Totally overwhelmed- how to chose a venue

14 is ALOT! OMG. I would set a budget as soon as possible. Hopefully that eliminates some. Then make a list of your must haves. Things like preferred # of guests, location, whether you can bring in outside food if you want. Possible wedding dates/time of year. Hope this helps some!

What Nafisah said!
If you can figure out some details and maybe what's most important to you, as far as venue goes, that will hopefully help!
Consider space, lighting, surroundings and those sorts of things too. I know that helped us when we decided. Good luck!!

I think the best way to narrow your choices down is to decide which venue rep you clicked with the most—you will be talking to them a lot and you want to make sure they are responsive and friendly—and what dates they have available. We looked at about ten venues but only had two favorites. We loved both site managers, in part because we wouldn’t need a wedding planner because they were so involved. One was a full-service restaurant, which meant saving a ton of money on food and catering, the other was a historically landmarked mansion and we could only choose from a list of pre-approved (and expensive!) caterers who knew the building and could be trusted to protect it.

Ultimately, we went with the mansion. The main point of the restaurant was that it had a view, and if we had bad weather that day, what would be the point? The interior was beautiful but the outside was a little run down. The day we toured the venue, they were setting up for a wedding later that day and the site manager said the flowers were from the recommended florist and weren’t they beautiful? They were white peonies and they were already brown at the edges and the wedding wouldn’t be for another few hours. Needless to say I wasn’t thrilled. We went with the mansion, and while we are over budget because of the catering, at least we’re secure in the knowledge that everyone on staff knows what they’re doing and is paying attention to details.

For us picking a venue was easy. I searched online & preselected all venues that I liked the way they look, that fit our budget & guest capacity. Then after visiting & considering: number of hours included (with load in/load out hours), menu options, indoor ceremony options in case of rain, their flexibility to work with outside vendors & how strict their rules are, how we liked the venue manager that we will be working with, and their date availability, we were left with only 2 venues. Ultimately, out of those 2, we chose the venue we fell more in love with.

I had the same problem, initially I had a list of like 8 venues and was just completely overwhelmed. Then I sat down with my sister and went through each ones details and she was great about tossing out options with no emotion. Room fee a little high? Gone. Don't have vegetarian dinner options? Gone. She got me down to 2 options that I was really happy with and left it up to me and FH to pick between them. It was a huge help.

Here are some key areas you may want to consider:

Preferences: Choose 2-3 must haves, and any incidental 'I'd like to haves.' This can really help narrow down options. For instance, one of our top items included having food truck catering. However, most venues require choosing a caterer off of a specific list. That cut out most of the traditional venues in our area! Based on that we viewed 2 venues, and settled on a third (we realized a favorite art gallery of ours had just started hosting events).

Budget: The budget doesn't just mean your venue cost. You should also include your budget around decor, rental and catering. I mentioned previously wanting to bring in your own catering, and depending on the price for their 'preferred' or required catering, this may become a sticking point. Additionally, you need to consider if you'll need to rent tables, chairs linens - as well as how much decor you'll need.

Aesthetic: Does the budget match the vibe you want. Do you simply like it?

Convenience: Will your guests be able to travel there and how is the parking? Will there be a parking fee? If so, how much? Also, will a lot of your guests need to rent hotels?

Definitely consider how much then venue provides for you. I was almost 100% sure I wanted a certain gorgeous venue before we started the tours but ended up choosing g a different one for the ease of planning. Do they have tables and chairs, caterer, a list of preferred vendors, accommodations for guests nearby?
Planning a wedding from out of state (or wherever you are) is difficult, but can be made much easier with a venue that already has a bunch of the items you need.

Thank you all so much for your kind responses! And I apologize for my terrible grammar lol

I will site down with my moh and go through the list, she’s no muss no fuss and I think she will help me point me in the right direction.

I think I need to also take some time to figure out what my vision is. Maybe I should just take a couple days to myself and look at everything with a fresh set of eyes as well.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Is it okay to ask about fees and venders list prior to signing a contract?

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your reply! I’m going to make a list

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!!

View Quoted Comment Absolutely!! They may not provide the full vendor's list before you sign, but they definitely should tell you whether they have a preferred vendor list, if you can bring in a vendor that isn't on their list, if they have vendors onsite, and if any of that is included in the venue fee. Also ask about guest count. Figure out how many you're inviting and make sure your venue can hold that amount. On the flip side, make sure that your guest count meets their minimum requirements. Some places have a minimum guest count, meaning you'll be paying for 100 people even if you invite 70 (as as n example).
You should have a clear understanding of what the venue provides, any and all fees associated with that, when you'll be able to set up (that morning, night before, etc), how much takedown you'll be required to do, and any other specifics before you sign a contract.

Set you budget and write down your needs and your wants, try not to settle (and be aware of gratituties and additional fees those add up quick!)... I myself struggled with making my decision but a few of our potential venues let my fiancé and I come to a food tasting and that really helped us finalize our decision, maybe see if thats an option!

The main thing that helped us choose was budget. Some places were pretty cheap to rent, but after adding up all the costs of rental chairs, catering, linens, etc, they were way too high. On the other hand, some venues made you hire their caterer and wouldn't let us bring our own alcohol so those were also too expensive. Make sure to total up all costs when comparing venues.

Unless all your guests are local, the deal the venue can give you on hotel rates for you & your guests would also be a priority for me. 😀

We picked venues in our budget and had basic stuff we wanted. Then we made a pros and cons lis for each venue. Then we scored then for 1 nice and 2 important. add up each side and subtract Pro Number - Con Number = overall score. The one with the best score reflected what we liked, wanted, and was convenient

I chose the Royal Wedding Chapel close to Fremont.

What 14 locations did you look at in Vegas? FH and I are doing a DW there as well and going for tours when we visit May 9-12. But we’re only touring and selecting from 6 locations that we narrowed it down to.

After figuring out your budget and guest count (because that might knock off a few of the locations), I think you have to decide what style/look/vibe you’re going for when it comes to your wedding. Then narrow it down to which venue fits that vision.

💋🐩

View Quoted Comment I think that’s part of the problem I need to find my style. I have a guest count and what I thought was a substantial budget so I just need to crunch numbers

Make a pro con list of each one