Booking a wedding venue is one of the most exciting parts of planning your wedding. And of course it’s also crucial – without a venue or location to host your big day, you won’t have anywhere to invite guests to.
However there are four questions that you need answers to before you book your wedding venue in Melbourne. In fact you should know these things before you do a venue walkthrough. Because without the answers to these questions, you can’t be sure that you’re looking at the right wedding venue, even if it’s love at first sight.
So let’s dive into the four most important things you need to know before you book your wedding venue.
1. When do we want to get married?
It’s not necessary to have a specific date in mind to start looking at wedding venues, but giving thought as to when you would like to get married is helpful. In this early part of the planning process you can choose a season, a range of dates or several dates. And then you need to share these with any venue you’re considering before booking a site visit. This way you won’t be wasting your time looking at a venue that isn’t available for when you would like to get married.
And this is even more important if you have a specific date in mind for sentimental or other reasons.
Once you have your date, or range of dates, it’s also a good idea to run them past anyone that you can’t imagine not being at your wedding. This could be your parents or close friends who will be part of your wedding party. To ensure that these VIPs can be there, take the time to let them know when you’re considering getting married before you lock yourself into a date. Once your venue is booked, it’s a good idea to send ‘save the dates’ so everyone you’ll be inviting can set the date aside.
If you don’t have a preference for when you get married and are happy to take any date that is available, you can skip this step. Although running your date past your VIPs is always recommended.
2. What’s our budget?
I hate to burst your wedding planning bubble right from the outset with finance talk. But unless you have a ballpark figure for what you can afford, you can’t be sure you’re making the right decision when it comes to booking a wedding venue.
Why’s it important to know your wedding budget now?
The last thing you want is to have paid a sizable deposit for a wedding venue, only to realise that the venue you’ve chosen is pretty much all you can afford. Additionally you don’t want to fall in love with a venue that you just can’t pay for. Planning your wedding should be pleasurable, which is why it’s important to know what you can afford before you start putting deposits down.
Here’s a quick guide to determining your overall wedding budget:
- Determine what savings you have that you are willing to allocate to your wedding.
- Consider your date or range of dates and how much more money you could contribute from future savings.
- Will you be receiving financial assistance for your wedding from a third party (a family member for example)? If so, now is the time to speak to them about what that contribution will be.
Add these amounts together and you’ve got your overall budget.
Now you’re in a much better position to assess the suitability of wedding venues before you do a walkthrough. Most venues have a brochure with pricing that you can download or request. Do this first and then if it feels comfortable, book your venue visit so you can determine the venue’s suitability and what’s included in the pricing, which will also affect your choice.
Pro Tip: On average couples spend 40% of their budget on the venue and catering.
3. How many people will we invite?
Whilst you don’t have to finalise your guest list before you book your wedding venue, it’s helpful to have a rough idea of how many guests you would like to invite. This information will help you to assess a venue’s suitability based on size and your budget.
But it’s not just about how big the venue is or even how much it costs.
Some venues just don’t suit a small guest list and others won’t work for a large wedding. Too few people in a large space leads to a lack of atmosphere and too many people in a small space is uncomfortable and very often just too noisy to be enjoyable.
Size matters when booking a wedding venue, which is why I recommend starting your wedding planning by doing a draft guest list to get an idea of numbers.
4. What style of wedding do we want?
Before you view or book your wedding venue, imagine your wedding day. What do you see, hear and feel as you do this? Is your wedding intimate, grand, traditional or quirky? Is there a band and a dance floor? An abundance of flowers and colour or is it minimal? Is the vibe inner city modern or weekend away in the country? Or something else?
Doing this exercise will help you to bring your day into focus so you have a sense of the style of wedding you want. We can also help you to identify your wedding day style and find a venue that brings the vision you have for your day to life.
Once you’ve completed this exercise you’ll have a much clearer idea of the types of venues to focus on. And when you find one you like the look of, look at previous weddings held at the venue. Instagram is ideal for this. Of course your wedding day styling will be unique to you, but viewing past weddings can help you to be sure the wedding venue you’re considering is a good fit.
Congratulations, you’re ready to book your wedding venue
With these four questions answered you’re ready for the next step – finding and booking your wedding venue!
And we have a freebie to help you do just that. Download our Free Guide to Booking a Wedding Venue that Compliments your Wedding Day Style.
Or, set up a meeting with me to chat more about our services which include venue scouting and wedding styling.
