What to Look for in a Wedding Venue | Tips for Brides

You’re on the hunt for that PERFECT wedding venue! It can be a tedious process making sure it’s the best fit for what you’re looking for! After photographing weddings for 5 years, I’m sharing what I’ve found SO helpful in wedding venues for brides planning their wedding!

What to Look for in a Wedding Venue:

Easy, clear communication.

It’s so important to be able to reach your venue easily to get all of the details needed. There’s nothing worse than not hearing back for weeks- even months while you’re busy trying to plan all of the details for your wedding! Make sure you feel you can communicate well and your questions are answered!

The space you need.

Hopefully you have an idea of how many guests are attending your wedding & reception. Make sure the venue has the space you desire for what you’re planning and the number of guests coming! While some spaces might be big enough for a standing cocktail hour, a much bigger space will be needed for the same number of guests having a sit down dinner. Having enough space is a necessity!

Know what is included with the venue.

Some venues just include the space while renting chairs, tables, linen, silverware, and a set up and tear down staff needs to be obtained from somewhere else. Other venues include all of these items, and some even include flowers! There’s no right or wrong, but make sure you know what items are included and what you’ll need to find elsewhere. A venue might be at the top of your price point, but may include all of the items you were planning on renting! Another venue might be extremely affordable, but might just include the space so the cost of the other rentals needs to be accounted for. Be sure what you’re receiving from the venue and what you’ll need to find elsewhere is clearly laid out before booking.

The style you prefer.

With so many venue options, make sure you love the style of the venue. If you love bright, airy images, a dark, low-lit venue with no windows might not be the best fit for your ceremony. If you’ve always dreamed of an outdoor wedding, there are several venues with gorgeous outdoor spaces along with an indoor area. If you want to stay at the venue for all of your portraits, see if there are beautiful portrait spots around that venue. There are a lot of different options when it comes to selecting the venue, but make sure you love the look of it- inside and out.

The flexibility in vendors you need.

Some venues require specific vendors to be used! While this is completely fine and often helpful since these vendors have a good relationship with the venue, it’s important to know which vendors this includes ahead of time. Make sure to ask if you’ll need to book certain vendors from their list, or if you can bring in your own! If the venue requires choosing from a list and you’re looking at a vendor not on their list, simply ask what that vendor would need to provide to be able to be a part of your day. Some venues are happy to have vendors not on their list work there if certain criteria are met.

I hope wedding planning goes as smoothly as possible for you! If you’re a bride in the planning stage searching for a wedding photographer, feel free to reach out here!

Venues shown: The Reserve at Lake Keowee, The Venue at Falls Park, The Barn at Sitton Hill Farm