Deciding on a Wedding Venue

By: Rachael Blaylock



One of the most challenging, yet absolutely important aspects of your wedding is deciding on a venue. Having a wedding planner could help lay off some of the stress, but it is still a factor that must be handled early on in the process. The venue is just as important as the wedding dress, so you do not want to rush and put down a payment on a place that ends up being the complete opposite of what you envisioned.

Let’s take a look at how to decide on a venue.

First, what is your budget? How much are you willing to spend? This is important, because you do not want to start looking at venues before you know what your budget is. It is almost like looking for a car. It sucks to get excited about a luxury car with all of the gadgets you like, but it’s $20,000 over what you are willing to spend. Be smart, determine your budget, and then enjoy looking at places that you can actually afford.

Secondly, you must ask yourself, “what do I want?” Something that can help you pull ideas for your venue would be your wedding theme, which is typically number one for most brides. However if you have not decided on your wedding theme, your wedding dress could inspire you depending upon the style and make of it.

Okay, so you have a budget and an idea of what type of venue you would like, but you have no clue where to start looking. There are tons of websites, as well as bridal shows and boutiques that are partnered up with many different vendors. With all of the options use your resources. It would most likely help to go to a bridal show to help you pull together some ideas. Also you may meet a few vendors that have venues throughout the Atlanta area that will stay within or beneath your budget. Pick up some business cards and start networking. Keep in mind not to spend too much time on this part of the process, because lots of venues have waiting lists.

Now, that wasn’t so bad was it? Well, there’s actually more to picking a venue. When deciding on a venue, factor in things like the weather and location. If your venue is open exposing the great outdoors ,don’t forget back up plans. Speak to the owner of the space and discuss options to combat mother nature in case it rains. Also if you are having a Winter wedding, make sure that the place is properly insulated, so your guests won’t be shivering the entire time. For location if you decide to have your wedding ceremony at a church and the reception at a venue ,make sure that the distance is reasonable for you and your guests. Basically location is key, so make things easy for you and the party.

All of the little things matter, so anything that you can think of to make your wedding venue compliment your big day do it!

As you have probably gathered, picking a venue is more than just about how it looks. Cost, structure, and location are all key. For my brides or soon-to-be brides out there, please comment below in the comment section about other things that you think are important for deciding on a venue.

Happy hunting!

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