How to pick a wedding venue
Congratulations! You’re getting married!! Now comes the challenging task: wedding planning. Some details or aspects of your wedding may be easy to decide. For instance, maybe you’ve had your eye on a specific wedding florist for a while now or you know exactly what you want your wedding party to wear. That’s great! But there may be other details you hadn’t considered before or don’t have a clear idea of what you want, like who you want to capture your day or where you want to get married. That’s okay!
You don’t have to have every detail sorted out the minute you get engaged, and this experience doesn’t have to be stressful. Make wedding planning an adventure—turn it into a fun activity you can do with your partner like a date night! You two can sit down with your favorite beverages of choice, research your dream vendors, and make lists of wants and don’t wants for your big day.
Picking a wedding venue
Alright, you’ve gotten to the moment where you’ll need to pick a wedding venue—which is something you should prioritize early on in your wedding planning due to the wedding boom we’re currently experiencing—how do you even begin to narrow down on the perfect venue for your and your partner? After all, it’s an important detail. It will be the setting in which you two embark on your next big adventure together and where your friends and family will gather to celebrate you two. Here are five details you should consider when exploring wedding venues:
What is the vibe or aesthetic that you want?
Okay, this is a big one: your venue should match the vibe/aesthetic of your overall wedding. If your wedding is going to be a sophisticated black tie with lots of classic whites and greens, you probably don’t want to get married in a barn. If you want that boho feel with pampas grass and terra cotta pots, you probably don’t want to get married in a hotel ballroom.
Whatever the vibe is that you’re going for, look for a venue that feels appropriate to that theme. It’ll be way easier to decorate and look far more natural in the photos if the venue matches your style, rather than trying to force it to conform to your vision and covering up the aspects that don’t match.
How big is your wedding going to be?
Venues have capacity limits—which is especially important in light of COVID-19. If you’re going to be inviting 200 plus guests, make sure your venue can accommodate a party of this size. If you’re going to have a small, intimate gathering, you won’t need an oversized venue. Your guest list can dramatically affect your budget and venue options. It’ll help to have a general idea of how many guests you’re expecting when it comes time to explore your venue options.
For example, my fiancé and I recently picked our own wedding venue. We knew that we wanted a more intimate sized wedding—around 50 to 65 guests—and we knew we wanted a venue that could also double as sleeping accommodations for at least 20 of our guests. With these numbers in mind, we explored all of the venues in the area that would be able to seat up to 65 guests for our reception and sleep up to 20. This helped us narrow done our options and focus in on only the venues that would truly meet our needs!
What amenities will you need?
This can be an overlooked detail and add extra stress to your day. When you’re picking a venue, make sure to be clear on the amenities that come with the property. If you need a place to get ready, do they have a getting ready area or will you need to book a nearby airbnb? Does your venue come with bathrooms or will you need to coordinate renting them? Will your venue provide tables and chairs or will you need to rent them? These are all details that can extra stress and extra cost to your wedding planning, so it’s super important to know what your venue comes with and if it will meet your day-of needs.
Do you have a specific city, state, or country you want to get married in?
Where do you two want to get married? Do you want to get married in the city that you met, in a country you both love, in one of your home states? You definitely don’t have to limit yourself to where you currently live. And having a general idea of the place that you want to get married will help you two focus in on the venues available in that location.
For example, a lot of my couples like to get married in Santa Barbara because the met at UCSB, while others want to get married where they grew up—like Seattle, Washington, the Bay Area, and Portland, Oregon.
If there’s a place that has significance to you and your partner, look at venues there!
What’s your budget?
Last but not least—and probably the most important—what’s your budget? When you begin searching for venues, it’s important to know how much you would like to spend and what your absolute max is. This will help you narrow down venues that not only meet your needs, but your budget as well. The worst thing is to fall in love with a venue and have it be absolutely out of your price range.
This is also important to have in mind in case your venue doesn’t come with certain amenities that you will need. Renting another location to get ready, bathrooms, and furniture will all add to your overall venue cost. So being aware of how much the venue will cost and the extra amenities that you may need to add on will help prevent extra stress down the road.
Look at the big picture: What venue meets your wedding needs?
Overall, it’s important for you and your love to discuss your vision of the day—how is it going to look, who is going to be there, what will you need, where will you be, and what can you afford. Knowing these details will really help you to hone in on a venue that is just perfect for you two and will help cut down on the time you spend exploring your options.
My pro tip: tour your favorite venues! If you live in the area or can take the time to travel to your wedding destination, I highly recommend touring your venues. This way you can get a feel for the location, get to know the surrounding area, and get excited for your wedding day!
Images 1, 4, and 5 were captured while second shooting for The Poffs.
