Planning a wedding is an exhilarating experience, but one decision that can make or break your big day is choosing the perfect venue. With so many options to consider, it’s important to narrow down your choices based on essential factors that will ensure your wedding is everything you’ve dreamed of. From picturesque outdoor spaces to charming historic buildings, the venue sets the tone for your special day and creates the backdrop for cherished memories. Searching for a wedding venue can be tedious. The team at Three16 Photography created the Essential Factors for the Perfect Wedding Venue.

Let’s explore the key items when picking the perfect wedding venue. We’ll review factors such as location, capacity, ambiance, amenities, and more. Whether you envision an intimate garden ceremony or a grand ballroom affair, we will guide you through the decision-making process, helping you pinpoint the ideal venue that reflects your unique style and vision.

But first, before you go searching, have the following in mind when you go to visit various venues:

Start your search for venues early, or at least a year in advance.

Be prepared for each tour with a list of questions and bring a notebook with you to take notes about your questions and other items of interest.

Discuss with your partner the things that are most important to you as a couple before making appointments or as walk-ins. Also, discuss things during your visit and after your tour. Going out to lunch or dinner, or coffee or dessert is a great time to discuss after visits and gives you both alone time and a date night.

Do everything you can to visit the venue during the day as well as night. This is especially true for the venues you become more than interested in. Now if you have a morning ceremony and reception, going to the venue at night really won’t appeal to you. But if it does go into the evening, then yes you will want to see it. We recommend seeing the venue during the time of your wedding, but keep in mind if you visit it in March and your wedding is in October, the sun positioning and settings will not be the same.

Choose the venue whose wedding professionals are excited to help you and not treat you as just another couple coming through.

Lastly, select a venue that reflects who you are and meets your personality. If you are just not a beach going person, why have your wedding at the beach?

Now that you have a general list of things to do or look for at each venue, let’s break it down even further. So, if you’re ready to embark on your wedding planning journey, join us as we dive into the world of wedding venues and discover how to make the perfect choice for your special day.

 

Accessibility

Ask yourself, just how accessible is this venue? After all, you may have guests that are older or suffer from health reasons and a difficult parking lot may be more than they can baron. How many and where are the restrooms and coat checks are located. Much like the parking lot, ask how ADA accessible the facilities are, including the accessibility of entrances/exits, functional elevators, bathrooms, parking, and seating options. If any grandparents are in attendance, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to enjoy themselves.

All-Inclusive Venues versus Non-Inclusive Venues

There are plenty of reasons to choose an all-inclusive wedding venue, such as:

• Most to all of the items you were going to have to go find yourself is already covered, such as catering, flowers, DJ, and others, as all-inclusive venues work with vendors they trust and recommend out.
• You’ll have assistance with planning your wedding and if you don’t have time to make phone calls and arrangements, they do it for you.
• They’ll have what you need on-site.
• You’ll have a lot less stress leading up to your wedding.

If you prefer a Non-Inclusive Venue and what you will have to do, go opposite of the above bullet points.

Amenities

Be sure to cover all the amenities that the venue has to offer, and which ones are free, part of the package or if there is a fee, and how much that fee will be. You want to have as much information as you can to make informed decisions. Especially if you are on a budget. Also, consider factors such as catering options, event coordination, and whether they provide tables, chairs, and linens. Don’t forget to think about the bathroom access too. If you’re having a barn or beach wedding, for example, you might need to rent portable restrooms.

Some venues may have other attractive offerings, like an in-house wedding planner or floral arrangement services. Assess each site’s customer service and consider if it is a good fit for you and your partner.

Availability

Ask about the venue’s availability so you can secure your desired wedding date, begin your venue search early to maximize availability. If you have flexibility with the date, as you should, starting in advance offers a wider range of options as you can align it with venue availability. Whether fixed or flexible, early planning increases your chances of finding the perfect venue for your special day.

 Budget

Can’t say it any other way, but how much money are you willing to spend on the venue, knowing what other items you need to spend on. The venue is often the most expensive aspect of your wedding. Keep in mind that some venues may include essential services in their pricing, while others charge extra fees. Often off-season weddings, Sunday weddings, or weeknight weddings can drop the price tag some. Be sure to ask the venue.

 

Capacity

Be sure to ask how many people their venue can accommodate for the ceremony and reception. If your guest list is larger than what they can handle, don’t waste your time and theirs, it’s time to walk away. If your count is close, talk about options. Some places can handle a little more if you opt for no dance floor or go with a cocktail reception versus a sit- down dinner. Cocktails hours might have slim seating, but most of that is standing.

