12 Things to Know Before Touring Your Wedding Venue

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Touring your wedding venue before completing the booking is vital.

You get to see what the place offers: the appearance and the atmosphere. Visiting the location also helps you explore and discover other things you may not know.

While choosing the right wedding venue is beneficial, it can also put you under severe pressure. But you can prevent this by planning well, having a fixed objective, and going in with a tour checklist.

Below, we discuss twelve things you should know before touring your wedding venue. With the tips in this article, choosing your wedding venue should be much easier.

Table of Contents

Wedding Venue Tour Checklist

Budget Ahead of Time

When searching for a wedding venue, ensure you search for the one you can afford.

Avoid touring any wedding venue that is not within your budget. You may become discouraged if you do when you discover you cannot afford it.

Before you begin your search, prepare a budget to know the amount available for the wedding venue. Then, get an accurate quote for the wedding venue to determine if it fits within your budget.

Make an Appointment

be happier at work when you make some friends there. Two colleagues having lunch in

Before going for a wedding venue tour, ensure you book an appointment.

Deciding to drive up to a venue without prior notice may end in disappointment when no one is available to attend to you.

To save yourself the trouble, schedule your visit in advance.

Remember to ask for directions and specific landmarks when you call to schedule an appointment. You can also use a GPS or look up the location online.

Ensure you schedule at least an hour for each tour to give you enough time to explore what each venue has to offer.

Venues tend to schedule tours to accommodate current events and weddings, which may not be ideal for you.

Some wedding venues only give tours during business hours from Monday to Friday.

What Should I Look for in a Wedding Venue?

No matter the size of your ceremony or your budget, there are certain things to look for in your ideal wedding venue.

Consider the capacity, parking, bathrooms, lighting options, and whether there are separate areas for the bridal and groom parties to get ready.

How Long Do Venue Tours Take?

A wedding venue tour can last about 20 minutes to an hour. However, it depends on how much of the wedding venue you want to explore.

If your wedding venue is on an extensive property like a private estate or a farm, you may need an additional hour or two for the tour.

What Is Most Important When Selecting a Wedding Venue?

Choosing wedding date with pen writing heart on paper calendar

Finding out the available dates of a venue is most important when selecting a wedding venue.

Since most wedding venues book 12-24 months in advance, your desired date may not be available. If the date you want is unavailable, there is no need to continue with the tour.

However, you can choose to be flexible with the date and book a weekday wedding or an off-season event. Also, when you select a date, ensure the venue can meet your requirements.

Remember to Take Notes

When you go for a wedding venue tour, remember to take notes.

Getting everything in writing as you talk to a venue representative allows you to keep track of the essential aspects of the conversation.

When it is time to sign the contract, use your notes to review every detail to ensure everything is satisfactory before signing.

Take Plenty of Pictures

You will most likely visit several different locations when you go for a wedding venue tour. So, to help you remember everything, take pictures of the various sites.

You can also make a video and note your likes and dislikes of each venue. Taking pictures or videos makes it easy to compare the different wedding venues you toured.

What to Wear to a Wedding Venue Tour

The staff at the wedding venue will generally have no issues working with you regardless of your outfit.

However, certain venues may have dress codes. So, before you visit a venue, you may need to check if it has a dress code.

Otherwise, you can wear whatever you want for a wedding venue tour. But, remember to wear comfortable shoes.

Remember to Ask Questions

When you take a wedding venue tour, remember to ask questions.

Asking questions is an ideal way to learn more about each wedding venue. It will also help you learn more about the features and amenities of the wedding venue you are yet to see.

Asking the tour guide questions will give you an overview of each wedding venue before deciding which one best suits you.

Asking questions helps you become familiar with each location and makes it easy to make your selection.

What Should I Ask My Event Venue?

As we already mentioned, asking questions is essential to a wedding venue tour.

Making a list of questions before visiting the site will ensure you do not omit anything.

Just married couple walking by the beach

Here are questions you can ask when touring a wedding venue.

Will the venue be available on my desired date?
How far in advance can I make reservations?
Will there be multiple events at the location on the same day?
Is there a limit for decorations?
Will your staff assist in setting up decorations, and in what capacity?
What is the current capacity of the venue?
Will I be allowed to rearrange the venue setup?
How many bathrooms are available?
Do you allow flame candles?
Do you have adequate parking?
Will valet parking be available?
Will you charge my guests for parking?
Do you have noise restrictions?
Does the rental fee cover any additional service?
Do you require a deposit? How much is it?
When do I have to pay?
What is the cancellation policy?
Is there an in-house caterer? If so, do you include food and beverages in the rental fee?
If you do not have a caterer, can we bring ours, or do we choose from an approved list?
Can I come with my cake?
Do you charge a cake-cutting fee?
Do you have a liquor license?
Can we bring alcohol to the property? If we can, is there a corkage or service fee?
Does the venue have an alcohol limit?
Does the wedding venue have a sound system?
Do you have an approved vendor list?
Can I hold both my ceremony and reception at the venue?
Is there a changing area at the venue?
How early can we arrive at the venue?
How late can we stay at the venue?
Do you have a backup plan for if it rains or snows?
Can you show me the different packages available?

Ask for an Accurate Quote

When you go for a wedding venue tour, ensure you get an accurate quote that gives you a full breakdown of the venue’s cost.

These quotes will include several factors like when you want to host the event, the number of expected guests, and more.

A detailed quote will help determine if the wedding venue fits your budget. Remember to ask how much the deposit is and if there are any payment plans.

Do Not Wait Too Long to Make Your Final Decision

Although making the ideal decision for you and your partner is essential, you still need to avoid waiting too long to decide on the venue.

Wedding venues can become unavailable, especially during certain times of the year.

If you wait too long to make your selection, you risk losing your reservation. Before you conclude the tour of your selected wedding venue, make inquiries about waiting lists.