What are good questions to ask venues?

MJKlover

Tomorrow I have 3 meeting scheduled with venues (for combined reception and ceremony).  But I've never done this before so I want to make sure I ask good questions.  I bought a wedding planner (by The Knot actually) and there is a section in there about questions to ask venues so I have an idea of basics.  But I was wondering if you ladies have any suggestions about maybe less obvious things to ask.  

Jen4948

I'd ask about the following:

1) Reputation - check out online and other published reviews, get word-of-mouth feedback, and if any place you're thinking about has bad reviews, inquire about those

2) Food - prices, gratuities, cake cutting fees, buffet/stations vs. plated
-Storage and service if outdoors: can food be kept at proper temperatures and otherwise protected
-Menus for main meal, cocktail hour, desserts
-Food brought in from outside (many places won't let you), including your wedding cake
-Ability to handle various dietary needs like diabetes, gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian, kosher, halal, dairy-free, allergies, etc. and avoidance of cross-contamination/labeling of food/drink ingredients
-Advance tastings? When? Who can come? Pricing?

3) Drinks -
-Pricing (open/consumption, etc.)
-Can you bring in drinks/bartenders from outside? (Probably not - ask about penalties if guests do)
-Do you need insurance to have alcohol served?
-Licensed/qualified bartenders?
-Prices and gratuities (make sure they understand not to put out tip jars)
-If you're not hosting alcohol service or are hosting limited alcohol service, you'll want to make sure that your venue understands this and not make available to your guests anything they have to pay for. If the venue is noncooperative, don't consider it or find a way to minimize it, such as menus at the bar indicating what is hosted
-Any other limitations on drink service (does the bar have to close before the end of the event? It should ideally stay open the whole time)

4) Seating/layout -
-Total person capacity (including all vendors, venue staff, you and your FI, families, wedding party, guests)
-How many tables (if you do open seating, you'll need at least 10% more seats available than assigned tables)? What shape? How many chairs at each table?
-Dance floor - make sure no one's seat interferes with it or has to be moved later
-Cocktail hour - make sure there is enough room for people to drink and eat appetizers, and room for wait staff to serve passed appetizers if you're doing them
-Placement - are you doing a head table? Sweetheart table? King's tables? Reserved tables? Assigned or open tables (recommend assigned, in which case you'll also need a place where guests can pick up escort cards)
-Room dividers (if applicable)
-Mobility issues - can guests move around freely? Will it get crowded? Can guests with mobility limitations get around with minimal problems/is assistance for them available if necessary?
-Buffet/stations - if you're doing this, how do guests move around the buffet/stations? You'll want to avoid guests having to stand in long lines waiting to be served
-Emergency exits/alarms
-Proximity to other events taking place at the same time at the venue
-Photo booth or other activity placements
-Guest book table (does not need to be staffed!)

5) Staff -
-Does the venue have an on-staff event coordinator?
-Does it work with outside coordinators and/or vendors, and if so, any restrictions or recommendations?
-Substitutes if it turns out backups are needed
-Staffer to guest ratios
-Security? Does the venue provide it or do you need to hire outside security people?
-Pricing

6) Setup/cleanup -
-Decorations - any restrictions?
-Scheduling - how much time will they allow you before and after?
-Storage - will there be space to store things, how much space, and when will it be available? Security for stored items?
-Staff - What will the venue staff do, and what do you need to do?
-Start times - Make sure that the staff knows to be ready to start cocktail hour immediately at the end of your ceremony. Guests should not be kept waiting.
-Pricing

7) Guests' personal needs -
-Enough working bathrooms
-If your venue is outdoors, protection from the elements: light, heating, wind/rain, dirt, bugs
-Are children allowed/age restrictions

8) Photography -
-Any restriction on vendors? Space? Times? Lighting? Other restrictions?
-Plan B for inclement weather if doing any photos outdoors

9) Music -
-Any restrictions on vendors or sound equipment?
-Volume?

10) Transportation/parking -
-Where? How far away? Security for parked cars? Valet parking? (make sure your guests aren't charged valet fees)
-Mass transportation nearby?
-Shuttle service (for hotels)

11) Availability -
-Are any other local events planned/scheduled for the day of your wedding?
-Are any repairs/renovations scheduled for the day of your wedding that could affect your plans?
-Deposits - can any of them be refunded if necessary? When do you have to give them and sign contracts?
-When head counts are needed?

MJKlover

Wow! You thought of everything! Thank you so much! All of this is great advice.

Jen4948

julie_shannon said:

Wow! You thought of everything! Thank you so much! All of this is great advice.

Thanks! I did try. I'm sure there are things other people might come up with that I didn't think of.

AuroraRose41

@Jen4948 pretty much has it covered, but I wanted to add a few small things. She mentioned mobility concerns for guests; make sure this includes mobility between cocktail hour area, dinner area, and ceremony area (if you plan to have the ceremony there too or if the cocktail hour area is different from where dinner will be). We looked at a beautiful venue that was very accessible in the cocktail hour/reception area, but not at all accessible for the ceremony. Guests with mobility issues would have been left out. 

Also, how easy are the bathrooms to find? We visited one venue with bathrooms that were in the basement (also a mobility concern), but there were no signs pointing to them. We also went to a wedding recently where the bathrooms were very hard to find (a 5 minute walk from the main reception area and we got lost finding them the first time). 

[Deleted User]

I know it's after the fact, but since you are probably doing research

• If you plan to invite kids, do they have a different price & possible menu options for kids
• How do they handle card box
• Security, they they offer it & is it included
• Tips for staff, included with pricing or extra?
• Coat room if guests need it
• Private bathroom for bride?
• What forms of payment do you take? Not all places take credit cards
• What are charges for going later then contract time?
• How do you deal with out of control guests or individuals who show up that weren't invited?
• When do you need final head count by
• When do you need payments
• Do you work with any hotels in the area, especially ones that offer shuttle service
• How early can my vendors (dj, florist, cake person) come to set up or make deliveries

 

ShesSoCold

In addition to PPs, I'd definitely ask about food and beverage minimums. One of the venues H and I looked at didn't tell us they had a $12,000 minimum for food and beverage on Saturday nights until I asked.