Looking for that all important wedding venue is one of the first tasks
you will need to tackle when you start planning your wedding, and also one of the most important. Until you have your venue booked, it is hard to set a date for your wedding, to finalise your guests list, or to get an idea of what your theme might be. The first stage in selecting your wedding venue is to create a shortlist of potentials that you can arrange to visit.
There are three key factors which will determine the venues that make it onto your shortlist, and these are location, capacity, and cost. There may also be other reasons that are individual to you, which determine whether you visit a certain venue or not.
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Wedding venue location
Some couples know immediately the area in which they want to get married while for others it takes a little more thought. If both of your families along with most of your friends live in a certain place, it makes sense to choose a venue nearby. If your families live far apart, it is traditional to choose a venue near the bride’s family, but not all couples stick to this custom.
If you have friends and family scattered all over the place, you could make a list of your guests and their locations, and choose to marry in an area that would be convenient for the majority. You could also choose an area just because it has special significance for the two of you. Perhaps you met there, or had your first holiday together there. Once you have determined the area you want to get married, make a list of all the possible wedding venues in that area.
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Size of guest list
Making a rough guest list before you start looking at wedding venues is a great idea. You don’t want to fall in love with a venue only to find their maximum capacity is one hundred and you need to invite at least three hundred guests. You can always amend your guest list a little according to the venue you choose, but it is wise to have your ideal number of guests in mind when drawing up your shortlist. Cross off any venues that have a maximum capacity significantly less than your ideal number.
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Cost of wedding venue
There are always ways of reducing the cost of a wedding, such as holding it out of season or on a weekday. However, most venues have a fairly rigid price per guest in addition to room hire costs, so if that comes in way over your budget even on a Wednesday in July, you should take that venue off your shortlist. It’s good to have dreams, but you don’t want to picture yourself at your ideal wedding venue if you already know you can’t afford it.
Once you have arrived at a shortlist taking the above three factors 
into account, order the brochures for the venues on your list, or give them a call to get some more information. You and your fiancée may have very specific views on what you want in a wedding venue, and some factors may be deal breakers for you. Here are some of the other things you might want to find out about each venue before you finalise your shortlist.
- What style is the wedding venue?
- Does the venue offer accommodation or have deals with nearby hotels?
- Is the venue licensed for civil ceremonies?
- Does the venue offer wedding packages or can you use your own suppliers?
- Will you have exclusive use of the wedding venue?
If any of these factors are really crucial to you and your fiancée, use them to cut down your shortlist of wedding venues to the places that you definitely want to visit.