Questions for Reception Venue

Re: Questions for Reception Venue

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  sparkles776 member

  

  February 2012

  We had a discussion on this a while ago, its on the second page and there is some really good questions in there, this is what I posted over there:
  
  Here are some of the questions I asked. I asked a ton of questions. FI and I only looked at 3 venues. 2 out of the 3 were happy to answer our questions, the 3rd one rolled her eyes at me! That immediately took that venue out of the running, even though it was beautiful.
  
  Will there be other events/weddings at the same time?
  What is your cancellation/refund policy?
  How much is the deposit to reserve the date?
  Does the deposit go towards the total bill or is it held for damages?
  How does your payment plan work?
  What does the per person cost include?
  Do you have a must spend minimum dollar amount of a minimum number of guests?
  Are taxes, service fees, gratuity included in the price? If not how much are they?
  Any reduced pricing for children or guests under 21?
  How many hours is the typical reception? How much is it per hour if the reception runs over?
  Is there a room rental fee?
  Do you have a preferred vendors list or can we bring in our own?
  Can the wedding cake be brought in from the outside?
  How many servers per number of guests?
  How many people will be at each table?
  How many hours is the bar open?
  How many bartenders will there be?
  Is a champagne toast included? If not how much per person?
  Do you do a food tasting? How far ahead of the wedding is the food tasting?
  How far ahead do you need the final count?
  What is your decorations policy? Are real candles allowed?
  What do you do as far as clean up? What are we required to do?
  Do you offer chair colors? How much are they? Can we use an outside vendor?
  Do you have deals with any local hotels for out of town guests?
  
  hope that gets you started!

  

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  emilyb213 member

  

  February 2012

  I'd also take a look at your guest list and see if you have any handicapped people coming...we had to rule out a venue because it was a historical location that was only partially handicapped accessible, and we have a guest in a wheelchair. Also, I'd take a look at the parking situation (Is there a lot or is it street parking?). Ask if you're able to get in the day before to decorate, and if they do all of the tear down afterwards, do you have to have someone available that night to take anything you're keeping, or can someone stop by the next day to pick up decorations, etc.? I'd also look at the bathrooms, some of the places I looked at have bathrooms that are so small that I'm not sure how you'd maneuver around them in a wedding dress. Lastly, ask if they provide libaility insurance coverage for your event, or if you have to provide your own liability rider.

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  Jaridds68

  

  February 2012

  Welcome! Here's a link to the post, a lot of great questions/situations were brought up:

  
  

  http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_reception-venues-questions-should-ask

  
  

  OP, when you say 'how many fit seated' what part of the day are you talking about? When it comes to the ceremony & reception you will need a chair for every guest, for the cocktail hour you should have plenty of seating but you don't need to have a seat for every person.

  
  

  Good luck!

  

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  SB1512 member

  

  February 2012

  Be sure to ask or look at the bathrooms.  FI and I looked at 4 venues, and only 1 of them had more than 2 stalls in the women's room (luckily that venue was also the one we booked!).  We're having about 150-175 guests most likely and I was having nightmares about lines for the ladies room!

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