How To Select The Perfect Wedding Venue For Your Big Day

Chloe-Alice-Wilson | Feb 10, 2010 |

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There are so many options you can consider for wedding venues these days that you need to have some form of plan if you hope to systematically whittle down the list to find 'the one'. The location for your ceremony and reception are critical to your day being the best it can be, so it is worth setting aside a fair amount of time to getting this decision right. You also need to start looking early as all of the best venues will be booked at least one year before the date.

So how do you go about choosing the perfect wedding venue? Well you need to start with a list of the venues in the area where you want to get married and note down the results of the following investigations. Some of the information you may be able to glean from websites or a phone call but more often than not you will need to visit the venue, get a feel for it and collect their wedding brochure while you are there.

Date availability – perhaps the most obvious bit of information but is the venue free on the day you have planned? If not it may still be worth pursing if you like the look of the place if you are prepared to change your date.

Initial impressions – how were you treated during your visit or your phone call? If you were not impressed with this first encounter, you are unlikely to be happy with the service you will get on the biggest day of your life.

Number of guests – does the venue have the capacity for your guest list?

Wedding licence – is the venue licensed for your ceremony or is it just suitable for a reception? If you can get married at the venue, where exactly would the ceremony be held? Is there enough room at the alter and are there suitable backdrops for photographs?

How much does it cost? Many weddings are priced as a package and packages will differ between wedding venues so make sure you know exactly what is included and what extras you would have to pay for so you can compare these in more detail with other venues.

Is the bridal suite as beautiful as you had hoped? And is the accommodation suitable for any guests that will be travelling a long distance?

Wedding breakfast – check out whether the food options tickle your taste buds as this will be your first meal as husband and wife.

Evening party – if you want to extend your wedding celebrations into the evening, confirm that this is possible and that you will be allowed to play loud music as well as what time the venue will close.

When you have investigated a few venues you will have crossed many off and be left with a shortlist of those that you like, are available on your planned date and can cope with the size of your guest list. Then you can compare prices to your budgeted cost and come up your perfect wedding venue. Before booking try and arrange to visit on the day of a wedding to confirm the look will be as you expect. Then relax and look forward to your big day.