Questions to ask on wedding venue tours
Important questions to ask wedding venues when you go on wedding venue tours, in order to ensure you have zero surprises and your wedding day is everything you dreamed of and more!
Choosing the right wedding venue is arguably the MOST important decision you'll make during your wedding planning process and journey. Your wedding venue sets the tone for your entire celebration and plays such a crucial role in the overall logistics of your big day.
As a former 2024 destination wedding Bride, these are my TOP questions I’d recommend asking every single wedding venue you tour, to alleviate as many wedding regrets as possible and ensure your wedding venue aligns with your vision and needs.
1. What is the wedding venue capacity?
The capacity of a wedding venue determines how many guests it can comfortably accommodate. It's crucial to have a rough estimate of your guest list before you start visiting venues. Some venues are ideal for intimate gatherings, while others can host large celebrations. Knowing the capacity of both the wedding ceremony venue, as well as the wedding reception venue, will help you narrow down your options and ensure your not wasting both your time and the wedding venues time touring a space that isn’t feasible for your estimated guest headcount.
2. How Many Hours Does the Wedding Venue Include? Is there a curfew at the venue?
Understanding the time frame included in your venue rental is essential for planning your event. Most venues offer a set number of hours, typically including time for setup and cleanup.
If you envision a longer celebration, inquire about the possibility of extending the rental period. Be sure to ask about the cost of adding extra hours to avoid any surprises later.
Additionally, if you’re having an outdoor wedding this is extra critical to understand, since a lot of venues have a 10pm curfew. Aka you have to pay for a second venue and move indoors to keep the party going.
3. What Comes Included with This Venue?
Different venues offer various packages that can include everything from basic amenities to full-service options. Some venues provide tables, chairs, and linens, while others may offer additional services like catering, bar service, and decor. Understanding what is included in your rental fee will help you budget more accurately and determine what additional services you may need to hire.
4. What is the Rain Backup Plan?
The dreaded topic that NO bride ever wants to think about - What if it rains on your wedding day?
Weather can be unpredictable. You can do all the planning in the world and have your wedding designed to the nines, yet still have your picture perfect day ruined in the snap of your fingers without a solid worst case scenario backup plan. If you’re someone who is looking at having an outdoor wedding be sure to ask the wedding venue about not only their contingency plans, but to tour the backup space, in case you absolutely HATE it.
5. Can You Bring Outside Catering In?
Food is a significant part of your wedding day celebration, and it's important to know your options. Some venues have in-house catering services, while others allow you to bring in external caterers in, but a lot wedding venues ie) resorts, hotels, venues with onsite restaurants will not allow you to bring in any outside catering. Just something to keep in mind, if you have your heart set on a certain type of catering you want and it’s not something the resort or hotel venue you are touring offers.
6. What is the Cancellation Policy at the Wedding Venue?
Look no further than all the weddings that had to be rescheduled during COVID, as your sign to thoroughly research a potential wedding venues cancelation policy. We all know life can be unpredictable and circumstances may arise that force you to cancel or reschedule your wedding, so understanding the wedding venue's cancellation policy is essential to avoid significant financial losses.
Not all wedding venues cancelation policies are the same, in fact, some wedding venues there is zero postponement plan. This is definitely something very important to keep in mind, before ever signing your wedding venue contract.
7. Does the Venue Come Included with a Wedding Day Coordinator?
A wedding day of coordinator can be a lifesaver to ensure logistics are handled, and that everything runs smoothly on your big day, so that you as the bride can actually enjoy your wedding day.
Some venues include a coordinator as part of their package, while others offer it as an add-on service or flat out just don’t have this service at all. Knowing whether this service is included at your wedding venue can help you decide if you’ll need to hire an outside wedding day of coordinator, a partial wedding planner or even a full service wedding planner.
8. What Type of Things are Prohibited?
Every venue has its own set of rules and restrictions. These can range from decor limitations (like no open flames, fireworks, confetti, to noise ordinances and alcohol policies.
It's important to understand these restrictions upfront to ensure your plans align with the venue's guidelines and to avoid any last-minute surprises, especially if one of the above listed is super important to you. A very common one for a lot of wedding venues is restrictions on fireworks, and even wedding venues that do allow them, often have restrictions on the timeframe they will allow you to light off fireworks due to noise ordinance.
For example, at my wedding venue in Cabo, fireworks weren’t allowed to be lit off any later than 9pm. Why is this an important detail and question to ask your wedding venue if you’re planning your own wedding without a professional wedding planner? Well, you’re entire wedding reception schedule is going to need to be somewhat based built around this, so you need to consider this when you’re building your wedding day of timeline.
9. Does the Wedding Venue Have Preferred or Exclusive Wedding Vendors?
Some venues have a list of preferred vendors they recommend, while others may require you to use their exclusive vendors. Preferred vendors are usually trusted professionals who have experience working at the venue. Exclusive vendor policies can limit your options but often guarantee a seamless experience since these vendors are familiar with the venue's layout and requirements.
On the contrary, exclusive vendors more often than not mean additional costs since a lot of wedding venues will charge you a fee if you want to use a different vendor that isn’t listed on their “exclusive wedding vendor” list.
10. How Many Events Will the Resort or Wedding Venue Host That Weekend?
Understanding the venue's event schedule can help you gauge how much attention and staff resources will be dedicated to your wedding. Some venues host multiple events in a weekend, which could impact the availability of staff and amenities. If having an exclusive focus on your wedding event is important to you, like it was for us, then definitely make sure to ask about wether or not you will an event exclusive for that day, or for that weekend if it’s a destination wedding.
Choosing the right wedding venue you’re going to be happy with is no easy task. There are so many pros vs cons to weigh out between all of the venues you’ll likely look at, so it involves a lot of time, doing a ton of research and asking all of the right questions of each wedding venue.
There a so many more questions I could list, but if I had to stack rank them, the above ten I just mentioned would be the most critical questions to ask each and every wedding venue you tour. By considering these ten essential points, you'll most definitely be well on your way to finding and selecting the perfect wedding venue for your big day . Happy wedding planning!
xoxo
The Modern Bride Guide 💋