Venue must haves

Neutral decor, tables, chairs and linens, open space, an outdoor area for the ceremony space (ceremony and reception in the same space/location), one event per day, no more than $300 per hour. ETA: I also avoid venues that want a $800-1000 refundable security deposit. I'm already giving you $500-1000 to reserve the date, and I have wedding insurance (liability and cancellation/postponement). Bite me!

My biggest suggestion and must have (people think I'm crazy at first) is the bathroom...seriously look at the bathroom. Since I'm guessing you don't have your dress, assume that you get a pouffy one that takes 1-2 people to help keep it out of the toilet...thats you, your dress and at least 1 other person that need to fit in there. I turned down some beautiful venues because the stalls were regular size!

@Maltese I'm right there with you! We looked at so many venues that had so-so bathrooms...or none at all and I had to price Johnny-on-the-Spot 'executive trailers'. When we found a 'barn' that was actually built to be an event space with A/C, a kitchen, bar and really nice bathrooms??? Sold We also wanted a venue that had accommodations on the premises so people didn't have to drive afterwards if they didn't want to.

-Chiavari chairs because I hate chair covers and any other color chairs would likely clash (and yes I care about chair clashism)

-Open bar included or able to bring in our own bar

-nice area to continue to take pictures

-venue has to be overall nice because I didnt want a lot of work decorating

Location, parking, clean bathrooms, a room to change in. I wanted a ballroom with character that didn't look like a hotel conference room and somewhere nice enough that decoration would be optional

We were looking for a pretty space that wouldn't require too much decoration, or that wouldn't clash with the type of decor we want.

You covered the rest in your original post, and the bathroom was important to me too.

I would also try to visit the venue when they are set up for another wedding or during another wedding (don't crash it or get in the way obviously). It's easier to see a venue's beauty in that situation and you get an actual preview of the flow of events, staffing, the way guests wander around looking for the ballroom, whatever.

Honestly, I picked mine because it was free (I have a VERY small budget). But, I think I would definitely be worried about the bathrooms lol. Thankfully we have a handicap stall that you can fit like 5 people in so I think me in my goofy dress with 1-2 other people would be fine I would also we looking at the scenery, I would pick somewhere that has a beautiful natural backdrop lol.

Our priorities were price, size, and guest amenities (ie, bathroom/parking). First place was too small, didn't have enough parking, etc. Second place, that we almost booked, was a little small, but the clincher was the amenities (too many stairs for older guests, bathrooms were in a separate building). The one that we ended up booking was at the top of our budget, but it was the most beautiful and best amenities. Only thing it doesn't have is a bridal suite, but I decided I could live without that.

Low or even better no food and beverage minimums.... if you're final guest count ends up being smaller than expected you don't want to be forced to add-on extras and such. Also, alcohol options.... do you HAVE to do a full open bar or can you just provide a certain amount of beer and wine? Also, if you are doing ceremony and reception at same place make sure there are good places to take pictures on site! And the PEOPLE are sooooo important as well! Make sure the wedding coordinator is knowledgeable and easy to work with. We immediately crossed the 1st venue we looked at because the head wedding coordinator was awful. You are going to be dealing with them A LOT especially the last month. As jacqui722 said definitely try and stop by when they are setting up for a wedding and see how it looks.

The ability to have freedom to decorate ourselves the day before. Bringing in our own liquor was a perk. Being able to stay past midnight. Ceremony and reception in same location. At most a <10 dollar cab ride to a hotel.

Besides being able to fit all our guests and being affordable, we really wanted to bring in our own vendors and not use a "preferred list". In the end, we chose a venue that had its own caterer and cake bakery on site, but we still could bring in our own bar and other vendors.

My must haves were:

- Outside

- A place where I can "sneak away" if I need/want to

- No hotel

- No one can "view" the ceremony (public spaces).

- A view.

Got 'em! Bringing everything else in though. Blah.

My 1st priority was being able to bring in my caterer. I knew who I wanted my caterer to be the second I got engaged. 2nd was the ceremony and reception in the same place. 3rd Table and chairs had to be included.

Our must haves were:

Ceremony space outside and a tented space at the same location

Tables & chairs on site

Inside bathrooms

Kitchen on site

Bridal suites

Freedom to pick our own vendors

Parking on site for guests

We found the most perfect venue to be honest because it met all the criteria.

Mine are:

- Ocean View

- Ceremony & Reception in one space

- Event coordinator that I like, is flexible, and can work with others easily

- Options for chairs (I like the Chiavari chairs too)

- Open bar

- Parking

- Nice guest rooms, should my guests want to stay there

- Easy access to the Miami hotspots

ETA: Wheelchair accessibility. FH's brother is in the bridal party and uses a wheelchair so he needed to be able to have a full experience at the wedding.

Ours were

-ability to do open bar

-decent house linens

-outdoor ceremony spot with doable back up in case of weather

-plenty of parking

-easy to get around for mom's jazzy scooter

-day of exclusivity

-set up and clean up included

-bride's room

Apparently nothing, because that's what my venue has. Haha.

No really though:

Parking

Plenty of space

Outdoor area

A historic site

Preferably woods/garden

Bathrooms

My must haves were:

neutral decor

no tile ceilings

no printed carpet or carpet at all

no 80s pictures

beachfront

great inside/outside space (accommodate 100)

Since i wasn't able to find all of my must haves in my price range I had to compromise. I settled for a beach ceremony (beachfront) and a rental house on a lake across the street from the beach.

GREAT food, a loooong open bar, and AWESOME midnight snacks!!

I love our venue, from the outside it's not that impressive. But the inside is really nice and they have included SO much in our price: DJ, uplighting, any and all linen choices possible, charger plates, 10 hour open bar, bride/groom drink special, an amazing midnight course that includes various fun stations, and a free photo booth!!

Good food and only wedding. That was it. Around where I'm from weddings are an assembly line. I went to one last year that a friend left her scarf in the ceremony space. Ran outside a few seconds after leaving to grab it, and was told she wasn't allowed to get it. Another wedding started filing in. Their cocktail hour overlooked someone else's ceremony.

My venue is a summer resort. I asked how many brides would be there that day and they said just me. They may book another wedding at the second building 5 or so miles away. Each bride stays at their building and they never even know the other wedding is going on.