Reception Venues Questions

Peaseblossom55

I figured I would post this questions here since this board gets a lot more traffic.  We are starting the process of finding a reception venue (we already have the date with the church). 

What are some questions to ask potential reception venues?  Most of the places we are looking at are country clubs, and hotels. The places we are going to start visit we know have our date available and we have a good idea of packages and pricing already.

I already started a list of questions from friends and ones I found online. So any extra help/advice is appreciated.  Different view points are always nice :-)

kmbryant2413

Linger is on the money, and to add my 2 cents: I had a big party after my wedding for my family (not a 'do over' reception) at a hotel. We had dancing and whatnot. Well, the hotel was rather large, and told us we could jam out until 11. Sure, no big deal. Well, 10 rolls around and they start coming by asking us to turn it down, little by little, until it was down enough that it wasn't even worth dancing to.

So keep that in mind if you're really looking to rock out at a hotel. Ask them what their noise policies are, and how late Yay danser!!

cwaggoner07

I would also maybe go to your Local Wedding Board and see if anyone there has used specific venues that you are interested in. They can give you some information on how their wedding played out. Good luck!

amaryann210

Regarding cake, ask if they must be licensed.  This may limit you to some higher priced bakeries. 

monkeysip

http://www.herecomestheguide.com/images/main/QALocations.pdf

This is a good guide.

Herecomestheguide.com has a lot of good guides for different vendors (cake designer, DJ, etc.)

Peaseblossom55

Thanks, there are a lot of great questions to ask.  I never even thought of the smoking thing either.


Thank you for the link too monkey!

vk2204

In Response to Re: Reception Venues Questions:
[QUOTE]I found all the question lists online helpful. I'd just be certain to get the pricing clear and in writing. Does service include tip, or do you have to tip on top of it? Are there corkage or cake cutting fees? Will they help set up decor? Is that extra? Can you do pictures there and is that extra? Also, don't be afraid to negotiate, especially if there are things included in the package you don't want.
Posted by Liatris2010[/QUOTE]

Definitely ask about the 'hidden' costs if you can. Our venue didn't supply tables or linen for outside vendors, if we wanted to rent one it was $100 per table! Also, there were certain items we weren't allowed to have on the tables (confetti type stuff, candles where the flame is higher than the container, etc). The bathroom basket 'no's' came as a surprise for some of the items - no gum, no medicine of any sort, no mouth wash.

Find out about vendor meals as well. Regarding negotiating, our package included soup and we didn't want that so the venue let us substitute an extra appetizer instead.

Does the bar stay open the whole time? Or do you have to break up your hours?

Smoking policy is a very good question to ask.