How To : Choose Your Wedding Venue

Hi again! For the next installment of the wedding series, we will discuss how to choose a wedding venue. Where you will get married is hands down one of the biggest decisions you will make for your wedding. Luckily, we live in a magical time where more and more places are being converted into a wedding venue or event space.  So while that does increase the availability of wedding venues, that also means more choices. A lot of the time, when you’re already swamped with decisions, having choices can make things more taxing.

I learned some things throughout the process of selecting a wedding venue that I want to share with you guys. I really do have to say that a lot of what happened with our venue was fate, luck or what have you. The process of finding a venue was not necessarily easy.

I want to share what I learned with you guys in hopes of making it at least somewhat easier. If not easier, I hope to give you guys some things to consider. One of the biggest things you consider with a wedding venue is how it looks. You’re trying to find that space that fits your vision.  The issue is, you can easily become laser focused on the appearance and forget to look into crucial details.

Before You Find It

1. Make sure to check ALL of your options. Don’t just look at things marketed as a wedding venue.  If you see a space that you like, ask them if they do events, specifically weddings. You will be surprised to see that even if a place isn’t a wedding venue, they will still be willing to work with you.  Also, make sure to ask around. Word of mouth is sometimes the best marketing, and plenty of good venues depend on it. This was massive for us. During our selection process, I looked at breweries around Birmingham. I found a brewery in the process of relocating. This meant that I got a newly renovated space staffed with eager and friendly people.  Also, because the space had recently relocated they wanted to bring in events and were happy to work with me. With a wedding comes customers and exposure. This also lead me to get a really great price. Partially because they hadn’t really set a protocol for events in the new space and they quickly gave me a quote. As they realized what the entire process entailed they figured they should(very reasonably so) charge more for future events but remained faithful to their quote for me! Another upside to getting non-traditional venues is that they don’t have their own vendors. Some vendors have contracts with wedding venues, requiring you to use their service. Vendor included venues are a one stop shop, however, this isn’t for everyone. For instance, my father-in-law’s restaurant catered our wedding and my mother-in-law did our desserts. So, we needed a place that would allow for our own vendors.
2. Begin searching right away, spaces book up months, sometimes a year or more in advance. Make this one of the first things you do because your venue is going to define the mood of your wedding, the layout will determine what and how you run your wedding.
3. Have several options. Look at all of your potential venues and narrow it down to a top 5 or top 3. But, keep them all as options so that if you look further into a venue and find its not for you, you have another option already.

Once You’ve Think Found It

1. Go see it in person. Web sites show a space in the best possible light, intentionally. Go see your venue in person so that you can see the reality of the situation.
2. Get to know the person you will directly be working with. If there is a specific individual you’ll be working with you want to get to know them so you feel comfortable contacting them. A lovely lady named Caitlyn was our point person. She honestly became a friend. Not only were we able to communicate easily with her, but she was actually the first wedding held in their new space, with ours coming next! So she really understood what we were looking for and what we needed.
3. Check for things like a place to get ready, supplies they provide(tables, trash cans), music system, restrictions, whether or not patronage will be necessary and more. For example, we held our wedding at a brewery. Our venue gave us the option to have guest purchase beers individually or to prepay for a certain amount of beer. We chose to have guests buy individually. Guests knew to patron the bar. While it was not required, it was considerate.
4. Be clear about the money. Ask for specific amounts and due dates. Have the coordinator tell you if the fees are all inclusive. Also, have the coordinator tell you exactly how they would like their payments: Cash, card, check or money order.
5. If it feels forced keep looking. Like most things when it comes to your wedding, you will know it when you see it. If a venue is nice but doesn’t immediately pull at your heartstrings or make you say “this is it”, keep looking. Also, if you aren’t sure and you keep returning to a specific venue or find yourself thinking or talking about it, it may be the one.

Key  Things To Look For

1. Multifunctionality– Look for a wedding venue that can serve as a ceremony space, reception space, dressing space and photo backdrop all in one. This lessens the amount of maneuvering the day of. The also lessens a number of spaces you have to pay for.
2. Additional amenities– My venue offered a bar, throwback video games, televisions broadcasting football games and more.
3. Vendors included or not-Included vendors could make or break the space, so make sure to see how much you are or aren’t getting for your money.
4. Other people’s opinions-Ask around. The people who work for the wedding venue will always paint it in the best light, try to get a real representation.

Consider how you feel about a space the most. How you feel will dictate what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to settle for. Imagine yourself looking back on that space in 10 years and take note of how you think you will feel. Ultimately, the Cahaba Brewing Company was that space for Mychal and I. You will know it when you see it.

Best of luck!

This post was proofread by Grammarly