Last week we posted Part I of What to Ask When Touring Wedding Venues to give you a couple of our best tips when checking out potential wedding reception sites. Last week, the focus was centered around determining whether a venue considers themselves all-inclusive or an ala carte venue and which is the best fit for you. This weeks topic: the venue’s timeline and accessibility. Let us now present:
When touring wedding venues it’s important to ask about a general timeline for the venue and also about how much access you will have to the venue at any given point. The details of this question will vary drastically from venue to venue. For the most part, this won’t be a make or break question in determining your venue, but it will matter in planning so many other aspects of your day or even wedding weekend.
- When can we begin to decorate the venue?
- Having an onsite ceremony? Do we have access to the venue for a rehearsal (and is this an extra charge)?
- When will the tables & chairs be set for my florist to put out centerpieces?
- What’s the earliest we can begin cocktail hour?
- How late can we play music?
- How quickly must we get everything out of the venue after the reception is over?
Tons of questions – but important ones, nonetheless! When we give tours at The Veranda we love when couples arrive with a notepad in hand filled with so many well thought out questions! We are happy to answer them to ensure you choose the best fit wedding venue and a place that is exactly what you’re looking for.
It’s also a good idea to ask your tour guide for a typical timeline the day of the event. This will give you some insight into how organized a venue’s system is for set up, clean up, and overall event management. If a venue representative is unable to give you a general flow of a day, it should raise some red flags. And on the flip side of that argument – if there are overly restrictive rules about access to the venue, this might give you an idea of how flexible they will be with your special requests on your big day (and yes, all couples have special requests – that’s what makes it YOUR wedding!).
{ Photo Courtesy Jennifer Mayo Studios }
Understanding how wedding venues systematically run the day of your wedding will help ease any day-of chaos you may be concerned about! Take these tips and questions with you on your next tour – you’ll walk away with more insight than you may have thought and find that it may be easier to give each potential venue a thumb’s up or down.
When you’re ready, we present the final part of our series what to ask when when touring wedding venues: Part III: Exclusive vs. Recommended Vendors!
Have fun touring!
-kristin ♥