What Made You Say Yes To The Venue

We wanted something with a beautiful outdoor ceremony space and a nice indoor reception space. Price was also a factor. I think another thing that sold us on the venue we chose was how comfortable we felt with the events coordinator. Some of the ones we met didn't give off a good vibe, and at our venue the point person has been wonderful. This has been a huge plus, as she's answered all my questions promptly and is very accommodating, making the process a lot less stressful.

We have a large guest list so we needed one that could accommodate that. I had a place in mind so I was comparing every venue to that one before we even toured it. Once we did I knew it was perfect.

I also agree with liking the coordinator. The one place we looked at you could just tell the woman was new and wasn't quite sure of everything. The place I wanted has the perfect coordinator. She's been doing it for a long time at the same spot and every concern we had she made sure it wasn't a problem.

Another thing I looked for, even though this might be considered minor, was were there good spots to take pictures at if it decides to rain and we can't take them outside where we want to. Our photographer worked at the venue before so he has a ton of places to take pictures at, ones I hadn't even thought of. But I just wanted to be sure our pictures didn't suffer just because of the weather.

We researched some local places and decided on what was important. We wanted to have everything at the same place. I wanted to have an outdoor ceremony (weather permitting) and ballroom reception. I also wanted something that had separate ceremony space indoors that was not the reception area that would need to be flipped during cocktail hour. Price was also a huge factor. We toured 2 venues before ours and they were beautiful, one was way over budget and the other didn’t have the greatest outdoor setting. We went to the 3rd venue which looked so good online I thought for sure it would be over our price range but it was perfect and has everything there. We couldn’t find one fault with it so we didn’t even bother touring the other venues on our list.

I did all the research online then my hubby & I toured 12 venues in 4 days as a vacation. We both LOVED the same one. Not only was it all-in-one (resort + wedding venue), we had several incredible location options on one property: vineyards, lake, wine cave. Due to rain we chose the ceremony on a patio with the lake view, and the reception was always going to be in the wine cave. The resort looked & felt like a magical resort.

The venue also included things some others didn’t: a dedicated DOC, linen choices, chairs & tables, tableware, lighting in all the areas, a 5-star restaurant on property, even 6 wine barrels for us to use. Sold!

Similar to pp's, daughter's priorities were: beautiful outdoor ceremony space & reception space, a SOLID rain contingency plan, semi-all-inclusive (food, beverage, furnishings), great backdrop options for all photography, and an easy to work with coordinator. Her second venue was AWESOME and she LOVED the venue coordinator (she'd been there for 11 yrs and her personality is a perfect match for daughter); however, daughter REALLY wanted to be sure, so we visited a total of 10. Number 9 was a pretty good second choice, but it was abundantly clear the second venue we visited was "the one"! It was well worth a thorough search. Daughter and SIL's wedding was amazing -- in large part due to the venue, the coordinator (who was truly AMAZING every step of the way), and the entire staff.

Also, FYI, even though all 10 venues prices looked different on paper (each included different things, priced them differently, etc.) when daughter put together a spreadsheet for an "apples-to-apples" comparison, the cost to have the wedding at 9 of the 10 only varied by about $1000 from highest to lowest. The one outlier, the least inclusive (so lots of add-ins...), was about $2500 more than the lowest cost venue. The take-away: comparison shopping can help you be sure of your choice!

Customer service, flexability and all inclusive

I wanted something rustic. It didn't need to be a barn persay, but outdoorsy and wooden etc. We toured quite a few places. I wanted an outdoor ceremony site but also a good indoor plan B because it rains in October. One I found had what we wanted, but it was on the very edge of our "travel zone" in addition the closest hotels were about 20 miles away for guests. Others had nice out door sites but not good indoor plan B's. One had an ok groom's quarters and a pretty lackluster bride's quarters. It was pretty much just a matter of looking and looking. Some even had some pretty hefty vender requirements or security requirements.
We finally found our venue. Perfect outdoor ceremony site, perfect plan B setting, in addition some amazing bride and groom's quarters. And it's on the San Gabriel river and the view is outstanding. Quarters to stay in on site, very little requirements, and close to home as well. It was everything we wanted and more. It was also a bit above what we had budgeted for a venue.
We took a few days to look at our last scheduled one, and to mull over the budget issue, but both agreed whole heartedly that it was our venue.

In the beginning we were kind of all over the place. We saw a gorgeous mansion in Placerville, we saw a hall in Las Vegas and we saw a breathtaking beach/cliff area in San Diego. After looking at those (and more), we realized we were more interested in the beach vibe. We didn't go with San Diego because it was RIDICULOUSLY pricey (go figure).

