questions to ask your wedding venue, before you book.
When you are gathering all of your information for your ideal southern wedding venue, there are a few things you will want to know ahead of time and a few questions you are going to want to ask each wedding manager.
First ask yourself
What is your ideal guest count? This obviously won’t be exact, but you are going to want to make sure you are spending your valuable time looking at places that can accommodate your ideal wedding size. Do you want an intimate wedding celebration that has a maximum of 50 guests or would you prefer a huge blow out with no restrictions to be over 200 guests?
What type of entertainment do you want? You don’t need to know who will be supplying the music at your wedding, but you should know if you want a DJ, wedding band or maybe both. Rules and space restrictions may apply so you’ll want to be sure you have an idea.
How formal do you want your dinner? Do you want a plated dinner, stations or more of a cocktail reception? This will play a roll in the type of wedding venue you want as well as how much space you need for tables.
second ask your wedding venue
Now that you have some of the most basic details of your ideal wedding celebration, here are the questions that you want to ask each event manager on property or at least verify what you may have found online:
What is the maximum guest count as it relates to {your type of entertainment} and {your type of formality}?
This means if you want a plated dinner with a seven piece live band, the venue will have a maximum amount of table space based on the average stage size for the band. You are going to need to keep the guest count in mind as you finalize your guest list to be sure you don’t over invite your capacity. There is nothing worse than realizing you’ve run out of room and it’s either too tight to be comfortable, you’ve surpassed the fire code or guests need to sit in other areas of your venue, feeling separated.
What is your average total spend as for {your guest count} wedding?
Now your venue may not know the total wedding spend that includes entertainment, florals, decor and transportation but they will always know the total spend for their portion. When you receive your food and beverage minimum, remember there are some extra fees that will apply, like for the bartenders, service charge and taxes. You really need to know how easy it will be to hit that minimum with your ideal guest count and what the total spend after fees usually is for your guest count. That helps you skip the guesswork and make sure you haven’t missed adding up any of the sometimes hidden fees.
Does the venue require anything from you or your planner?
For example, have you not thought about a planner, but they require a full service or day-of coordinator. Do the vendors you bring in need to show proof of insurance and do they have limited setup and breakdown restrictions? Can you only use vendors from their preferred list? These questions always help when building your vendor team, especially if you are selecting vendors who may not have been to the venue you want to select, they will want to know ahead of time if there will be any rules or restrictions they need to abide by.
Is there a noise ordinance or maximum event length? Is there an option to add time night of the event?
This will help you plan the outline timeline for your day. If you know you want to party late into the night or early morning, but your dream venue has an earlier cutoff than you hoped, an after party at a different location is always an option. Or can your band only play so loud to a certain point? Are you able to add time on the night of the event if everyone is having a fantastic time? What does that look like for your venue fees, bartender fees or your bar package? Keep in mind to follow up with your other vendors as well, do you get extra labor fee’s added if you are not out at the time you originally contract?
Bonus question for hotel wedding venues and room blocks -
We highly recommend that you make sure you understand the details and cut off date. Some hotels will do ‘courtesy blocks’ up to a certain number of rooms for couples hosting their wedding with them, which means you aren't responsible if those rooms don’t book. Some hotels will apply what is called ‘attrition.’ This means you are responsible for reaching a certain amount of revenue or room nights based on your contract. Be sure you understand what you are responsible for and what point you need to reach those minimums. As you are picking hotels for your guests to stay, keep in mind that not all guests have the same price point or value adds and most likely won’t all stay at the same location, if there are additional options.
I hope you find these wedding tips helpful when looking at Savannah wedding venues and really any wedding venue. As a former Director of Catering at country clubs and hotels, these are always the details I reviewed with my clients and ensured they understood what they were getting into before signing any contract. You are in the excited phase as you tour and although aesthetic is extremely important, these details are too, even if they aren’t as glamorous.
Check out this journal post where we chat about some of the small details that actually make a big impact on your wedding day.
