Touring Wedding Venues

MeganC327

Hey everyone!

My fiance and I are going to look at venues soon - we are both taking our parents also. I would love to hear about all of your experiences touring wedding venues - how it went, what to do, what not to do, what to ask, how much time it takes, etc. We have two very full days planned and I am wondering if its too much all at once - how many do you think we could see in a day? I'm planning 5-8 each day... Crazy I know but when else will we have a chance to all get together? :P

firsttimersluck

My fiance' and I were originally trying to plan a Chattanooga wedding, when we planned for about 6 in one day we only got to about 4 due to people not calling us back, the time it takes, how worn out we were (ie him ) etc. It completely varies on how prepared the people are at the venue and how much they have to show you. Some venues can take an hour to view and talk with, some may take 15 minutes. Questions to ask depend on your. The things we asked were :

- Can we hire our own caterer? are there any fees for that or requirements such as insurance?
- are real flower petals allowed?
- If we use this venue what are the times we have the place and is it closed to us or will it remain public?
- Do you include tables? chairs? linens? Sound system?
- do you have "preferred" vendors or REQUIRED vendors?
- When is the amount in full due? What's the security deposit?
- Do you have a room for the bride to get dressed/ready?
- What's your alcohol policy?


Know what YOU need and want at your wedding, and work around that. For example some people like balloons at weddings (I don't get it.. but some people like it) but a LOT of venues will surprisingly say NO ballooons (they can get stuck in the high ceiling and whatnot)
What are the places you are going to?
My other suggestion is to print off a fact sheet for each place you want to visit (based on what info they DO provide on their website) and put them in order of visitation that way you feel a little prepared. When we crammed in a bunch of venues at once, I kept mixing up the facts of one venue with another. It helps to keep it clear and then you can write additional notes on the paper for that venue with the extra info you find out.

hope that helps

firsttimersluck

^ totally agree. We picked a venue that we could have the ENTIRE day from 8am-midnight so we didn't have to deal with another event.

EMTmommy

Other things to ask might be:

Do you have rules on decorations? (ex. can only use painters tape)

Will there be/ how many staff will be here the day of if there is a problem?

Is there a noise/music policy? (ex. have to turn down music by 10 pm)

Who is responsible for clean up? 

Does set up/ clean up have to be included in our time paid for?

Can things be dropped off before our scheduled time/ the day before?

Is there anything that might interrupt the ceremony? (nearby train...regular flight path of C-17s...etc.)

erinmmcd

I would HIGHLY recommend taking lots of photos of each venue and taking notes while you are there.  I didn't even cram them together like you are and still had a hard time remembering details of the venue (look, feel, room positioning, etc) that will matter later on.

P.S side-tangent. I am getting married at Newcastle and while I knew that they might book another wedding in the AM that wouldn't conflict they definitely didn't mention how many wedding would be around that day! There is another ceremony in the tent RIGHT after my cocktail hour on the patio / when I'm taking family photos in the tent.  So while my guests are entering the ballroom, the other wedding guests will be arriving through the SAME entrance for the next wedding. How the heck they will navigate guests away from OUR wedding, OUR bar bill, OUR snacks & apps, I have no idea and am pretty annoyed. For the price you pay you'd think they would give a little more breathing room for each event...*end vent*  

MeganC327

Thank you all so much! I'm afraid I'm going to tire everyone out, but hey, if we don't make it to all of the appointments I suppose we will reschedule? I will make a list too of all the questions you all suggested plus some I've thought of! We're going to see:

Day 1:
Sanders Mansion (Auburn)
Bell Harbor Conference Center (Seattle)
DAR Rainer Chapter House (Seattle)
Benaroya Hall (Seattle) - just a maybe right now
Lake Union Yacht Club (Seattle) - just a maybe right now
Tibbetts Creek Manor (Issaquah)

Day 2:
Lakewold Gardens (Lakewood)
Washington State History Museum (Tacoma)
Tacoma Union Station (Tacoma)
Museum of Glass (Tacoma)
Laurel Creek Manor (Sumner)
WIndmill Gardens (Sumner)
Kelley Farm (Bonney Lake)
My parents house! - We'll be showing my fiance's parent's the lovely home I was born and raised in in Enumclaw, WA because we may just have our venue at my parents house after all!