Choosing Your Wedding Venue
The next few posts in this series will focus on selecting important vendors that will be serving you on your wedding day: venue, photographer, videographer, and catering. As I walk through these vendor selection posts, I'll be presenting my selection process and key decision factors. This post will explain how I identified venues, narrowed down the ones to tour, asked investigative questions, and made a final decision that fit the style and budget of my wedding.
Before we jump into venue selection, a few important disclaimers and preliminary statements need to be made (both about venue choice and vendor decisions as a whole):
Have a good idea of when you want to get married - if not a date, then at least a particular month. This will help you determine venue availability and ensure all your desired vendors are available the same date. We went in thinking June, and then narrowed it down to two or three particular dates so we could identify vendor availability better.
Before you sign, read every.single.line. of the contract. Then, re-read it, and have 2-3 other trusted individuals read it, too. Never, ever sign a legally binding document without knowing exactly what you're getting into. Write down notes and any questions, and ASK THE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU SIGN!
Vendors should only be booked and contracts signed once you've determined your budget. This will help you stay within your budget and ensure other money is allotted to other priorities.
What worked for your cousin, best friend, or great aunt will not necessarily work for you. The advice of others is important (and definitely look to other weddings for inspiration), but just because your 15 cousins all got married in the same pretty downtown Chicago warehouse doesn't mean you have to, too. Make your wedding uniquely YOU!
You NEED to get in the habit of asking good questions. In my experience, no question is dumb! In fact, it may help your venue clarify policies and will help you make a wise decision in the long run. Asking good questions both before and after you sign the contract (particularly before!) is crucial to avoiding a headache later on. We'll get into the question details later.
Your vendors shouldn't be chosen because 'it's who everyone else uses', but because their style and services match your vision for your wedding. It's like the Chicago warehouse example - just because your 15 cousins love the warehouse look doesn't mean you need to love it! If your style is a light, airy indoor greenhouse or a big, outdoorsy backyard wedding, go for it!
Now that these things have been said, let's dive into the venue search! This post might get long, but stick with me! I promise you'll learn a lot and walk away with tons of clarity in choosing your venue.
Identifying Potential Venues
For some couples, the city and location of their wedding is pretty much set from the get-go. For others, the location might be determined by cost, venue availability, or a variety of other factors. For Logan and me, the location decision behind our wedding was threefold:
COST - Getting married in Holland, Michigan (at least at our particular venue) was far cheaper than getting married in Grand Rapids (my hometown). It was the best decision we made for our budget!
DISTANCE - Most of our guests were coming from outside of Michigan, so having the wedding in Holland shortened their drive. For guests coming from Grand Rapids, the drive to our venue was about 30 minutes.
LOCATION - Holland is one of Michigan's best beach towns. If we love it so much, why not give others the ability to enjoy it, too? Several of our guests turned their trip to our wedding into a family vacation! And, as a bonus, we had some of our wedding photos taken on a sand dune overlooking the lake!
Before settling on Holland, we did plenty of research in Grand Rapids and other neighboring cities. However, the combination of cost, distance, and location made Holland the best choice for us. In the preliminary stages, don't hesitate to look a bit outside your search radius. For us, that meant also looking in cities like Grand Haven, Saugatuck, Lowell, and Sparta. If we saw venues that fit our budget and style, we reached out. If not, we kept looking. As you begin your search, keep your eyes open, and be willing to start narrowing down your options by asking good questions.
There are tons of options for searching for venues! Those include:
The Knot
Wedding Wire
Google
Yelp
100 Layer Cake
Facebook
Instagram
Word of mouth (family/friends)
Other local vendors, such as photographers, videographers, and catering companies (lots of photographers have vendor recommendation lists you can ask for!)
Don't forget to ask other couples you know from your area (high school, college, family friends, etc.) for their recommendations. For us, one of my family friends got married at our venue (Midtown Center) a few years earlier! As we researched venues, Midtown kept coming to mind, and we have no regrets going with them (more on that later!).
Choosing Venues to Tour
Most venues have a good amount of information to peruse on their website. And if you don't see it, fill out their contact form and request more information. If you don't come into wedding planning with a venue pre-selected, I'd advise having about 3-5 places you seriously consider and are willing to go tour. Post-pandemic, wedding venues are booking YEARS in advance, and the last thing you want is to depend on one venue for availability, only to learn their next open slot is 4 years down the road. Keep your options open initially, and then narrow them down by taking a tour and asking good questions.
