The 6 BEST Questions to Ask Your Venue
Nicole + Joe partying at their reception | Willamette Valley Country Club. Photo by Lauren Joslen
Congratulations—you’re engaged! It’s been a whirlwind of bliss, champagne, celebration, and everyone from your best friend to your great aunt asking “So, when’s the wedding? And where is it?” Even though everyone urges you to simply enjoy this exciting time and not stress about any details right away, the reality is that most of us aren’t wired like that and we want to start plotting and planning immediately.
You’ve probably heard this 100 times already, but one of the the most trying parts of wedding planning is picking your venue. Once you know where you’re going to get married, everything else seems to fall into place. However, the road to scouting, touring, and deciding on the perfect venue for you and your betrothed can be long, frustrating, and downright unpleasant.
But there are ways to go into venue research and touring that will not only ease your mind, but arm you with all the knowledge you need to make a super informed and smart decision for your nuptials! There are six questions to ask your tour guide as you walk through a venue.
1 “What insurance requirements do you have?”
As much as you want to cover your asses, the venue does, too. Most venues require a general liability policy for $1M and name the venue as the additional insured. I always tell my couples to start with their homeowner’s insurance. If for some reason wedding venue coverage is not available through them, you can use a trusted company like WedSafe. WedSafe is 1-day wedding insurance that protects you from any financial loss that may result from a wedding mishap or vendor incident. Obviously, this is a worst case scenario, but it’s always better to be prepared in case Uncle Frank has one too many Manhattans and somehow lights a tablecloth on fire!
2 “Is set up and tear down included in the total rental time?”
Unfortunately, if an overall venue rental price seems too good to be true, you have to ask the tough questions. Set up and tear down are both crucial parts of your wedding day that must be accounted for upfront. Getting caught without enough time for setting up or being rushed out for a tear down is the last thing you want, so definitely ask this question upfront to be sure. Rental companies often deliver between windows of time rather than a specific time (which, of course, can happen if you’re willing to pay more money), so ensuring there’s built-in time for everything is crucial.
3 “How many restrooms are onsite?”
Taking your guests’ bathroom trips into consideration may seem like a small, odd thing, but if you have 150+ guests at your wedding and only 1-2 bathroom stalls, they may spend more time waiting in line than on the dance floor with you! This isn’t necessarily make or break, but of course it’s more ideal to have multiple stalls so your guests can be in and out and back to having fun, fast.
4 “Is it required that we use your preferred vendors, and/or do you have exclusivity agreements with any vendors?”
A lot of the time, resorts , hotels, or other venues will have a restaurant onsite and will require you to use their exclusive catering and/or in-house staff for your wedding. If this is the case, you can almost always expect a food and beverage spend minimum as well as a service charge. Many people love the ease of built-in catering and bar, but if you’re looking to book your own vendors, this is definitely something to know upfront!
5 “What does parking look like for guests?”
Is the parking lot a substantial size? Does it sit up against the venue? Will guests have to park and walk? Is there valet? All of these questions and answers will help you decide whether or not you need to look into providing transportation for your guests (i.e. buses, shuttles, etc) in case of limited or underwhelming parking availability. Also, if you’re planning to throw an elegant rager, you may want to know whether or not overnight parking is allowed and available for guests who may party a little too hard to drive home.
6 “What has worked well here in the past?”
This is the best kept secret question. Even if you want your wedding to be entirely unique to you and your betrothed, asking this and getting the venue’s POV on what area is best for the bar, where the sun is at certain times of the day, and the ideal location for your surprise late night snack can make a world of difference for the flow and ease of your wedding. Plus, the employees of the venue have seen it all, so they’ll have some really helpful insight!
Remember, this is your wedding and your money, so although these are six great questions to ask, no question is off-limits. There are no stupid questions when wedding planning, so don’t hold back—ask what you need to know to ensure you feel 150% about signing off on the biggest day of your life!
Nicole + Joe. Photo by Lauren Joslen