When it comes to planning the perfect wedding, nothing sets the tone or affects more pieces than finding the correct venue. The challenge is that there are thousands of questions to ask and things to look for, not to mention that someone else's perfect wedding venue might not be yours.
Start With the Basics
You, your fiancé, and family might need to discuss a few things before you start to look for a venue. While everyone's perfect wedding venue is a little different, there are some common threads about what makes them great.
We'd be lying if we didn't tell you that we thought the next step would be to hire a fantastic professional wedding planner( such as us at The French Bee Events). Not only will they help hold all the pieces together during your planning, but they'll also be invaluable from the beginning. Local planners typically know the features, capacity, and dos and don'ts of venues in the areas they serve. If you have specific wants, they can help guide you to places that might allow for those.
Where To Start Looking
There are hundreds of amazing wedding venues for you to choose from. A simple internet search can also offer you more options in the specific region you want or places of any particular style. While you're doing your research, it's important to ask many questions to best understand how your event will play out.
Things To Consider
Some of the main questions you will need answered:
Will the Venue accommodate the number of guest that you will have. You do not want it to be too small or too big.
Does the venue fee fit into your overall budget, Make sure that the fee doesn’t claim too large of a percentage so that it makes the other items in your budget feel tight.
Does the venue allow you to have they type of ceremony or reception that you want.
Does the venue help in creating the atmosphere that you want to feel at your wedding.
Are you allowed to have your wedding at the time that you want.
Is the venue opened for long enough for you to set up and take down.
Truthfully, no two wedding venues are ever the same. They all have different physical plans, catering options, and rules and regulations. So, don't be afraid to ask something you haven't seen mentioned on their information or heard them tell you on your site visit. Something as simple as bringing in your own caterer, providing your own liquor, or having candles might be a deal-breaker for you!
If you consider an unconventional wedding venue, there might be lots of new considerations, as opposed to a hotel or banquet hall. You might need to take parking into account, or the site might require the installation of a tent for your wedding reception.
One of our favorite things to do at The French Bee Events is to help couples find their perfect venue. We are one the on-site planners at Tryon Palace in New Bern and it has many different sites to choose from, but we also realize that the palace may not be the best fit for everyone. So we have extensive knowledge of most of the venues in Eastern North Carolina. Please contact us if you have any questions that we can help with.