Our top 25 Questions to ask your FABULOUS Wedding Venue!

Planning your big day is one of the most exciting things you’ll ever do! Firstly, make sure that you have read our previous blog post ’10 Must Knows When Planning your Wedding Day’.

Begin your search by arranging viewings in person of your ‘shortlisted wedding venues’. View your favourite venues more than once, don’t forget to show close family and friends as feedback is very important! Planning a wedding can be a daunting task especially if you haven’t organised an event before; this is going to be the biggest day of your lives, so it’s really important to get the wedding venue right.

We recommend that you take a list of questions with you so that you don’t forget to ask the important things that you would like to know. Make sure that you write down the answers from each wedding venue so that you can compare them after all of your viewings.

To help you, we have put together a fabulous list of questions you may want to find out whilst viewing your potential wedding venue:

Venue: Leeds Castle

The Fabulous Venue Itself!

1. What is the cost of hiring the wedding venue for your special day? Are there any other hidden charges that you need to be aware of?

2. The minimum and maximum venue capacities – make sure you find out the guest numbers for each element of your wedding day; civil ceremony, wedding breakfast and the evening reception.

3. If you are having your wedding ceremony at the venue, find out which council registrars you would need to contact to organise your wedding date.  Don’t book your venue until you have confirmed the dates with the registrars, most venues will provisionally hold a date for you so that you can co-ordinate your date between the venue and registrars availability.

4. For licensed marriage wedding venues, does the wedding venue cater for outdoor wedding ceremonies and have an outdoor ceremony structure? If yes and an outdoor ceremony is your ideal wedding, what is their bad weather plan? Make sure you see their alternative indoor ceremony room and you are happy with it as that will be used if it rains.

5. Will the venue provide a wedding co-ordinator to look after you on the day? Will they be available to answer all your questions in the lead up to your wedding? 

6. Is it an exclusive use wedding venue or will there be other weddings taking place on the same day as yours?

7. Is a marquee permitted at the venue?  If so, what is the maximum capacity and where will it be located?

Venue: Farbridge

What's on Offer?

8. Does the venue provide onsite parking for your guests and how far is this from your actual venue? If you have any older guests that may struggle with the walk from the car park, does the venue offer an area for them to be dropped off near to your ceremony/reception room prior to parking?

9. Does the venue allow confetti? Some will only let you use bio-degradable confetti like petals.

10. Are fireworks permitted at the venue? Is there a time limit on when the fireworks need to be finished by? If so, you need to factor this into your wedding timings and schedule for the day.

11. Will the venue allow you to have candles on your wedding tables or around the grounds?

Venue: The Runnymede on Thames

What's on the Menu?

12. Is the catering provided in-house or do you have an option to choose your own caterers?

13. Will you be able to attend a food tasting of your menu and how many people can go with you?

14. Does the venue charge corkage? Some venues will charge you a corkage fee for bringing in your own wine. This can really add to the cost of your wedding day, so make sure you include this in your wedding budget.

15. Can you create your own bespoke menu for your wedding breakfast or are the menus set?

16. Are you allowed to have a BBQ or Spit roast on site?

Venue: Battel Hall

The Need to Knows!

17. Does the venue have a suggested list of good wedding suppliers? This can really help you find locally based suppliers that the venue has worked with before, that can be trusted to manage your day.

18. Will the venue allow you to book a band for your wedding or your own DJ? Some wedding venues have noise restrictions especially if their neighbours are close by.

19. When will the venue allow you access to bring in your table plans, name cards, and any wedding décor that you would like arranged?

20. Will your caterers arrange your name cards, table decorations, favours and locate your table plan for you?

21. What time should your guests book their carriages for at the end of the evening and what time does your wedding music need to be finished by? It’s useful to let your guests know in advance so that they can pre-book their taxis.  Include a ‘Need to Know’ sheet with their invitations and have a list of local taxi companies, local hotels and B&B’s for out of town guests who may need to book overnight accommodation.

22. Find out from your venue the best locations within their grounds or gardens for your wedding photographs. Ideally, book a time for you and your wedding photographer to visit your venue together prior to your wedding.

23. Does the wedding venue have on-site accommodation? Can your guests enjoy a discounted rate if they book their accommodation at your wedding venue?

24. Is there a Honeymoon Suite or a bridal changing room? Is the cost of this included in your wedding package?

25. If some of your guests are leaving their cars overnight, at what time do they need to have collected them by the next morning?

Good luck with your wedding venue search!