Finding a wedding venue is high on this list of ‘things couples can find difficult’ when planning a wedding’ and let’s not forget it’s time-consuming too. At the I Do Crew we offer a service to help couples find the perfect wedding venue and it all starts with our ‘Find your Wedding Venue’ questionnaire.   Once we have the answers to our questions we are able to build a shortlist of venues for our couples to consider.  You can go through this same exercise if you will be doing your own wedding venue search.  To get you started here is a list of the questions we think you need to be answering in order to find your perfect wedding venue.

For our help finding your perfect wedding venue, please contact us.

The Questions

• Location Location Location? By determining where, you can quickly narrow your choice down.  Your where might be a suburb, town or city or destination if you are intending to marry overseas.
• What capacity does your venue need to cater to? You may not know exact numbers, or have a finalised guest list as yet, but before you can choose a venue, it helps to know approximate numbers.
• What is your budget?  It is almost impossible to plan your wedding if you don’t know how much you can spend on it.  Your Venue is likely to be your biggest wedding expense, so before you sign a contract, you need to know what you can afford.
• What date would you like to get married on? Finding a venue is hard if you don’t have a date.  If you are flexible date might be as broad as which month or season.  If you have a set, or specific date mind you will need to be more flexible with your venue choice.
• Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter? Do you have a preferred season?  Is it very hot in summer, or cold in winter in your preferred location for a wedding?  Would your budget benefit from a wedding during low season?
• What day of the week?  Do you have a preference for what day of the week, or are you flexible?  Some venues only host weddings once a week, or on certain days, whilst others offer discounts for mid-week weddings.
• What’s the time?  If you are and your friends love to party you will need a venue with a late night license.  If you would like to get married in the morning and host a Brunch you need to know if your Venue caters to this.
• What kind of ceremony would you like to have? Would you like to have a religious or civil ceremony?  If you are having a religious ceremony you will need to book your ceremony and reception venues separately.  If you would prefer to have your ceremony and reception at the one venue you will need to look for venues that can accommodate this.
• Are you happy to use in-house or preferred suppliers, or do you want to bring in your own? There are venues which have preferred suppliers which you must use, or are encouraged to use (for e.g. florists, stylists, planners, hire companies, caterers even entertainment).  Some venues may also have special concessions and considerations for preferred suppliers that make it easier for those suppliers to carry out their duties.  When choosing a venue with preferred suppliers you want to check them out too, to make sure you are happy with the options they offer and that they suit your budget. If choosing your own suppliers is important to you, you need to keep this in mind when choosing your venue.
• Alcohol – Do you want to be able to BYO alcohol at your wedding?  Not all venues allow this and those that do may charge corkage.  If you are happy for the venue to supply alcohol, how important is choice to you? Do you want to be able to have input into the wine list, or have speciality bars (like a Gin or Whiskey Bar) at your wedding?
• Blank Canvas or Pre-Styled?  At this stage you may not know exactly how you want your wedding to be styled, but give thought now to whether you would prefer a blank canvas, that allows you to style your wedding how you choose, or a venue that comes pre-styled and set up.
• Do you need accommodation for your guests? Will you have guests traveling to your wedding from long distances?  If so accommodation will be required either at the venue or locally.
• Do you want/need a Marquee or other wet weather option? If you have a preference for an outdoor wedding and are looking for a venue that caters to this, you need to also look at what options are available in case of bad weather.  Some venues have structures that can be used or offer the option of erecting a Marquee.   If you are wanting a Marquee wedding or the option to erect one, you will need to consider venues that have the capacity for this and also size and style of Marquee that the venue can accommodate.