What to Look For In A Wedding Venue

We’re experts in outdoor wedding furniture hire so we’ve been involved in a lot of weddings. A wedding, be it your own or a relative’s or even a close friends’ can be one of the most important days of your life. Many people want their wedding to be a well organised and memorable event and although it can be a stressful time leading up to the day of the event it is sure to be worth all the hassle. There are a number of important things to remember when organising your own or a friend’s wedding and while some are just as important as the others, two crucial things you need to consider are your overall budget for the wedding and your choice of wedding venue.

By allocating yourself a budget you will be able to effectively section off all aspects of the wedding and give them a budget limit. It is also a great way to find out how to best spread out your finances, and may save time and stress when considering venue hire and staff fees later on. When deciding on a venue for your wedding, there are a few things to consider that will save you time and effort, as a well organised, well presented venue will make the event more prominent in the memories of the wedding guests.

Availability of Venue and Accommodation

Before you even look at the proposed venues, check that their schedules are free for the dates you have planned for the wedding, and that accommodation on site or nearby is available. There is no point in even seeing the venue if they cannot do the arranged dates for your wedding.

Accommodation is less important but still crucial as your venue may have accommodation on site, but depending on the location of your venue there may be hotels or guest houses nearby that have rooms free on the available dates, so it is good to check around before deciding!

Hidden Costs and Insurance

When considering a venue make sure to enquire what is included and what is excluded from the cost. Make sure to check whether drinks, service or any additional taxation charges are included in the cost and try to get everything down in writing.

It is important to check whether or not the venue has insurance, as if not you may need to cover the cost of insuring the venue during the wedding dates should anything occur.

Location, Capacity and Style

It is imperative that your selected venue is the right size and style for your planned wedding. There is no point in booking a cosy, quaint little venue for an extravagant wedding that the entire family is going to attend. If you’re thinking of a village hall wedding but the venue doesn’t quite create the atmosphere you want, think about transforming it with furniture hire, If you are looking to hire a marquee for the wedding breakfast or to welcome guests ahead of the wedding reception you also need to consider the additional implications of whether the chosen venue has the size and space to accommodate it. Likewise, the style of the venue needs to be in keeping with the chosen theme of the wedding otherwise the themes will clash and overall the wedding may look sloppily organised or presented. If you think you’ve found the perfect location but aren’t too keen on its style, it’s always possible to transform a venue by hiring some furniture like these funky Lola sofas.

Ideal venues are those that are well kept but also plainly designed or accessorised which allows you as the wedding planner to use the space in ways that you see fit. However a downside to ‘one size fits all’ wedding venues is that it may require extra effort to design an extravagant wedding theme. One of our top style guide tips is to choose the theme of your wedding before you pick out a venue, as this will heavily affect your decision in the end.

Make sure that the location of your venue is not too far for many of the guests to travel. If you choose a countryside wedding venue that may be slightly off the beaten track, be prepared to print out taxi directions or to organise a group coach if necessary. Try to remember that although stately mansion houses are idyllic, practicality and location are also essential.

Wherever you choose to have your wedding, be it an old mansion house or your local village hall, Rio Lounge are on hand with a beautiful selection of outdoor wedding furniture hire to make your venue your own.