In choosing venues to tour, take the following questions into consideration:
What is the minimum and maximum guest capacity it can hold?
If it's an outdoor venue, do they have any indoor spaces or backup plans in case of inclement weather?
Can you have your ceremony and reception there, or just the reception?
What's the cost?
Are you required to have alcohol and use their bar service? Or, can you choose whether or not to bring in a bar service?
Do you have to use their required caterer, do they have a preferred list, or can you bring in whomever?
Is the venue available for your desired date(s)?
If the venue answers these questions favorably for you - particularly if they're available and in your budget - you should probably book a tour!
Questions to Ask During Your Venue Tour
Most wedding planners (like mine) come with pre-written questions you can ask during a venue tour. That list is helpful, but it can't be your crutch - ask any question you have, and write down the answers! When touring your venue, be sure to bring along your significant other (if possible), along with a few friends or family members. For me, bringing my parents was probably the most helpful - they thought of things I didn't even consider!
Here's some questions you should probably ask (or re-ask)...
If you're available on my desired date, how do I secure it before someone else takes it?
What is the minimum and maximum guest capacity it can hold?
What is the backup plan in case of bad weather? (outdoor venue)
Can I have my ceremony and reception here? If you allow both, can I opt to add the ceremony later on?
How much do you charge for the reception and ceremony?
Do I have to have alcohol if I get married here? If so, what's your policy?
Do I need to use your in-house caterer, or do you have a list I can choose from? What if I don't like your list and want to bring in someone else?
What is your dessert policy? Do I have to use your caterer, recommended list, or can I bring in something?
Can we get ready at the venue? If so, do you have space for the bridesmaids and groomsmen, or just one side of the bridal party?
What decorations do you have for us to borrow? Are they free to borrow or is it an additional fee?
What decorations are we allowed to use? (open flame candles, hanging pieces, etc.)
Are we required to purchase wedding insurance or event insurance?
Do you offer in-house DJ/audio services for an additional charge? If so, what is the fee?
What time does our reception need to end? What time do our guests and vendors need to leave the venue?
Will you help with cleanup after the reception, or do we need to send a crew of friends and family to do it?
Do you have a space for our florist to put flowers and additional supplies, if they need it?
If outdoor photos don't work (season or bad weather), where can we take photos in the venue?
What are our options for a send off? What are we allowed to use or not use? (sparklers, confetti, etc.)
Is your venue handicap accessible?
Do you have tables, chairs, and linens we can use, or do we need to rent all of it?
This list is by no means exhaustive, but having these bases covered - particularly availability, cost, and catering policies - should help you make an informed decision and narrow down your options further! If you're getting married outside, it's always good to ask what the backup options are (in case of bad weather), if air conditioned/heated spaces are available, and if tents/enclosed spaces are available. For example, if you're considering an outdoor wedding, make sure that, if it rains, your ceremony/reception area won't become a muddy swamp! Hopefully as you tour venues, ask questions, and assess your budget, your decision will be come more and more clear!
How We Chose Our Venue
As I've said many times before, everyone's style, budget, guest list, and priorities are different. Logan and I loved our venue (Midtown Center) and chose it for the following reasons:
COST - it was more affordable than any other option, and it fit our budget perfectly.
STYLE - we wanted an all-indoor wedding (in case of bad weather), but tons of natural light (the floor to ceiling windows were perfect!)
CAPACITY - our guest list was about 250, and we had 150 guests (#thankyouCovid) in total; we knew the guest list was going to be big and we needed to be prepared!
CATERING - Midtown's policies allowed us to bring in our own desserts, not have alcohol (but bring in our own beverages), and choose from one of their many preferred caterers, which we loved!
SPACE - Midtown had rooms for our bridal party to get ready, which avoided extra stress with transportation and allowed them to relax and have fun together. the only time our bridal party left the venue was for photos at a local park.
TWO IN ONE - Midtown allowed us to have our ceremony and reception there, so our guests didn't have to move between venues! we had a receiving line upstairs and a cocktail hour waiting for guests while the venue team flipped the room from the ceremony to reception.
There you have it! I hope this post (despite it's length) was helpful as you consider your venue options. Good luck!
