Important questions to ask Venues

How long you have the venue for, when you're allowed to have your rehearsal, if you can visit the venue more than once to work on your vision for the decor. If it's an outdoor venue, ask them if they have a backup plan for rainy days or if you would be responsible for those arrangements.

Hi ! I have a little cheat sheet I made and just had copies for each venue I toured. That way I could easily compare 'apples to apples' for each venue. Some of the questions were:

How far do guests have to walk?

What’s the parking situation?

Are there getting ready rooms for both parties?

Is there a rain plan?

Is there a coat

check for fall?

Are speakers allowed for outdoor ceremony?

Is smoking permitted outdoors?

Do you hold multiple events the same day?

What policies or restrictions do we need to be aware of?

Who else are we expected to tip?

What are the minimums?

Costs for rehearsal?

What fees and charges do I need to be aware of?

What is not included that I need to be aware of?

Is AV equip included?

Are there any décor restrictions?

How many hours?

Are there limitations on when I can access the venue on the day of?

Do other parties or persons have access to the space during my event?

We also asked each venue to tell us about a time when they had to deal with a disaster to see how they would handle an unexpected set-back. This helped us a lot with figuring out who we did and did not want to work with.

Omg thank you for this post & others responses! We went to tour our first venue yesterday and we were so nervous we didn’t know what to ask 😂 & FH seemed very standoffish and later told me he didn’t like it at all which is why he wasn’t asking questions 😂 but this is definitely helpful for future tours!

I was shocked to find out places charged a cake cutting fee.

Thank you to everyone!! I will jot these questions down! Y’all are the best. I’m glad this question was able to help other brides too 😊

View Quoted Comment Wow! I’ll definitely ask about this one, thanks!!

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Hi Karla!

I actually just found this pdf online, thought it might help you too! I printed it out and started adding more questions!

https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-party-ideas/detail/questions-to-ask-your-wedding-venue

PP have all suggested some really good questions. Here are some I asked the venues i toured.
Do you require he use of a planner/coordinator? (one venue I toured did)
Can you get in the day before to drop off supplies/decorate?
Is there a cake cutting fee?
Who will be in charge of your event day of, will
it be the same person you will be communicating with in the planning process? (I was surprised to find out there would be no one from the venue there on my wedding day. They simply showed up to unlock it and then once our time at the venue was over)
what does clean up look like? Are you responsible for all of it or does the venue clean up? Same goes for set up.
What if you want/need to get in earlier than the time they offer? Is it allowed? Is there an extra charge?
will there be other events or will people not a part of the wedding be able to wander into your space (purposefully or by accident)?
whats included and what’s an extra charge or needs to be rented? (Tables, chairs, linens, highchairs, plates, glasses, flateware etc.)
if they don’t provide catering, can you bring your own or of do you have to use one of their preferred vendors? What about alcohol, is it provided or BYOB?
Is there a time your event must be over by/noise ordinance?
The more questions you ask up front the less likely you are to be surprised come the last payment or your wedding day.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!!!!

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How have your venue gone, Daisy? Have you found somewhere you love yet?

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Hi! It has actually gone great! We already know which venue we want, but some other important things have come up so we will be committing to the venue next year! But we are 100% sure this venue is for us

Thank you for asking!

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That's wonderful news! One major thing ticked off the to-do list