20 Important Questions to Ask Your Wedding Venue

Your wedding venue is likely to be one of, if not the most expensive element of your wedding day so it’s vital you pick the right one. From elegant country houses to rustic blank canvas spaces there are so many to choose from! You might choose your ultimate wedding venue based on location, capacity, or the style and facilities available. Or all of the above! Before you even begin your search though, make some time to have a chat with your fiancé about both of your priorities when it comes to booking a wedding venue. Create a list of must-have features, such as guest accommodation, no corkage, pet friendly etc. Then you can work out if there are other elements which you would like your venue to provide but that you’re happy to be a little more flexible over.

Now it’s time to research. But before you get ahead of yourself and book lots of in-person appointments just make sure you conduct some extensive online research. Request their wedding brochure, make some initial email enquiries and remember to stalk their social media. Their social platforms are hopefully going to hold the most up to date information plus it should give you a really good overview of the venue, their ceremony / reception spaces and provide you with a good dose of wedding inspiration too! But before you head off and put down a deposit in excitement don’t forget to ask the following key questions. These questions go above and beyond the venue’s capacity or availability (these questions are a given). We’ve included questions that you might not have considered or the information of which isn’t as readily available…

Questions to ask your wedding venue

• What’s included in the hire price?
• How much is the deposit? When is it due? Is it refundable?
• If the weather changes what are our options?
• What’s the cancellation policy?
• What time can we start setting up?
• Is someone available on the day to look after the running of the event?
• Do you charge corkage / what are the drinks options?
• Will there be any other guests on site during our wedding?
• Do you have preferred caterers / suppliers?
• If I bring my own caterer / external suppliers is there a charge?
• Can I bring my own decorations?
• Can we have candles / confetti / sparklers / lawn games / fireworks etc?
• Do you have any décor items that we can borrow?
• Do you have outside lighting?
• Do you have signage to direct guests?
• What time is your licence until? Enquire about both the alcohol and live music licence.
• Do you have a sound system / microphones for speeches?
• Is there parking on site? If so, is it free for guests?
• Can we host a breakfast / brunch the next day for our guests?
• What time is checkout in both the accommodation and the wedding venue?

When it comes to viewing your chosen wedding venues and picking your potential dream wedding setting don’t forget to think with both your head and your heart – no one can ignore those excited butterflies after all!

If you can envisage your wedding taking place there and all of the questions have been clearly answered, you may have just found your perfect wedding venue…congratulations!