Weddingbee Blog

ragmented venue searching tips. Take heart, my brides- and grooms-to-be! It does get easier once your venue is nailed down.

Pre-Steps

• All of the below steps are assuming you, as a couple, have already talked about and agreed upon the overall atmosphere and vision for your event, ballpark guest count, and budget.
• Read up on articles such as those listed here on about.com.

Step 1a - [Gather]

[image via fotosearch.com]

• Go sit in your local Barnes & Noble or other behemoth bookstore (the bigger, the better selection of wedding porn, it seems), and peruse their wedding magazines for venue listings and ideas. Some local magazines will sometimes be about half full with just venue listings. Invest in a few magazines.
• Some excellent Southern California web resources, which are a great place to start:
  • Here Comes the Guide (separate guides for Northern and Southern California)
  • Splendora (guides also available for San Francisco and New York)
  • labridezilla.com
• National web resources:
  • Gathering Guide
  • The Knot’s local guides
  • WeddingChannel’s local guides
  • Party Pop
• Search your local message boards on The Knot and WeddingChannel. I repeat, use the search function first, lest you get flamed by brides that have been around the boards awhile and been asked vague venue questions one too many times. Once you start honing in on what you want (have an idea of guest count, budget, neighborhood, type of atmosphere, examples of places you have in mind, etc.) then you could ask for specific recommendations and for personal experiences with places that you are fancying.
• Google is your friend. Try Googling for local wedding sites and forums. Two great local guides/forums that I happened to find, although I was not looking to get married in either locale:
  • San Diego Weddings
  • Santa Barbara Wedding Guide
• Try local government, park, and historical sites. For SoCal, try the following:
  • Orange County Parks and Beaches
  • Los Angeles County Parks and Beach
  • Los Angeles Conservancy’s Historic Sites for Special Events.
• Start asking around. Friends who are active on the wedding attendance circuit, family, coworkers (but beware of this as they might assume they will be invited), parents’ friends, friends’ parents, etc. One unexpected source I came across was at work. When some of my clients noticed my ring, they’d often ask if I had a date and a place yet. When I mentioned I didn’t have a venue, they’d often suggest the place that was most memorable to them out of the weddings they’d been to. I gathered quite a few great venues this way. One caveat, though. I work very closely with my clients and have an almost personal relationship with a few, so I let them bring it up while “catching up” before getting down to business. I cut the wedding talk short and got back to business ASAP, usually. People are often happy to volunteer suggestions on how/where/what/how big/how formal your wedding should be, anyway, so jot them down or take mental notes.
• Think meaningful to you [both] - The church either or both of you grew up in or attend, your favorite restaurant, the restaurant where he proposed, at the hotel where you stayed during a vacation together, a chapel or other event venue at your alma mater (often very affordable rates for alum).
• Think out of the box - Parks, a family member/close friend’s/your own home, museums, amusement parks, university clubs, corporate event spaces, zoos, aquariums, and other places can make for a unique, memorable event.

Step 1b - [Gather Details]

As you are compiling your list, look up venues’ websites and/or call them. Oftentimes, they have basic packages/sample contracts posted online or will email them to you with no further obligation or solicitation on their part, so you can see if they provide what you need and are within your budget.

Step 2 - [Hunt]

[image via arcadestreet.com]

• As in pound the pavement. Hard. There really is no replacement for actually seeing and experiencing a place in person. I know destination weddings are on the rise, and many people also plan weddings from far away while in school, working, or living out-of-state, but this is something you almost have to do in person. At the very least, send a local friend or family member (assuming you have one in town with the time and willingness to do so) to check out one to a few venues.
• Just walk the space and take in general, overall impressions first. Trust your instincts.
• Walk through another time, if time and venue regulations allow. It’s nice to walk around the space without an employee with you, if possible, too.
• Don’t be afraid to ask any and all questions, even if you think it’s a dumb question. This is probably the first (and hopefully the last) time you’ll be doing this, so of course you’ll have questions.
• Take copious [or not, depending on if you're anal and forgetful like me] notes either while there or as soon as you get back in the car.
• Get any printed information they have, including minimum amounts, sample contracts, restrictions, samples menus, event time frames, etc. There are quite a few good lists out there with questions to ask site coordinators/representatives that you can take with you as well. However, most good venues’ representatives often answered most of my questions either during the tour, spiel, or in their printed materials.
• Take digital photos, if allowed. This helped me to look back and remember things I did and didn’t like about venues.
• If you don’t have time to do this and have the budget to hire a coordinator or at least afford some a la carte services, it might be good to have them gather and suggest a list of venues for you.
• Get a list of available dates. On this note, don’t completely have your heart set on a date until you find a venue. It usually works best to find a place that you love and see which of their available dates works for your timing. If you’re far out enough from your special, meaningful, or otherwise “have to have” date, you may be able to specify date.

This is the most time consuming and potentially frustrating part of the process. One special challenge for us, personally, was hunting between two sprawling Southern California counties as we were open to quite a wide radius due to spread out friends and family. We found our venue about three months into our engagement, and two months of that was spent actively visiting places about 6 out of 8 weekends. Yes, we [I] am nuts.

Step 3 - [Cut]

[via Coe&Waito blog]

Your [paper or e-paper] list, that is. Usually, by this time (and sometimes waaaay earlier), it becomes pretty clear. When I found my venue, I knew it was The One. I didn’t feel this way about my dress or a few other things brides feel this way about, but I did about my venue.

Hang in there. You’ll find a place.