How to Choose a Wedding Venue
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Wedding Venues Orlando
We have photographed over 1000 weddings since 2005, mostly in Orlando Florida, and in that time, we have definitely seen a thing or two. We’d love to share some of our wedding venue experience from a photographers point of view and hopefully help you out with the big first step of selecting the one that’s perfect for you.
Your wedding venue is where your ceremony and reception take place. Sometimes this is the same location and sometimes you may have one venue for your ceremony and an entirely different venue for your reception.
1. How many guests can your venue accommodate?
The first step to choosing a wedding venue is making sure it will be able to hold the number of guests you plan to invite. It’s a good idea to have a pretty solid idea of how many guests you will be inviting before you start your hunt for the perfect venue.
The obvious is that you can’t have more guests than your venue will hold, however the opposite is sometimes overlooked. If you are having a smaller, more intimate wedding, having your ceremony or reception in a large space can make it feel empty.
So, before you get started, take a little time to decide how many people you will realistically be expecting at your wedding. This will be one of the very first questions your prospective venue will ask you, so it’s good for you to have that rough estimate ready to go.
2. How does it make your heart feel?
Your wedding venue sets the tone of your celebration. What does it feel like? What is the vibe? Will the carpet match your wedding colors? Will the wall color affect your up-light color or clash with your decor? Does the property match your theme? Does the reception space have one large space or is it broken up into smaller rooms or spaces? If it’s broken up, are you ok with some of your guests seated away from the action in another room? How much additional love will the space need to match your vision? Or does the space look amazing the way it is and just needs some small personal touches?
3. What are you allowed or not allowed to do?
Make sure you understand what is allowed and what is not. Are you allowed to bring in your own decor? Some wedding venues have significant restrictions on decor. Others will let you do pretty much whatever you like. Can you bring in your own caterer or does the venue provide all of the food and beverages? Will they accommodate any dietary restrictions? Will there be a tasting and when? Can you bring in an outside baker for your cake or do you have to use their in house pastry chef? Can you have lit candles?
No matter what, make sure you get everything in writing. Everything goes in the contract, we can’t stress this enough! Honestly, we see staff change regularly at wedding venues, so make sure everything your initial venue contact tells you they plan to include, is in writing. If things are added or subtracted along the way, ask for the changes in writing, at the very least in an email you can refer back to. If you end up working with a different person on wedding day, which happens more often than you would expect, you will be able to refer back to the contract and your emails.
4. How many?
How many venues will you choose? Most couples elect to have just one venue but some couples will have their ceremony at one location and their reception at another.
The vendors you choose shouldn’t have a problem with multiple locations but keep in mind how it will affect your guests. Many guests are from out of town and are not familiar with the area. Also, if you decide to have two separate locations, find out if you can have your ceremony at your reception venue, just in case your primary ceremony location does not work out.
5. Location, Location, Location
Think about your guests’ needs here. Will you have a lot of out of town guests that are not familiar with the area? How easy is it for guests to get to your venue? And then back to their hotels after an evening of partying. If you have a lot of out of town guests, how close are hotel accommodations and entertainment to your ceremony or reception venues? Will you need to provide transportation for them? If you have a separate venue for your ceremony and reception, how far apart are they and how will this affect the transportation of your guests?
6. See it in person
Does what you see online match what you see in person? Make every effort to visit your wedding venues in person. Online photos may not show the complete picture. Sometimes there are parts of the venue or its surroundings that you will only see by visiting it in person. What does it feel like when you are in the different spaces? What is the flow like from space to space? Does the drive up to the property match the feel of the venue? Does the venue staff make you feel welcome?
7. What’s the back-up plan?
What does your venue use as a back-up ceremony location? Here in Orlando, many couples opt for an outdoor ceremony from October through May. While the vast majority of the time the weather is great, on occasion it can throw you a curveball.
Make sure you know and like what the venue’s plan B is. Will it comfortably hold all of your guests? Will you be just as excited to have your ceremony in the back-up space as the primary space?
This often doesn’t cross the minds of many couples until they see a not-so-perfect weather forecast a few days before wedding day and spend those last few days with unnecessary added stress.
8. How does it fit into your budget?
One of the biggest questions you will encounter is: does the wedding venue you love fit your desired budget? But more importantly, how does it fit into your overall wedding budget?
Your venue is the first big step of your wedding planning. It officially sets your wedding date and you can then start selecting vendors you love that are available for your date. Because this is your first and typically largest booking, in all the excitement, some couples commit too much of their budget to their venue. This leads them to make sacrifices on things like decor, dj and photography.
So make sure you find out exactly what’s included in their pricing and what you will need to provide yourself. Once again, get it all in writing so that there will be no surprises later.
9. Is it available?
Is it available for your desired time of the year? We are based in Orlando Florida and we do the majority of our weddings here in Central Florida. Many locals don’t realize how far in advance wedding venues book up.
Central Florida is one of the top wedding destinations in the US, so you are competing with the locals as well as everyone else planning a destination wedding to Central Florida.
Here in Orlando, it is very common for many popular dates to be booked 18 or more months out. When you find that perfect venue, and it’s available for your perfect date, don’t wait for someone else to steal it away from you.
The big takeaway here is to start looking early and don’t be afraid to book it as soon as possible.
10. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here!
When must the party end? Some wedding reception venues have city noise ordinances and some simply require you to be cleaned up and out by a certain time. Are there any noise restrictions indoors or outdoors? At some venues, outdoor music is not allowed. At some, there can be no music past a certain time. If you know your crowd will be parting into the night, make sure your venue will allow this.
Your wedding day will be one of the most important days of your life and selecting the perfect venue is the big first step. If there is anything we can do to help, please reach out.
If you are looking for more details on some of our favorite wedding venues here in Orlando, make sure to check out our Orlando Wedding Venues page
Happy wedding planning!
