he wedding venue is likely to be the biggest cost involved in your wedding so choosing the right one is of vital importance. Make a list of your requirements and work out your budget before you start looking at venues and make sure that you do visit and consider a number before making your final choice. A lot of venues have open days where they will invite you along to have a look around and see what is available. There a number of elements which will need to be considered as follows:
If the actual ceremony is to be held at the venue, you need to make sure that the Venue holds an appropriate licence to host Civil wedding ceremonies. You can check this at your local Registrar office. Make sure that the room that they offer for the ceremony will be big enough for all your guests and that the dcor will match the style of the wedding you are planning. It may be worth asking the venue to see pictures of previously held weddings so you can get a better idea of how it will look on the day.
The wedding photography is an important part of the day and it’s important to consider where the photo shoot will be taken. Make sure that they have suitable gardens with aesthetically pleasing surroundings and backdrops to support the wedding photos adequately. It may be worth consulting with your photographer to see if they have worked at the venue before and may know of any good areas to use. Also, don’t forget to consider where you could hold an indoor photo shoot if rainy weather stops the shoot from proceeding outside.
Your wedding breakfast will also be a big part of the day so you need to make sure that the venue can fit all of your guests in adequately. Make sure that they can accommodate everyone and ask to see some suggested table layouts. Can all of your guests see the top table easily as you don’t want anyone missing the speeches. If the food is provided by an in-house caterer, you may be able to have a sample dinner to make sure that the food is of a good quality and give you an idea of the levels of quality you will be getting.
The reception will play a big part of the day so again, it’s vital that you get this right. Check the range of drinks available and prices that they sell for before you book the venue. You don’t want your party to end early as no-one can afford the drinks. Also, find out what time the bar will stay open for and if they charge for keeping it open later. If you are planning for a disco or band to play at the reception, then the venue may have some requirements such as making sure their equipment is PAT tested (portable appliance tested) and that they hold public liability insurance. Also, check if their will be other guests staying at the venue and if there is likely to be a time when they will be required to be finished by.
Make sure that the venue has adequate parking for the number of guests you will be inviting. It is also worth checking if vehicles can be left overnight and what time they would need to be removed the next day. Check before hand what sort of local transport options are available? You don’t want all of your guests having to stay sober as they all have to drive home that night.
Last but not least, in fact, probably the most important aspect is to make sure that you simply love the place. That the look and feel are right for the kind of wedding you are planning and that it just works for you.
