Choose the Perfect Wedding Venue

The right venue will make or break your wedding day for you and your guests.

To make your quest for that perfect venue a little bit easier, we’ve compiled a list of questions you should keep in mind when choosing your venue, arguably the first thing you should look at booking  when you start your wedding planning.

Find the venue that suits all your needs

This is the first of our set of Big Questions to help you in finding the best solutions for your dream wedding.

You and your partner probably have a very good idea of what you’d like; something that suits both your styles and personalities. Once you have a shortlist of venues that suits your taste and pocket, and will suit your number of guests comfortably, arrange an appointment to go see the manager or another contact person, and to ask them the necessary questions.

This will also give you the opportunity to scout out the venue location, possible photo opportunities, and get a feel for the potential atmosphere that you could have on your wedding day.

While you should sign a contract with the owner, the small print often don’t cater for all eventualities – that’s why it’s better to make sure you sign up for what you want and expect.

1. Is your venue available on the selected date?
2. What are the various cost options available for your venue? Is there a payment schedule? What deposit is required?
3. What hidden costs are there? Are the costs for the use of your linen, glassware, and dishes included? What about service charges and corkage?
4. Will ours be the only wedding or event at your venue on the selected date?
5. Do you have a bar? If not, can one be set up? Do you have a liquor licence?
6. Do you have enough parking available? Will we need to hire a parking attendant?
7. What is your cancellation policy?
8. Who will be there to take care of all supervision?
9. [If you are planning on getting married during hot months] Do you have air conditioning? How long before the reception are the air conditioners switched on?
10. [If you are planning on getting married during cooler months] Do you have patio heaters, fireplaces etc?
11. Do you have power generators in the event of an electricity failure?
12. Is there a dressing room that the bride and bridesmaids can use prior to the ceremony?
13. Is there a quieter area for older guests to get away from the noise of the music?
14. If we run late, how would your staff help us to make sure that we are still making the most of our big day?
15. Do you have overtime charges? Is so, what are they?
16. Do you have any limitations on the décor that we could have, e.g. using candles, flower petals or confetti?
17. Do you have a PA system that can be used for the speeches?
18. Is it ok for the photographer or videographer to visit the venue before the wedding day so that they can get an idea of what they’ll be working with?
19. Do you have a room where we can store our wedding presents until we are able to collect them? Are you insured for any loss or damage to these presents?
20. If you have any rooms available for overnight accommodation, how many?
21. What are the costs of overnight accommodation? Is breakfast included?

If we run late, how would your staff help us make the most of our day?

Depending on your needs and preferences, you could ask additional questions about for example:

1. the possibility of a room for using as a children’s area
2. the possibility of or permission for a professional firework display
3. the possibility of or landing permission for a helicopter should you wish to arrive or depart in style!
4. their recommendations for DJs or bands, photographers, videographers, florists, wedding cars, etc.
5. their accessibility for disabled people
6. the availability of credit card machines, if you’d like to have a cash bar

Click here to download a checklist of these questions

The Big Question Series #2 – Find the perfect Photographer