Happy Wedding Wednesday! With the new year in full swing, many brides are kicking the planning process into high gear for their summer and fall weddings and making all those final big decisions. Besides the budget and guest list, one of the first decisions that needs to be made is the wedding venue!
The venue will determine the date based on their availability and then will help all those other wedding day details (style, formality, color, decor) fall into place! So what should you look at and think about as you are touring all those venues trying to pick the perfect place?! Here is the beginner’s guide to help you get started!
Location
Location, location, location. Consider the distance and the travel costs you and a majority of your guests will have to get to the venue. Is there a certain city that is meaningful to you and your fiance? What will the weather look like in that particular location in your desired wedding month?
Style
You should have a general idea of the style, theme, and tone of your wedding before your reserve your venue. If you know you want a modern glam wedding, you may want to look into a sleek contemporary hotel ballroom or museum rather than a renovated barn. If you want a nautical-themed wedding, a harbor will better match your style than a wedding mill. We personally are going for a mountain elegant theme, so we chose a lodge styled venue at a ski resort.
Color
If you have a certain theme, style, or color palette in mind, make sure the coloring of the venue reflects or enhances your theme. They don’t have to match exactly, but you don’t want the walls, curtains, carpets, etc. to conflict with your style. For example, dated curtains can really clash with a modern and contemporary vibe.
Size
Create a general guest list before your venue search to ensure the room is large enough to accommodate the number of people on your guest list. You don’t want to book a venue that only holds 75 for a seated dinner when you have 200 on your guest list, and you also don’t want a venue that holds 400 when you only want to invite 75 because it will look empty!
Don’t forget to factor in space for the dance floor, bars, food stations, or buffet tables if these are elements you will be incorporating into your wedding. Often times, (and this is the situation in our case actually) if your guest list is close to the max capacity of the venue, you have to do a seated dinner because there is not enough space for buffet tables or stations. So just keep that in mind as well if the food service presentation is important to you.
Designated Areas
Ask the venue for a typical layout of the space for weddings. There should be logical places for the bars, tables, food, dancing, DJ/band etc. so the space doesn’t feel cluttered. Also, avoid venues with odd-shaped rooms so that it doesn’t mess with the flow of the wedding.
Pier One
