Yay! It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to talk about all things wedding! If you missed my first Wedding Wednesday post, make sure you check it out to see how to find your wedding style. Last week, Andrew and I officially booked our venue! Such a huge thing to check off our to-do list and it definitely doesn’t hurt that it’s our dream location. I cannot believe that after swooning over this venue for so long, we are actually going to say “I do” there! Since I want to bring all of you along on the whole wedding planning journey, today I’m going to share all the things you should consider when selecting a wedding venue.
Your Personal Style
Once you’ve found your wedding style, make sure you pick a venue that’s reflective of that. There is no amount of florals that will make a modern loft space look ultra whimsical so make sure your venue sets a good foundation for the style you’re aiming for. If you don’t book a venue that speaks to your theme, you will end up spending a ton of extra money to transform it into your vision. Rather find a venue that has the same vibe you’re going for so that you can save on added decor later on!
Mother Nature
If you’re looking at outdoor venues, be mindful of the weather around the time of your wedding! For example, I always wanted to be married in May but in San Diego, there is a term “May gray, June gloom” for a reason. Since the weather can be more gloomy during these months, we decided to bump the wedding up to April to lessen the chance of an overcast wedding day! If you live in an area where the weather is unpredictable, make sure that any outdoor venues have a Plan B scenario available if it does rain or snow on your big day! Will a tent be adequate? Will you need to move the entire wedding inside? All of these things should be discussed before signing a contract with your venue!
The Fine Print
This is something that you’ll need to be mindful of when booking any of your vendors but be especially careful with the venue since that’s going to set the tone for the rest of your wedding details. Make sure you ask questions about catering, rentals, preferred vendors, noise ordinances, etc. A reputable venue should go over all of this with you before any contracts are signed but make sure to ask adequate questions before you get too far into the process, just in case there are any deal breakers along the way. One of the venues that Andrew and I considered only allowed acoustic music in the courtyard we were interested in. If we didn’t ask about this beforehand, we may have gotten stuck in a contract that left us with music we didn’t like for the entire reception!
One and Only
I never really considered this before we started looking at venues but now I know that it’s super important to ask your venue if you’ll be the only wedding at the venue that day. Some venues host multiple events on site at the same time; if this is the case, make sure to ask questions about how they will keep the two events separate so that you don’t feel like you’re part of a wedding factory. One of the main reasons why we chose the venue that we did is because they only hold one wedding per day – we will have total access of the entire property and the staff will be able to focus solely on our wedding party. However, if you do end up booking a venue that has multiple weddings at a time, don’t fret! Keep in mind that the venue probably does this very often and you will more than likely not even notice the other wedding if the venue handles it correctly.
Bare Minimum
One of the largest expenses at your wedding will be the food and beverage! I mean, you are catering a formal meal for 100+ people. If your venue does catering on-site, they will likely have a food and beverage minimum. Some of these minimums can start at around $35,000, depending on the venue. What this means is that no matter how many or few guests you have, you have to meet a certain minimum payment. If the F&B minimum is $35,000 and your wedding party only spends $20,000 on F&B, you will still owe an additional $15,000 regardless of how little your party consumed. Ideally, especially if you’re having a smaller wedding, you should look for a venue that has a super low minimum that you know you will reach so that you don’t waste a ton of money on F&B that you didn’t even use.
Image source here!
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