Picking your venue can be a stressful part of the wedding planning process. It's the baseline of which you'll build your entire event on! We have some questions you should be asking yourself while weighing out your options.
C A P A C I T Y // Make Sure the capacity fits your event. If you are doing a cocktail party rather than a sit-down meal, then the space can likely fit more people standing.
A V A I L A B I T Y // If you're flexible on having your wedding on a Friday or a Sunday, you may be able to book a popular venue within a few months! If you're set on having your big day on a Saturday, make sure you have time to plan ahead - Saturdays book up fast!
L A Y O U T F L E X I B I L I T Y // Do you want to have your ceremony and your reception at the same venue? A lot of times, venues and vendors charge to do a room flip if both your ceremony and reception are in the same space.
Venue: Solar Arts by Chowgirls | Photos by: Matt Lein
R E S T R I C T I O N S // Does the venue have any deal breaker restrictions? Is it owned by a caterer that requires you to order their food and use their bartenders? Maybe they only allow you to get in at 3pm that day and you wanted to have a lot of decor that would require more setup time.
P A R K I N G + T R A N S P O R T A T I O N // Is there free parking available? Is it easy to get to for your guests or will you need valet?
F A C I L I T Y E X T R A S // Make note of any items included with the venue: A/V equipment, chairs, tables, linens, etc. These could mean huge cost savings for you if you don't have to rent them through a separate vendor!
Venue: Machine Shop | Photos by: Ash & James Photography
C A T E R I N G // See if the venue has restrictions on catering, such as an in-house caterer or a preferred list of caterers you are required to work with. If you have your heart set on a specific food truck for instance, you'll want to make sure the venue will allow something like that.
G U E S T E X P E R I E N C E // What does the neighborhood look like around the venue? Will your ceremony be an hour drive from your reception location? Most importantly, you want to make sure your guests have a great time! The entire experience beginning to end will matter, which means arrival do departure. If they need to drive around for 30 minutes to find parking, they may be grumpy when they walk in the door, which means all the money you spent on your decor will mean much less in the end.
Venue: 514 Studios | Photos by: Jason Worrell Photography
Venues in order they appear: Solar Arts by Chowgirls | Machine Shop | 514 Studios
Photo credit in order they appear: Matt Lein | Ash & James Photography | Jason Worrell Photography