What Questions Should I Ask My Wedding Venue?
The Venue. The backdrop for your wedding. The architecture and interiors you will see every time you look at those gorgeous photos or watch the stunning cinematic film of your special day. Yes, you’ll decorate it with florals in your colour scheme and the space will be filled with all your loved ones, but finding just the right venue for your day is the first step in your wedding planning journey.
So…how do you know what venue is right for you? Of course, it’s important that you and your partner love the look of the space – but we’ve thought of a few other things that are key to ask when speaking to potential venues. Below we’ve compiled just a couple of these for each stage in the process of securing your venue.
Before you book…
You may have found the most beautiful castle you’ve ever seen. It could be your dream space for your dream wedding. But before you sign anything (or pay anything!) be sure to ask these couple of queries…
Is it possible to put a hold on a date? If so, is there a cost and how long can I hold it for? If this isn’t possible – can you request first refusal?
– Making choices for your wedding take time and sometimes you end up stumbling across something even better, so it’s ideal if you can hold a space while you finalise other details and decisions.
What spaces/rooms are available to you? And within those spaces what is the capacity for the ceremony, for the wedding breakfast (on round and banquet tables), and for the evening?
– Sometimes, especially with those big gorgeous stately homes, they look huge on the outside, but a large portion is privatised for the owner which means areas you have access to are limited.
Would this be an exclusive hire? And if it isn’t an exclusive higher, will there be other people in the venue on the day (i.e. another wedding, tourists, etc.)
– This may seem like an obvious one but especially post COVID spaces fill up and dates often can be booked for multiple weddings. The venue could also be available for tours or tourist attractions so it’s important to know who else may be around on your big day.
After you book…
Now it’s time to make sure you’ve got a good line of communication with your venue. It’s the place all your suppliers need access to on the day and the space where everything is happening so it’s imperative things are well communicated in the lead up…
Who will be your point of contact in the lead up and will they be there on the day? If they won’t be there on the day, who will be?
– Be sure you get all this info ahead of time so if anything happens on the day you know EXACTLY who to go to (or who to send your bridesmaid to…you should just be enjoying yourself!)
When can we have supplies delivered and when do they need to be collected by?
– Tables, chairs, florals, gifts. All of these things arrive before and are picked up after all your festivities are done so it’s good to know what sort of timeframe you have for all of this both for yourself and for your suppliers.
Is there a safe or a SUPER secure place where things (such as gifts) can be held for you
– You want to make sure gifts and cards don’t get lost so you can have them to open afterwards but ALSO you want to ensure your Wedding Schedule, your quaich, etc. can be kept super safe for you while you dance the night away at your reception.
During the planning process…
Of course there’s a million and two questions that you may find yourself needing to ask depending on your venue, your wedding style, the size of your wedding, etc. so here are just a few “categories” to think about with regards to your wedding that you may want to ask your venue about…
Do they have on-site bar and or catering.
– If they don’t, do they have a specific company they work with or will you have to source someone external yourself
What accessories do they have available to you?
– Do they have a PA system for speeches. Do they have tables and chairs (and are they useable or are they a bit old and unkempt?)
– For outdoor weddings – do they have a marquee in the event of poor weather? Or at the very least to they have umbrellas or will you have to supply some just in case?
What are the financial legalities?
– When does the final payment need to be made? Are there additional hidden costs that may not have appeared in the initial quote like VAT or cleaning fees? You want to make sure you’re budgeting correctly!
This may seem like an overwhelming list of things to think about but that’s why we’ve laid it all out for you. Save this post for when you meet with potential venues! Maybe even add your own, more specific ones? And of course, good luck finding your dream venue…
- The Scarlett & Bell Team x