Roughly 75% of couples will start to look for venues as a first step of planning. Afterall this is where all the details will come together, so finding a venue that captures your vision is important. How do you pick a venue that is perfect for you and your guests? While not easy, lets break down the options and see if we can help make it a little bit easier.
When exploring a venue consider who is coming and what experience you want to have with your friends and family. Is this a destination wedding, local for most or local for some and not others? Destination weddings don’t have to be in another country or far away. They can be a few hours away from you. This is perfect for those hands on couples that may want to view the venue a few times. It is close enough to drive to but feels like a “destination”. OR, they can be far away and a place some may never visit unless you have your wedding there. Things to think about for these are where will guest stay? Do you need to hire transportation? Are there things to do and see for the weekend for your guests making a weekend out of it? We love destination weddings but they do take a little more thought and planning.
Hotels are a great option for a wedding venue weather it be a destination or local. The benefits of hosting your wedding at a hotel is that everyone can stay even if they are local. You don’t have to worry about guests getting home. They also tend to have a bar/restaurant in house if you want to continue on with the party. Or, there are likely fun places around the hotel within walking distance. Hotels also typically provide, tables, chairs, linen, food and beverage.
Maybe you are thinking of hosting your wedding at a private venue/property. While these are our favorite, they take a lot more planning. Typically you are renting more than tables and chairs, you are renting bathroom, generators, tents, etc. The great thing about building your own venue is it is a private space, you do not have to worry about what time you end or start or when you can set up and tear down. There is not another wedding happening before or after you. We typically see these style of weddings when the majority of guests are local, but that is not always the case. We do have 2- 200 person destination weddings, on a private ranches we are planning for Summer 2025. The majority are all out of town guests. When doing something like this, we encourage wedding websites to make sure guests know where to stay, how to get to the venue, what’s in the area, etc. The great thing about wedding websites is that you can continue to update until the wedding date. You can add any additional details as they come.
Whether is is an existing venue or one you create, what matters most is that it works within budget, can host your vision and YOU LOVE IT. Our best advice is to hire a planner or schedule a venue sourcing consult. We do offer consultations just on finding venues. We are happy to help you find the best venue for your biggest day! Until next time, happy planning!