 Caterers

Verify whether the venue allows for outside catering or if it has to be in-house only. You don’t want to book a venue and a restaurant catering service or taco bar without refunds only to find out your venue does not allow for them. If you are set on using a particular caterer, verify that your venue allows for them.

Location

How easy it is for guests to get to the venue, especially if they’re coming from different areas. Obviously, you cannot select a location that will work for every guest you invite but do take into consideration if this venue makes some sense. Doesn’t do a lot of good if you pick a venue a hundred miles away and not one guest, including the wedding party, live anywhere near there.

 Parking

As mentioned before, parking spaces and accessibility are often key here. Is there a fee? Is it by valet only? Is the lot large enough? Plenty of room for handicapped parking? Will you be sharing the lot with anyone else on the day of your wedding? Etc.

 Privacy

When searching for your wedding venue, be sure to check out the surroundings and how it will affect your ceremony and/or reception. If you opt for a beach wedding, how many onlookers where there be? And what are the chances, they will just have fun at your expense and do a lot of yelling while you’re sharing your vows with each other. And imagine if those onlookers are using foul language to mess with your ceremony and you spend a lot of money on a videographer. You get the picture. Did a wedding once where the ceremony took place in a front yard and during the ceremony, cars drove past honking and interrupting.

In addition, is the venue exclusive to you only or is it a shared event. One venue we were at was solely for the wedding couple and it was amazing. A few months later, we shot at this venue again and half the place was for one couple and the other half for another, but they both shared the bar area.

Reviews

Nowadays, reviewing venues are a given. But if you don’t think about it, be sure you do look at reviews. Look at as many reviews as you can. If you find a venue that has negative reviews, be sure to read them. If it’s because of one little item here and one little item there, well that happens and people like to write for small things. But if you are reading the negative reviews, look for patterns of the same issue. For example, if you often see that the staff were friendly and really worked with you leading up to the day of your wedding, but were basically absent the day of your event, that could be a red flag. Of course there are other factors. Go with your gut. Third party review places are the best places to look. Do not put too much stock into the reviews on the venue’s own website.

Of course, asking friends and family members about their venues is a great idea because they will be honest with you.

Set-up Time & Logistics

This is a bigger issue than you might think. This will determine whether you have time or how much time you have to deliver everything to the venue and how much time you and your team will need to put it all together. When it comes to a wedding and reception, timing is EVERYTHING! Also, be sure to know the tear down time so you have time to get it all out and the place cleaned up. Have the people you trust the most to oversee teams and tear down teams. Everything will go quicker and smoother that way.

 Space (size, layout, ambiance & dancing)

Just saying…

 

Surrounding Areas

If you have out-of-town guests coming for your wedding, you could consider a venue that is not too far from airports and hotels so that makes it easier for them to navigate and reduce the opportunity to get lost in your area, thus causing them to be late or miss your wedding. Also, for these guests, you can also bear in mind what are the things to do or places to eat that are in the vicinity as well.

 Theme

If you have a preconceived idea as to a theme you want for your wedding and reception, ask if the venue is accommodating. If you’re looking at a hotel or a venue that already has a particular style, they may be reluctant to allow you to come in and make it, say rustic, or any other theme. Staying with the rustic theme, find a venue that is already equipped for that, such as a barn, farm, winery, etc. or you can opt for a venue that offers you a blank canvas to decorate as you wish.

Trust Your Instincts

With all that’s been stated up to this point, ultimately it is your choice. And if you find a venue that feels right and aligns with your vision, then grab on to it. It’s your dream wedding day, so you want to ensure you feel comfortable and happy. Trust your instincts and select a venue where you can envision the celebration of your special day with the people you love, and a day filled with happiness.

Vendor Options

I’ll try to keep this short as this is a big topic for us. First and foremost, check whether the venue assigns a coordinator. If so, the coordinator is often part of the venue’s package. If not, then you can either hire a professional coordinator or go at it yourself.

Also, check with the venue as to what their rules are when it comes to various vendors. Some venues will only allow their own representatives, such as in-house food versus an outside caterer. Some venues have preferred vendor lists of people they have worked with in the past that they will only approve and others will be open to having your own vendors.

Weather / Backup Plan

If you’re planning on having your wedding outdoors, check with the venue for backup options in the event there is the possibility of rain. Of course, your odds increase or decrease depending on the time of year your wedding takes place or geographically. Make sure the venue has Plan B in the event it is a last-minute change as well. Did a wedding once where the ceremony was set up outside with all the guest chairs lined up as you would see at any other wedding. Plan B, which did not come into play, was to move the ceremony itself onto the dance floor inside and have the guests sit at their tables that they were assigned for the reception. Perfect plan in place.