Vetting a Venue - What to Look For and What to Avoid When Selecting a Wedding Venue

So on Tuesday, we told you all about a wonderful alternative to all of the classic event spaces in Atlanta.  Today, we are giving you our take on what to look for in a venue, whether it is as classic as a country club or as unconventional as a bookstore(yes, that's a real thing). We've put together a top five list of "Things to ask yourself when selecting a venue."


1.  What are the upfront costs v. the backend costs?  

Sure this sounds all business-y, but you are now running a small business project where you get to select the best vendors to help you make your project golden.  One day, we were sitting with a couple putting together a list of venue visits, and we rattled off a bunch of locations that we thought would be fitting.  "But all of those are too expensive!"protested the bride.  "We were thinking more along the lines of  (insert seemingly inexpensive venue here)."  Look, I am all about finding an expensive venue, but you must look at the upfront costs v. the backend costs.  This means, what will you pay now and save on later vs. paying for a less expensive venue and paying more for service items once the venue is booked.  Can that venue provide you tables and chairs? Or is that something extra that you are going to have to rent.  A few venues provide chairs for their indoor space but will not allow you to bring those chairs outside, and the ceremony spaces are OUTSIDE.  So guess what? You end up getting a set of chairs for every single guest, that will only be used for the 30 minutes of your ceremony - seems like quite the backend cost that you wouldn't think about until after you'd booked the space.  Some things to look for: does the space provide tables and chairs?  Highboys? Cocktail rounds? A usable kitchen for your caterer (some spaces require a portable kitchen which may mean a higher cost to you from the caterer)?  Basically, ask yourself, what is included and what am I going to have to pay for/coordinate once I've booked.  Remember, your caterer/planner can help you think these things through and you may find that a venue that seems more expensive upfront, might cause much less of a headache.

2.  What kind of "space" am I getting out of my space?

If you are planning to do both your ceremony and reception at the same venue, make sure you know what kind of space you are getting from your venue.  Sounds simple enough, right? But make sure you know that if you are having any part of your wedding outside, what the rain plan might be.  With an outdoor ceremony, that then becomes an indoor ceremony due to weather, you may be dealing with a much smaller space that won't allow for full seating capacity.  As for your reception space, it is important to understand how many guests can comfortably sit at tables if there is a dance  floor, entertainment, and food set up.  Understand the space requirements between a buffet and stations, a band and a DJ.  Just because once upon a time the venue held an event with 250 guests/a 10-piece band and a plated seated dinner back before the current on site event planner was there (but she SWEARS it!) doesn't mean you shouldn't ask to see that floor plan.  Same goes with a room "flip;" yet another hidden cost.  A room flip requires the catering staff/other staff to move chairs/tables/equipment from one space to another, ie you are using the same chairs for your ceremony as your reception and you've only ordered the exact number for your guest count.  Your ceremony is outside and then once it is completed, the staff moves your chairs indoors for the reception.  Or you want your ceremony space to magically become a reception space over cocktail hour - add in that flip fee!  Best to know what you are getting out of your space before you commit to something that might increase your budget

3.  What's the alcohol policy?

Looking for a spot to save some money?  Find a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol.  Booze packages can make the bottom line really add up so it is in your best interest to find a place that offers a lower upfront cost (see item 1 above) and their own booze package or one that might cost a little more but allows you to bring in your own alcohol.  It is pretty great to see your alcohol costs come down by about 60%. Of course, this does mean that you will need to still hire bartenders and use the glassware provided by the caterers, as well as purchase a soft drink package.

4.  Who are the preferred vendors?

Some venues require that you choose your vendors from a selected list or face a penalty fee for using an outside vendor for things such as catering. decor or equipment.  Make sure you know the penalty up front (if you plan to break off of the preferred list) or do your research about the companies on the list.  Most of the time, the venues select a preferred vendor list because these are the folks with the most experience/understanding of the venue.  Of course we always endorse newbies entering into the market, however, if your best friend swears she can whip up a dinner for 250, and you're looking to do it just to save on costs, remember there is a cost associated with not selecting from the preferred vendor list.  And no guarantees on your piece of mind!

5.  What is my experience going to be like with the staff/venue

When booking your venue, it is important to look to the staff you will be dealing with both upfront and the day of your event.  Who will you work with on the sales team?  Who will be there the day of your event?  What is this person's experience? Look, this may not be a deal breaker for everyone, but personally, we feel like if the only job of a venue is to book and hold events, there is no reason they shouldn't answer emails/phone calls within a reasonable timeframe.  That doesn't necessarily mean, same hour, or even same day, but it should mean within 48 hours.  Brides and grooms ask crazy questions no matter who they are (yes even if they are vendors by trade), so if your in-house event person is making you feel bad for asking questions you feel are important, that's just plain unfair. It is a reasonable expectation of the job! Also, remember, there are such things as reasonable expectations as the couple getting married - if you keep hearing "no" from the event staff, you might want to look elsewhere.  We looked into a venue that marketed itself as a garden venue with an outdoor ceremony and reception space.  Little did we know that the neighborhood hated the venue and was trying to force it to stop holding events with music outside.  We were told our couples couldn't have amplified music for their ceremony and certainly couldn't hold their reception outside whatsoever.  This is the kind of space we recommend you reconsider!

Hope this helps you to kick off your search for the perfect venue!! Remember, not everything is going to be perfect, but if you've got the budget on your mind, think about how your venue can be a part of keeping costs low.