How do you know if the venue is perfect?!?

For me, it was a big deal that I LOVED the back-up plan for inclement weather. That way even if the wedding day is rained out, I'll still love where the ceremony takes place. Ideally, we'll have it outdoors, but otherwise they have this adorable rustic chapel onsite. It was a great price, the owner was a delight, and it's just the right size!

Do you have any ideas what you require of the venue to make it "the one." Having that list/idea could be helpful in narrowing down the perfect spot. Also, when you step into the space and you can envision your wedding there is a good indication as well. Good luck.

My actual dream venue ghosted me. Which is unfortunate because it had sentimental value for our relationship, was gorgeous and had on site lodging plus price was not cheap but affordable. I was heartbroken but looked at 30 online, narrowed it to 10 and booked 5 tours. On the second tour my fiancé fell in love, and that’s how I knew. I’ve never seen him so happy or excited. It’s also gorgeous and a great rate, just harder on travel and lodging.

We only did 1x tour. My FH & I both love our town & we knew the wanted to have our wedding in our town. There are 2x really nice places, the 1x place is ad hoc for everything, but they require their approved vendors for pretty much everything. It was also smaller. I didn't like that I couldn't vendor shop, and that I was at there mercy. We never did a tour, just got the information via online.

The other place was all inclusive and was priced right. Everyone was super nice, and I loved the layout. That is the one that we toured and the one that we went with.

For us it was finding the right balance between budget and function. We knew we did not want a traditional venue and had a few other requirements. Our venue hit all those requirements and came in at far less than the other places we were looking at. In some ways our venue is better than others we considered. I don't know if there is one answer to the question, but I would recommend making a list with your fiancé about the must haves and no nos for a venue.

I think if you've been to a lot of venues and done your research and see there's one that's got the right size, cost, location, and food !

For us, our favorites (especially our #1) were based a feeling first. It felt right for where we wanted to say our vows, celebrate with friends, and the gorgeous photo opportunities. Then if other things matched up: what was included, restrooms & parking for a disabled family member, convenience for guests to travel/stay there or nearby.

For me it was my fiancé’s reaction. He had been with me on like a ton of venue tours and I loved one in Ca and he just didn’t see to love it. He was very just like “if it’s what you want” lol when I took him to a venue in AZ that I originally went to with just my mom his face lit up and he actually smiled and said he loved it! That was it. If he loves it I love it! I wanted to find somewhere we both loved and that was a mixture of both of us and the venue we decided on is perfectly that. 🖤

For us it was price followed by wow factor. I hadn't felt so excited when touring venues until I saw this place. The bathroom in our reception area was a hidden room, so it's a bookcase that opens to a bathroom. The whole reception room felt like a speakeasy and had so much character. The lights above the bar are old school voting lights. The venue has a free arcade, pool tables, ping pong tables, and super unique and delicious food while still looking super classy.

I knew our venue was the one the second I found it online. I was so in love with it. We toured a total of 7 venues, but none of the other 6 compared to the one I loved. I was so happy we were able to go with it because I worried we wouldn't because all of their premade packages are plated and start at like $125 as the cheapest option. Luckily, they offer custom packages and we did buffet/stationary style for much cheaper.

We toured like 10 venues and a lot of them we liked but when we went inside our booked venue I instantly got excited and I just knew this was the one! and my FH felt the same way he was like "yeah we can stop looking now"

I think when you go into a venue and can picture your wedding there you'll know

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Woooooooooooow!

this place looks so amazing! Congragulations!!!

what state is this in?

View Quoted Comment This is in Arizona

How have you been selecting venues to tour so far?

I fell in love with A LOT of venues online. In fact, in my head, in my dream wedding scenario where I don't have to worry about pesky reality, my venue is a chateau in the mountains, or an elegant barn on an apple farm.

When I realized these two options were not doable, I started getting really bummed out and overwhelmed. For a minute, I started thinking that a pretty wedding just wasn't in the cards for me.

Then I sat down and figured out what was actually important to me. Yes, of course I want a nice venue that will look great in pictures. But more than that, I wanted things to be easy. By that I mean I wanted one venue for getting ready, the ceremony, pictures, cocktail hour, and the reception. I wanted one with their own food/alcohol/etc. and a coordinator so that I wouldn't have to worry about much.

So I ended up with a country club -- which I never would've considered in my wildest Pinterest dreams! But it's perfect.

My FH and I toured two when we realized that golf courses/country clubs were actually relatively affordable and came with the all-inclusive stuff that we were looking for. After going to the first one, I thought it was nice, and could envision our wedding there. My FH was happy with it, though he'd also be happy at the courthouse.

I felt like I wanted to at least go to one more venue, just to see. When we drove up, we knew. Both of us just loved the vibe, and something about it just felt right. While it's not in the mountains or on an apple farm, and won't be featured in a wedding magazine any time soon, it's still special to us. The architecture is totally our style, and the course has willow trees, bridges, ponds, and rivers. In a way, I'm still getting everything I wanted in my fantasy wedding, just in a different package.

View Quoted Comment This was so important for me. We moved the wedding forward 6 months to February, so it's an indoor venue. I'm so glad to not have to worry about a back up plan (unless there's a blizzard. Yikes!)

It is important to consider some necessary factors:

1. Budget - if you're looking at places way out of your budget of course other places won't compare.

2. Whether plans - my venue has a built in plan 'b', planning on an outdoor wedding but it is possible to have an indoor wedding if weather is bad and I have until the night before the wedding to officially decide.

3. Feeling - do you get good vibes from the property owners? Do you feel like it will be a good working relationship? Professionalism? Well thought out contract?

4. If you aren't feeling majority of the venues maybe it is time to take a step back for a little while. You may just be getting burned out from the planning process.

I found my venue through online research and then decided to go on a tour with my fiancé. We were walking through the venue and we both smiled at one another and agreed that we could envision ourselves getting married here.

In reality no place is going to be perfect and there will always be one or two things you wish you could have changed but the overall positives always outweigh the drawbacks and that's what matters.

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Oooo, it is always so exciting to see other peoples venue choices! That does look/sound awesome!

We knew right away that we wanted an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception. We had our first date at rose garden on the river which is now about 3 minutes from our house. The price to do weddings there is $375! Versus other places that are similar cost $2000. That was an easy decision for us. The reception hall came down to availability and price. The most stunning venues were just out of our price range or already booked a year and a half out. We found a local country club with really good food minutes from the gardens. The style inside is a little dated but it has floor to ceiling windows in the room and chair covers and decorations will take care of the rest. For me it was about finding functionability and affordability. The Rose Gardens are stunning as well as the grounds at the club. For the cheaper price we felt more comfortable saying yes to the spot. We do not want to go in debt over 1 day and are paying for everything ourselves. I was quick to contact every hotel, restaurant, club and anything else I could find. I easily narrowed down to 3 places based on price before seeing anything. We started viewing the cheapest place first and decided if we felt it was good enough ir was right and that is exactly what we did.

For us, it was a combination of location, the staff, and how well the flow was through the day all on the same property. It's a venue perfectly set up for large weddings (with a beautiful option-B for inclement weather) and the staff is absolutely wonderful. All my boxes were ticked off and I could see it being a fun, easy experience for my guests, which really made me love it.

For us, it had to be in our city, and within our budget and had to look presentable. We got lucky with our venue. It's a community center ballroom. Quaint, large, wood floors. High ceilings. Two fireplaces on either side of the room (cannot use them, but still good for decorating) and we got it for an amazing price. You sort of get this feeling inside of you. You just know.