Questions to ask venue

Costs, how long you have it, if they have items you can use/rent, policies with food/alcohol, what happens if there needs to be a cancellation or date change, do they have people who do setting up/tearing down.

Ask about fees - cake cutting fee?
How much time do you get there?
Do they include a coordinator?
What is included?

Do they include catering
do the include alcohol
day of coordinator
getting ready area
cake cutting fee
what catering service can you use (a lot of places have a list)
extra fees

This is a list of questions I went off of. When we met with potential venues, a lot of these questions were answered during the tour and when we looked over pricing. We did have one venue where the Banquet Director wasn't able to answer ANY of my questions, which was alarming, and immediately made the decision for us that the venue was a huge NO. I contacted several venues regarding pricing and looking to schedule a tour, and a lot of them didnt even bither returning my calls or emails. That crossed them off of our lists entorely, because if they couldn't respond to a simple email, how could I trust that they would help our big day run smoothly.

I suggest checking out Jaime Wolfer on YouTube (this is where I got that list). She is a wedding planner out in California and she tells it like it is, and has a bunch if great wedding related videos on her channel. There is also a book on Amazon called The Realist Bride by Jessica Gomez that is extremely helpful and super funny.

Wherever you choose to tour, don't make any rash decisions, and allow yourself some time to sleep on it. Weigh all the pros and cons of each place. Make sure you feel completely comfortable with the staff and coordinator (if they provide one). Afterall, it is one of the biggest days of your life, and you want to be stress and worry free! When we finally chose our venue, we had physically toured 5, and of all of them, it was the only place that I could truly picture my wedding.

1. Cost
2. Menu
3. Timing of the day
4. The amount of time
5. Are they willing to lower the price (never hurts to ask)
6. Do they have a food tasting
7. Do hey require you to use specific vendors or can you use whoever you want.
8. Do they have a list of preferred vendors
9. How many can the room accommodate

View Quoted Comment Dana got them all!!!

Make sure to ask about cancelation policies as well, on both ends! Find out what happens if the venue is damaged before the wedding, and if you can bring in outside vendors.

I wish I asked if there is a time limit for getting ready on site. Our venue is only letting us arrive to our venue two hours before our ceremony.

PM me your email and I’ll send you the 3 page document I created full of questions and space to write down the answers. It kept everything organized for me and was helpful to review when FH and I were narrowing down our search last year.

This was big for me. If you are planning centerpieces with candles, ask if you can use real candles or have open flame. A lot of places only allow flicker candles.

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This is almost the exact list of questions I had! One vendor told my FH I was a bridezilla and he would have to drink a lot of alcohol to deal with me for the next year.. Needless to say, we didn't pick that venue!

Ask what they do if they have to cancel your event. I would not book a place that doesn’t refund 100% of your money if they cancel on you.

View Quoted Comment What?! How disrespectful!

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HI Nicole,

Would you be able to share this with me as well?

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Hi Christina,

Just PM me your email address and I'll send it over!