Photo via Kathryn Ivy Photography
Choosing your wedding venue is almost just as important as choosing the person you are going to marry. When you stop to think about it, your wedding venue is the place where you will say your vows and pledge to be husband and wife if you are not to be married in a church. Even if your ceremony will take place at a church or place of worship, your venue will be the place of the celebration of your new union with family and friends.
Because choosing a wedding venue is an important decision, you'll want to be prepared with questions for when you tour the location. However, before we get to the questions to ask on a tour, here are a few questions to discuss with your fiancé prior to choosing venues to tour.
Questions to Ask Your Fiancé Before Scheduling a Wedding Venue Tour
- What city do we want to get married?
- Do we want our wedding ceremony in a church or place of worship?
- Do we want our wedding ceremony outside or inside?
- What type of place do we want our ceremony and/or reception, i.e. a vineyard, plantation, hotel or barn?
- Do we want our reception in a ballroom, under a tent or open air outside?
- How many guests do we expect?
- What is our budget for the venue?
Questions to Ask on a Wedding Venue Tour
Once you've answered the above questions, you are ready to schedule wedding venue tours. You'll want to be sure that you tour venues that meet the requirements from the discussions with your Fiancé or your parents if they are also helping to pay for some of the wedding costs. Why? You'll want to be sure that you only tour venues that are true possibilities and fit your budget. Keeping all of your criteria in mind, here's a list of additional questions you'll want to ask while on your venue tour.
- How many guests does the venue accommodate?
- Is the venue available on the date(s) we are interested?
- What is the cost for the venue on those dates?
- Does the venue offer different prices and/or packages for different days of the week?
- What amenities are included with the venue fees?
- Are there any additional requirements of the venue?
- Is a security deposit required? If so, how much? How is it returned?
- Does the venue have a preferred vendor list and/or require use of an in-house caterer?
- How many hours are included in the venue rental?
- What additional rentals are required for the venue (ie. tables, chairs, etc.)?
- Is a tent rental required?
- If outdoors, what is the rain plan alternative?
- Is parking free and readily available?
- Does the venue provide parking attendants?
- Is there a bridal suite available? What time is the room available the day of the wedding?
- Will we be allowed early access to the venue to decorate?
- Does the venue offer a day-of-wedding coordinator or a facilities coordinator?
- Do I have to acquire my own ABC license to serve alcoholic beverages?
- Can we bring our own alcohol to the event? If so, does the venue offer a bartender?
- Do we have exclusive use of the property on the day of our wedding?
- What time of day can we start our wedding ceremony and/or reception?
- What time does the wedding reception have to end?
- Are there any local noise ordinances we should be aware of for music to end by?
- Does the venue offer overnight accommodations?
- How close is the nearest hotel for out of town guests?
- Does the venue offer a walk-through with the caterer and other key wedding vendors? If so, when is that typically scheduled?
- If we are interested in booking, what type of deposit is required to hold the venue for our date?
- When is the final balance due?
We hope that the above questions will be helpful to you as you tour potential wedding venues for your big day!