How to Choose a Wedding Venue Like a Pro

One of the most important choices to make when planning your wedding is the venue.

But coming from a wedding planner of over 20 years, there’s more to choosing a wedding venue than meets the eye. And unfortunately, the bride’s (and groom’s) “eye” can be the start of the first wedding planning faux paux.

You eye those Pinterest boards filled with gorgeous decor and stunning venues with draped fabric walls and flower covered ceilings. You eye photographer’s websites that boast spectacular weddings fit for Kate Middleton herself.

And while those ceremonies and receptions are magical and gorgeous and all the things, it often sets brides up to be disappointed if that same vision can’t come to life for their wedding venue.

Here’s the thing…

Realistically, the Pinterest and Instagram dreamland weddings are not possible for everyone.

And that’s okay. It doesn't mean your wedding ceremony and reception can’t be amazing. There is a wedding venue for every budget and style out there.

Those social media photos are usually of weddings that have unlimited budgets. Now, maybe that type of Pinterest Perfect party is possible for you, but the only way to know is to honestly answer some important questions and make some crucial decisions before putting a deposit down on a wedding venue.

Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Tower
Photo by New Image Photography Chagrin Falls

Determine Wedding Budget and Guest List

Budget

Hands down, your budget is the first and most important decision to make before deciding on anything else. Your wedding should not put you in debt or stress you out financially, so if your budget is stretching you too thin, it’s time to be honest with yourself.

The budget has to take several factors into consideration, but in many cases, catering, bar, and venue (possibly all together in one price) will be the highest costs associated with your wedding.

When it comes to budget there are some additional decisions to be made before finalizing a dollar amount.

Guest List

The budget and the guest list go hand in hand and greatly affect one another. Obviously the more people you invite, the more you will need of everything for the wedding.

So think - invitations, stamps, food, dessert, table and chair rentals, centerpieces, alcohol, and more.

While there are ways to have a large guest list and keep costs lower, in the end, a larger wedding reception will cost you more. So keep that in mind before sending out those invites.

Besides affecting the budget, the guest list will also determine what venues you can actually consider when planning based on the venue’s capacity.

Once the budget and guest list are decided, you can move on to step two of choosing a wedding venue.

Gervasi Winery and Resort Photo courtesy of Maddie Beth Scott Photography.

2. Create a list of wedding venues to visit

Knowing your guest list size and budget will allow you to research and find venues that fit BOTH.

Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Tower
Photo courtesy of Dennis Crider.

You don’t want to choose a room that’s too big for your guest list or it will look empty and frankly, blah, unless you fill it with a ton of decor (and therefore tons of cost).

And you definitely don’t want a venue that’s too small for the amount of guests you plan to invite because who wants to be squished into a table of 10 when it’s really supposed to be a table of 8.

Elbow room anyone?

So as you research, look for spaces that have the correct capacity to seat your guests for dinner. Most locations have their room capacities listed on their website.

Though size and budget are the two most important initial factors in wedding venue selection, they definitely aren’t the only factors to consider when it comes to the final venue choice.

While narrowing down places to visit, you may also want to consider the following:

Ceremony space options (if holding ceremony on same site)
Formal or informal
Style
Distance from where the majority of your guests live
Parking (valet or self)
Layout
Outdoor availability
Overall vibe and decor

And of course, you’ll need to know if the space is even available for your desired wedding date or season.

3. Visit the Venues like a Pro (or with one)

When you call to request a visit and tour of the venue space, be sure to ask if they have a Venue Coordinator who can show you around.

Side note:

A Venue Coordinator and a Wedding Planner are NOT one in the same. A venue coordinator works strictly for the venue and has the venue’s best interest always. A wedding planner will help you plan everything whether it deals with the venue or not, and always has your best interest at heart to make your dreams come true.

Read “6 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner”

Although the venue coordinator does not really work for you, they can be immensely helpful to your and your planner especially when it comes to telling you the positive and negatives of the venue.

The venue coordinator can be a great resource to answer questions, to be able to tell you what has been done for past weddings, what they are experts at, what they’ve never done/won’t, and more.

Your wedding planner will book a time during daylight hours, so you can really see the full space (with no hidden secrets) inside and out. As you’re there, try to visualize each part of your wedding in each space you see.

Although you should enjoy visiting each venue, remember, you’re there on a mission…to figure out which space is RIGHT for your wedding day, so you’ll need to prepare.

Prepare Questions

Write down a list of questions to ask the Venue Coordinator to ensure that you can make an informed decision. If you have a wedding planner, he/she will know exactly what questions to ask to ensure that you have all of the information you need.

Questions about catering, cost, bar setup, amount of servers/bartenders, what’s included in the cost (linens, setup/teardown, etc.), payment terms, food tastings, and even the amount of bathrooms available will help you make an informed decision.

Take notes as your questions are answered in your phone or on a notepad (if you don’t have a planner), so you can go back and compare each venue’s answers to your questions.

Decor

If your budget is high, any space can be transformed into a dream with rentals, fabrics, seating, lighting, and more.

Typically, you want to get the nicest venue you can for your budget because if you pick a place that is beautiful in itself, you may save money on the backend since you won’t need so much decor, floral, and rentals.

Cleanliness

While touring, make sure it’s CLEAN. Is there dust on all the woodwork? Are there cobwebs in the corners? Are the bathrooms clean? The cleanliness of a space is very important especially for guests.

Once you think you’ve made your choice, it’s a great idea to go back during the hours that you’ll be getting married so you can see the lighting during the actual wedding hours.

Meaning, if you plan to have a ceremony in the space during the daylight hours, but it will be dark outside during your reception, go back and view the wedding venue at the appropriate times.

No matter what wedding venue you choose, make sure that you don’t settle. There are TONS of options in northeast Ohio for wedding ceremonies and receptions whether you have them in the same place or not.

Check out my top 10 Cleveland wedding venues for some of my favorites, and don’t hesitate to give me a call.

Venue selection is one part of the wedding planning process, but I can confidently walk you through that and all the rest so you don’t have to stress.

Let’s chat!