Once you have your estimated guest numbers, theme, date, and budget, the next thing you should do is book your venue. When booking a venue all of these things factor in. My dream venue wasn’t logistically or financially possible so I went with the next best thing that I am extremely happy with.

Let’s start with my situation. We are having a Greek Orthodox wedding which will be held in a church, followed by a reception at a hotel venue. When choosing our venues, it was pretty straightforward:

 

Greek Church.

Reception hall for over 200 people that is convenient for out of town guests because the majority of those attending will be from out of town.

Central dance floor (because dancing is definitely one of the most important parts of a wedding!).

 

 

Where we are getting married, a reception of over 2oo limits the locations you can have it in. October limits it further because it will be too cold to hold outside. I wanted a location that wasn’t too far from the church, and one that had hotels nearby that would be convenient for guests. Luckily I found a hotel that encompassed all of this. The hotel also covers the catering which is another headache out of the way. The staff at this location have been a dream to work with and thus making the planning process significantly smoother.

 

Here are 9 of the biggest tips I learned when booking my venue:

  1. What type of atmosphere are you trying to create?
  2. Indoor or outdoor, and if it is outdoor do you have a backup plan?
  3. Is the venue big enough?
  4. What does the venue include?
  5. Will you have multiple venues or just one?
  6. If you have multiple, how will your guests get around?
  7. Are the staff at the venue easy to work with?
  8. What restrictions does your venue have?
  9. Does the venue work within your budget?