We continued searching different beaches and we ended up coming across a gorgeous black sand beach and found out it was in Hawaii. We decided to just elope with immediate family and turn the rest of our time there into our little honeymoon. So in that aspect it will continue to get a bit expensive but totally worth it.

1. Neither of us have ever been to Hawaii

2. It's definitely unique. You don't see a whole lot of black sand beaches. It was a done deal for us.

FH and I met on vacation in Cancun so it was pretty simple to go back to the same resort to have our wedding there.

FH actually "said yes to the venue" lol. We knew we wanted something fancyish where we could get married outside and have the party inside. We both searched separately on our phones and wrote a list of places. We each stared our top 3 places we wanted to look at and scheduled meeting to see the places. We also had only one place in common on both of our lists. We went to a couple places and they were way our of our price range. We ended up going to the place we both had in common and we both fell in love. As soon as the owner opened up the doors he said it was the place and he didn't even need to look at it lol. So I spent the hour asking questions and looking around while he smiled ear to ear and took pictures of the place lol. We ended up booking that place and canceled the rest of our tours.

Number one key factor was if it was going to match our theme. Then a few other things like, we were running into venues that don't accept alcohol being there. Or venues that just closed tooooo early. & then of course the pricing and what all the price included. Our venue is $6250 that included catering, silverware, plates, napkins, water, tea, & DJ. Not to mention its already decorated so all we are decorating are the tables (table runner and center piece). We did go with a rustic theme and the venue looks like a barn and its soooooo amazing. We love it and knew it was the RIGHT one. We originally wanted to do it at a wine vineyard but, they were sooooo expensive, closed way to early, and didn't allow alcohol and it also didn't go with our theme. So for $4,000 it didn't include anything but the place. We still had to get tables, chairs, decor, food, dj, and we were on a budget.

Basically the decor and if it had another space for the ceremony if it rained it was bad weather.

Our venue fit in the budget, had our date available, and it was super convenient for our ceremony venue as well.

BUT! More importantly, the venue coordinator was incredible, and the food was insanely good. It was just a feeling for us when we toured it. We had seen other "nice" places and thought it would be hard to choose, but when we left the venue, we all (me, husband, and my mom) looked at each other and as if it was planned said "so that was it, right?"

I think it was a lot like finding the dress - when you see it, learn about it, etc., you just know.

For us, we both grew up in the country so we wanted something that reflected that but we didn't want the drive to be outrageous for either of our families. We also wanted an outdoor ceremony space but inside space as well for reception/plan B for weather.

So the place we chose is just about in the middle for each family. The venue has an amazing sunken Garden with so much greenery and a fountain for the ceremony and for the reception it has a Victorian style house on the property with a beautiful wrap around porch. The inside is even more beautiful than the outside! What we really loved is that the bar has its own separate room off the reception space. At first we were skeptical about the space because my FH has a huge family but once we were assured everyone would fit nicely we were sold!

I could not imagine my wedding anywhere else! Every time I look at pictures of the venue I get butterflies! 155 days for me!

We’re doing our ceremony in a local historic mansion, it’s gorgeous-surprisingly affordable- and my favorite part, TOTALLY HAUNTED. 🖤

We were really trying to find a venue to accommodate the date we wanted, but unfortunately we could not. We started searching for venues in January and we were looking at October/November and seriously almost everywhere was booked. I don't know if it's just my area, or what. But the main thing that made us say yes to the venue was the atmosphere and the package. We fell in love with two places, but one was really not practical at all as far as the distance from everything (and way more expensive). But the one we chose has a wonderful package that includes the majority of the details for way less than doing everything ourselves. It's been super helpful to relieve a good bit of stress. Other than when the lady at the venue gets super busy, haha!

We wanted good food and drinks, same location for ceremony and reception, easy parking for guests and a pretty enough location that we didn’t have to spend a lot of money on decor. A new restaurant opened up near our apartment and when I went to eat there, I noticed they had a nice big open patio area and asked if they were open to doing private events. No venue costs as long as we met the food and beverage minimum. We are their first wedding, so we know some things might not go perfectly, but the owners are really sweet and it makes us feel good to be giving our business to them rather than a large hotel or more established restaurant.

Thank you everyone 😌

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It's awesome to see all the different factors people took into making their choice!

What factors are important to you in searching for a venue? Did you find your perfect venue yet?

Our venue ticked off all of boxes:

Location

Price

Menu and open bar

Plenty of parking

Bridal suite

And great communication with staff

The gorgeous grounds and great hall were just one giant perk! December can't get here soon enough!