Booking the right wedding venue is one of the most important decisions to make during wedding planning, and ensuring the venue can cater for your every need is essential for a successful celebration. There are many things people overlook when booking the venues and so, we are here to help. These questions should help you on your way to a wedding with fewer hiccups along the way.
If all of your guests are local, than this is purely a question of how many people the function or event rooms can hold, the capacity of the rooms will be one of the main questions as if it is too small a venue than you will have to book elsewhere. For those who are booking venues where there guests will have to travel, onsite accommodations will be very thoughtful as then the guests are able to both drink, and stay longer at your wedding party, accommodation is also something you may want for yourselves as bride and groom. You should also as whether there is a private are for you to get ready before the event.
Of course, the dates re an important question to ask, this is something that will dictate whether or not you book the venue, and it will also dictate whether or not you have an outdoor wedding or wedding party. If the date available are not what you wanted, then choosing a winter wedding may be something you consider, although, the date is important so ensure that there are not major events or holidays that either have the hotel rooms booked or have your guests committed to other events. Both may mean you will have less guests turn up than you desired.
The price of a venue or room can have many hidden costs, ensure that you have a breakdown of what the price really includes and let the venue know what you are expecting for the price. Ensure you ask whether the ceremony is included in the price, if the liquor license is included and whether you can play loud music on the evening for the price too. There are many venues that encourage you to book and pay before telling you that the price only included basic venue hire so ensure that you ask the questions and also ask for a document with the confirmations. This will give you peace of mind when booking your entertainment and planning the evening.
All venues have different policies on careering, some only do it in house and so they will not allow any external catering, this also goes for the cake, always ask if the catering is done onsite and whether you are permitted to bring a cake from your own vender into the venue. Another question you should ask your wedding venue is if they are capable of cooking a menu of your choice and whether or not canapés can be served and if they have the waiter service. Catering is an important part of a wedding, so try and cover all relevant questions.
Another question you should be asking your wedding venue is whether or not you are permitted to use real flames onsite, due to the dangers, some venues do not allow you to and we know that flames are usually a important part of the wedding décor, so this would be a great question to ask. Flames create a romantic atmosphere and bring an amazingly decorated venue together, so without flames, there are alternatives like flickering lights, however this is something that of course needs to be sourced before your wedding décor is complete.
In regards to décor, there may be other restrictions, using out sourced venders might be forbidden so this is an important question to ask, find out whether you are able to use your own team. If not, then who will be doing the décor and how much of the venue can be changed? Usually there isn’t many restrictions and your own venders aren’t a problem, but hiring decorators and finding out you cannot use them would be very grating.
A discussion about all of the licensing will be suitable, ensuring that the grounds have a relevant alcohol license is important, a drink at the wedding party is a very common thing and without the licenses, a very traditional activity could be missed. Alcohol licenses do not just restrict areas of the venue, they restrict how late you can access the bar, ask about how long the bar can remain open also, and while you are one the subject of licences, ask the venue how long music can be played, a music license may need to be applied for too.
You may want to outsource a wedding planner for your event, and of course this is something most venues allow however it is an important question to ask, the venue will have event teams on site that can plan the whole event in some cases or simply be in charge of what goes on in regards to deliveries and catering. Ask your wedding venues questions about how much responsibility there events team will have over the night and make a plan to clarify the role of the venues event planner.
When you outsource suppliers, it can sometimes be difficult for them to gain access to the venue. Your wedding may be days away and some suppliers may need to set up, permissions on how far in advance your suppliers can set up the wedding venue needs to be discussed. You will need to ask your suppliers how long they will need and the venue how long they will allow. Finding out the time schedules will help you stress a little less in the days leading up to the event.
A question on accessibility is important, if the venue is not easy to get to for your guests and any deliveries you may have, then it is important to discuss this, there will need to be parking that can accommodate all of your guests and also wheel chair access around the building if you do have any guests attending that have disabilities. Sometimes both parking and accessibility can be over looked, however it is an important thing to question before booking.
The questions that you ask the wedding venue will need to be discussed and also written as paying for licensing and other important options means that your event should go without a hitch however misunderstanding may occur. These questions should help you on your way to a wedding with fewer hiccups along the way.
