Selecting Your Wedding Venue

Hey beautiful readers. 

With December being the most popular month of the year for engagements, many couples are now a few months in and facing the task of beginning their wedding planning process. 

Aside from the number one critical step of setting a budget, the first thing you should be thinking about as you transition into planning mode is selecting your wedding venue. This is a great place in the process to begin consulting a planner. Talking with a planner at this stage gives you a much more realistic place to start, and narrows down your need to travel to 20 different places.  Generally, we have an understanding of the layouts and capabilities of spaces to guide you in the right direction. 

But why is the venue the most important “vendor” to select, and first? 

The first reason is availability. Venues and vendors are booking out further in advance than ever as a result of the post-pandemic era. The sooner you contact your venue, the higher likelihood of them having availability in your desired time frame. 

What time of year do you want to get married? “Peak” wedding season definitely varies by state, and you should also consider the weather you want to enjoy on that day. Jacksonville, for example, peak season is October - April, and that applies to most of Florida. That means those months usually book out the fastest. Most venues I've visited in just the first month of this year are almost full for October and November already and have opened up spring booking for 2025. 

Do you have a dream venue in mind? If you have had your eyes set on a particular venue, it is NEVER too early to lock down a date and put in a deposit. 

But what about those couples that don’t have a dream venue? How do you begin the search for such an important piece of your wedding? 

Bringing Your Vision to Life 

The venue sets the tone and vibe of the entire day, so there’s a lot to consider. Whether you want a rustic ranch vibe or black tie gala, the venue is the stage for bringing that vision to life from the minute your guests arrive on site. Are you looking for the outside scenery to accompany your day, or convert a beautiful room with brick walls into a gorgeous ceremony oasis? Consider the capability of the indoor and outdoor space each venue provides and the setting you envision your wedding taking place in. 

Your Guest List

You might not have an exact number right off the bat, but having a good understanding of the amount of people you want in attendance significantly affects the venue options you have to choose from. 

A venue that can hold “up to 200 people” might be able to hold that many guests, but how tight are they sitting at the tables, and how much room does that leave you for a dancefloor?”. Max guest capacity does not always correlate to ideal guest experience. If you want maximum dancefloor space, a venue that you are not maxing out capacity on may be more ideal. 

Another component here and this may be an unpopular opinion, but you do not need to select a venue for it’s ease of travel and accommodations for your guests.

Is it a nice thing to do, yes. It is helpful in ensuring your guests have an easy time attending your wedding, yes. But you should NOT be planning your wedding around anyone but YOU. This has been a central theme in my blogs, and is very central to The Calm Bride Experience, but it really applies here. If you read most other blogs, they will tell you to consider airports or train stations, times of year that travel is cheaper, a place with more hotel options… the list goes on. I am here to tell you that if you find a venue you love, book it. Your guests will come. 

What’s Included? 

Each venue will have a slightly different list of what is included in their rental packages, and of course, what’s also available for you to add on. If you go with a hotel or country club, there is a high likelihood that catering and bar offerings will come from in-house. This is a huge plus for eliminating outside vendors and having an in-house service staff, with gratuity typically included in the total fee. 

There is a slight negative to this for couples who want to do a late night snack or if the girls want breakfast, most of these venues will not allow outside food or beverage; however most if not all will make whatever you ask for for those types of additional consumption times. 

Whether the venue you chose offers catering and bar service or not, there is a 99% chance they have SOMETHING to offer you in the rental. Most places here in Jacksonville have standard round or rectangular tables, ceremony chairs, and flatware. Some offer extensive catalogs of rental items going as far as linens, neon signs, candles, arches, chargers and so much more! Be sure to ask each venue for a full list of everything they offer so you have a clear understanding of what you will have to go find someone else to provide. 

Budget Budget Budget 

This was the number 1 thing you should’ve done as you got engaged and began planning. So at this point, as you are searching for venues, ensure you are making accurate calculations that include time or space rentals, taxes and fees, service charges and add ons. Your total budget is significantly affected by the service

charge and gratuity fees if they are included in your package price. Be sure you are estimating and tracking your budget to include those additional fees. 

What’s Going On Around You? 

This is a factor that does not affect every couple, so it may not apply to you. Each venue “type” will have a specific level of privacy offered to you and your guests. A private barn that you are getting ready at will bring zero outside people other than those involved in your wedding day, a country club will bring minimal guests depending on the season and time of day you are getting married. A hotel or beach however, may be much more open to the public and allow for other people to pass through as you are moving throughout the venue or traveling from ceremony to reception etc. If the consideration of interacting with “outside people” or strangers on your wedding day doesn’t bother you, than this isn’t a factor you need to consider in your decision. For me however, this was actually the number one thing I looked for - I wanted as little outside interaction as possible while still chasing my simple elegant vision and grand room setting; my goal was achieved. 

Go See Them! 

While this part of wedding planning may seem overwhelming, there is so much joy in visiting venues and exploring their potential with your partner. 

The Calm Bride Experience includes a detailed questionnaire to bring to each venue visit, and a LONG list of spaces to consider with their basic information to use as a starting point. Reach out today to see if this is the right planning partnership for you, and we can start exploring some local spots! 

Whoever it is, grab your planner, and get to touring! You truly have no idea what some of these places have to offer until you’re standing on the grounds! 

Happy belated valentines day to all, 

XOXO

Alyssa