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Questions for Venue

lavenderfields13lavenderfields13 member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
in Wedding Reception Forum
Hi Ladies, I thought this was the most appropriate board to ask this question
Me and my FI are going to tour our first venue on Tuesday! My aunt who will also be my maid of honor is coming along too since she lives in the area of the venue and she can give another opinion. I'm going to make a list of things I should ask. I feel like there's a lot of things I may not be thinking of so what do I definitely ask? The venue is a lodge at a camp site if that helps with any additional questions!
I feel kind of lost already in this wedding stuff.

 




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Re: Questions for Venue

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    JaxInBlueJaxInBlue member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Off the top of my head:
    • The basics about size and set up.  Make sure you can have a seat for every guest at both the ceremony and reception.  Many spaces accommodate more spaces with a cocktail party set up (as in not enough seats) but those can be uncomfortable for your guests.
    • The basics about their packages.  For example, if they include linens, is there an up-charge if you want a color other than white, black, ivory? Or if there is a cake cutting fee, would that be waived if you offered cupcakes or a cookie bar?
    • Depending on the when you are getting married and what that means for weather, I'd ask about the policies on inclement weather and what happens if you need to move something inside from outside or if you need to cancel.  (We got married in New England in the winter, so I wanted to protect us if there was a blizzard.)
    • Are you required to purchase any type of event or liability insurance?
    • Their relationship with outside vendors.  What is taken care of on site and what will or can you bring in?  For example, we wanted to use an outside vendor for our cake so our venue had to allow that.
    • How much time do you/can you get for set up?  We could set up night before for free if no one decided to book a Friday night party.  Otherwise, we had to pay for Friday night or wait until Saturday morning.
    • What clean up will you be responsible for? We had to take down our centerpieces and remove any decorations we wanted to keep, and it had to be done immediately post-event.  Does time for clean up need to be included in the hours you book?
    • Will there be members of the public onsite?  Will they need to move through your event space at all?
    • Will the person you work with during the planning process be onsite during your event?  It was important to me that the manager we worked with to set up our event be the person onsite in case there were issues.
    • What do they anticipate as a communication schedule and a payment schedule?  We booked our venue about a year out from our wedding but then didn't need to communicate anything with the venue until about 3 months out, when we finalized the menu, picked linen colors, went over room layout, etc.  It helped me go with the following knowing when things needed to happen.  It was also good to know that after the deposit, we didn't need to make any more payments until we confirmed out headcount.
    • At the same time, if you need to do tastings, when should those be done?  Are they included in your package or an extra cost?
    • If your guests are staying onsite, I'd also ask about check-in/check-out policies and see if you can pre-arrange early arrival and late departure if it would fit better with your schedule.
       I'm sure there's more but I remember asking (or asking my mom to ask) these.

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    lavenderfields13lavenderfields13 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Thanks Jaclyne, that's a great list! 
     




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    huskypuppy14huskypuppy14 member
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    edited January 2014
    Great list!
    • Make sure you ask about the bar. Is it included in your package, do they offer open or consumption or both.
    • Also, ask about when you can have a rehearsal (if you are having one).
    • Do you need to have security, or does the venue provide it? (Some of the venues we looked, you had to pay separately for a police officer.)
    • If you're having your ceremony at the same place as your reception, ask about the ceremony fee.
    ETA: Sorry the formatting is weird.

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    lavenderfields13lavenderfields13 member
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    more good ones, thank you!
     




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    AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    I haven't looked at it in a long time so I don't remember what's on there or if this even still exists, but I printed out questions from www.herecomestheguide.com to ask. 


    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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    BlueBirdMBBlueBirdMB member
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    I got price lists ahead of time.  Then I added up everything I would want and went through the list with them to see if I had missed any charges.  With all the venues besides the one we went with, there were tons more charges not listed and that I would have never thought of. 
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    abbyj700abbyj700 member
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    The hidden charges and vendor requirements are key. So many places we visited ended up admitting some strange and hidden charges. Our event planner was very specific to point out that with them - what you see is what you get - they don't have strange and random prices for no reason. They also had suggested vendors but were more than happy to accommodate anyone we'd like to bring in.
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
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    Also find out about:
    • Cake-cutting fees.  These can be very steep.  Get them removed if possible.  Also, get full disclosure of all fees charged.
    • What decorating you can do.  Are you allowed to bring in outside decorations?  Are you limited to theirs?
    • Accessibility for persons with mobility issues.
    • Placement of speakers and sound equipment.  You don't want any of your guests feeling sonic-blasted.  Also ask about noise policies.
    • Any requirements re photography?
    • If you're inviting children, does the venue have rules prohibiting their presence or restricting them?
    • If children are allowed, how can the venue accommodate them?
    • Make sure the venue understands not to put out tip jars or charge your guests for drinks.  And find out any other bar rules or restrictions; for example, if they close the bar before the end of the event.
    • Parking-what does it have in the way of facilities?  Valet parking?  Fees for parking (you need to cover these, not the guests).
    • Accessible by mass transportation?  Nearest bus stop/train station/cabs?
    • Your reception area needs to be available as soon as the ceremony is over.  Guests can't be required to stand around and wait anywhere.  This happened at my brother's wedding (this was due to a venue error; it was not his or my SIL's fault, but we had to keep standing around in a cramped area for about 20 minutes or so, which was not pleasant.  Some family photos were taken during that time, but the other guests all had to wait.)

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    lavenderfields13lavenderfields13 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Thank you everyone!
     




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