Finding your wedding venue can be a daunting task. We get it – you just got engaged and you were feeling all the butterflies in your stomach… until you started venue searching and got totally overwhelmed. How do you know which wedding venues are worth touring?
Well have no fear – your Plan On It girls are here to give you all the tips and tricks on how to pick your wedding venue.
Before you pick your wedding venue, there are a couple of things you need to determine: your overall wedding budget and a general idea of your guest count. Once you have these two elements locked down, start filtering the venues you see through the following questions:
#1: Does the venue fit in your budget?
Wedding venues vary a lot when it comes to pricing and what they include. Most wedding venues in the Austin and Texas Hill Country area cost from $6,000-$10,000 for a prime season Saturday rental (prime wedding season in Texas is March-May and October-November).
You don’t want to fall in love with a space if it’s not within your price range! *cue heartbreak*
You should try to aim for your venue rental fee to be anywhere from 15%-20% of your overall wedding budget. Ideally, the rental fee would include a 10-12 hour rental block, tables, chairs, and a venue manager.
#2: Does the space fit the number of guests you want to invite?
Are you wanting to invite 50 guests or 150? Knowing this number when you begin to look for venues will help you visualize your guest count in the space to make sure it’s the right
fit. 50 guests in a venue built for 300 will feel empty, whereas squeezing the maximum number of guests you can into a small space will make guests uncomfortable! You want to be somewhere in the middle. Things you can ask the venue manager on the tour are:
- How many guests will fit with a dance floor?
- What is the most common guest count you have?
- What are the most popular areas couples use for each part of the day? (ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception)
The answers to these questions will help you visualize your guest count in the space to make sure it’s the right fit!
#3: Does the venue lend itself well to your wedding aesthetic/vibe?
Your venue is the biggest design decision you will make in the wedding planning process, so make sure you really love it! As you are touring venues, it’s important that both you and your partner like the way it looks so you don’t have to spend tons of money on decor trying to cover it up. To get help with this, take a look at the venue’s instagram profile or even the portfolio of photos they have on their website. Most of the time, venues have one or two types of designs they see most often!
#4: Where is the venue located?
Think about your guests here: how many of them are traveling into town for your wedding weekend? How far away will the venue be from where your guests will stay? Are you willing to provide transportation for your guests? All of these are important questions to ask! If you have a large amount of guests traveling to your wedding, try to make sure the venue is easily accessible and has nearby lodging to give them a better experience.
On the other hand, if you are considering adding a few additional weekend events to your wedding celebration (think a welcome happy hour, rehearsal dinner, post-wedding brunch, wedding party winery tour, etc.) it would be great if your venue and lodging options are near those activities, too.
#5: Does the venue align with your priorities?
What’s most important to you? Food, guest experiences, dancing, etc.? Venues often lend
themselves well to specific priorities. For example, if a really unique food experience is something that is really important to you but the venue only provides basic in house catering, you might want to consider finding a venue that lets you bring in the culinary team of your dreams. Or, if having live music is really important to you, make sure the reception space has a layout that is conducive to a band. You can always ask the venue manager about things like vendor requirements and potential layouts at your tour!
#6: What is the rain plan for weddings?
We never want to think about rain hitting on your wedding day – but sometimes it happens! When touring wedding venues, make sure to ask about and consider what their rain plan is.
Will you be required to rent a tent (at least a $5,000 additional cost)? Do they have a separate indoor space for the ceremony? Would you have to use the same space for the ceremony and reception and flip it during cocktail hour? Rain plans should be a big part of the conversation because they can add a big expense to your already tight budget!
Deciding on a wedding venue is tough – there are so many incredible options! We hope that these questions help equip you to make a decision you feel great about. And trust us, deciding on a venue is the hardest decision you will make! Wedding planning gets much easier after this, we promise!
Happy planning,
Shelby Kirchner & the Plan On It team
Plan On It Events & Design
info@planonitatx.com
Still worried about picking the right wedding venue for you? We can help! We know the pressures that planning your wedding can produce. That’s why, at Plan On It Events & Design, we take on the responsibilities with organization and clarity so you can experience less stress. Put it all on us so you can enjoy the planning process and the wedding that you’re throwing!
Contact us today so we can help you get planning started the right way.
