider, including budget, timeframe, and personal preferences, narrowing down your options is essential. From a photographer’s standpoint, here are some things to consider:
Does it have the aesthetic that you like? I personally prefer lots of natural light, lots of neutrals, and just a brighter, prettier aesthetic. The most talented photographer in the world couldn’t make a dark room look like a brightly lit white room. So if you are going for the light and bright style, be sure your venue has lots of lights and neutrals.
Does the entire event happen in one space, or multiple spaces? There is not right or wrong here, but it is something to consider. I’ve had couples get ready in one spot, married in another, and had their reception in another. And I’ve had the entire wedding day occur in one spot. There are pros and cons to both, but think about how you would like to spend your day. If you like the idea of hiring transport, having a “party bus” and going from place to place, having multiple locations might be for you. If you want a streamlined wedding day and have everyone just be in one place, consider a venue with a ceremony and reception place.
Consider the venue’s inside and outside options. If inclement weather happens on your wedding day, are you going to be 100% satisfied with the options?
Does the venue have lots of places for photos, or will you have to travel for photos? Again, this is another logistical decision you should make early on.
What services are included in the venue? Many venues include coordination, catering, rentals and set up/tear down service. However, some just rent out the space. Be sure to ask what all is included in the wedding day rental and if there are any food or drink minimums.
I recommend searching online and narrowing it down to 3-4 venues to tour. Once you have your 3-4 venues, email them and ask for availability and for more info and to set up a tour. Before spending time touring, you want to make sure they have some availability during the time frame you want and you want to make sure they are within your budget.
Once you have toured the various venues, it’s time to make a decision! Once you have locked in the venue and the date, that gives you a base from which to plan the rest of the wedding moving forward.
Planning a wedding is hard, with a lot of moving pieces? Want some help?????
I have put ALL my wedding day knowledge into one helpful guide- Kristen’s Ultimate Wedding Day Logistic Guide!!! In this guide, I break down every single part of a wedding day- getting ready, photos, the ceremony, cocktail hour, etc. and give you advice, tricks and tips. Trust me, I do weddings almost every weekend, so I’ve learned alot of hacks and a lot of things to avoid through the years! Let me be your guide!