How to find and shortlist a wedding venue when you can't visit them all
Planning your wedding from outside Bundaberg? Here's how to narrow a long list of venues down to the few that are genuinely worth travelling to see.
Start with what cannot change
Before you open a single gallery, write down four things: your date or the season you want, your rough guest number, the region you are willing to marry in, and the figure you are actually prepared to spend.
Those four will eliminate more venues than taste ever will, and they do it in an afternoon rather than over months. A venue that cannot seat your guest list is not a ‘maybe’. A venue that is booked on your date is not a ‘maybe’. Clear the impossible ones while it still costs you nothing.
Be honest about the guest number in particular. It is the figure couples most often leave vague, and it is the one that quietly decides everything else, from the size of the room to the shape of the catering.
Know what photographs will not tell you
Every venue looks good in its own gallery. That is what a gallery is for. What it will not show you is:
The all weather marquee can be styled and set up to your requirements.
Scale. A wide lens makes a small room look generous and a large room look intimate. Ask for the dimensions of the reception space, not just its capacity. A measurement in metres is much harder to flatter than a photograph.
The walk between spaces. How far do guests move between the ceremony, drinks and dinner, and what is that walk like in heels, with a walking frame, or in the rain?
Sound. Hard surfaces and high ceilings can make speeches difficult to hear, which is the detail couples notice on the night and never in the photos.
What is actually included. Two venues can quote a similar figure and hand you very different days.
Most of this you can find out by email, which is exactly the point.
The email that can eliminate a venue in one reply
Send the same short message to every venue on your long list, then compare the replies side by side. Five questions is enough:
Five questions to ask before booking a venue inspection:
Is our date available?
What is the seated capacity, and what are the dimensions of the reception space?
Where exactly does the ceremony happen if it rains, and how long does the changeover take?
What is included in the hire fee, and what would we be sourcing ourselves?
Do you have a preferred supplier list, and are we required to use it?
The manner of the replies will tell you as much as their content. A venue that answers plainly and promptly on an ordinary Tuesday will be the same to deal with in the week of your wedding. One that takes eight days and answers three of your five questions has told you something useful too.
Treat the wet weather answer as a deciding factor
As the sun sets a golden glow extends across the gardens where guests will sit and enjoy cocktails, drinks and canapés while watching the colours of the afternoon change.
In Queensland this is not a formality. Ask whether the wet weather plan is permanent or hired.
A venue with a purpose-built, all-weather space has already made that decision on your behalf, and it does not cost you anything extra in a wet February. A venue that hires in a marquee if the forecast turns is asking you to make the call, usually at your own expense and usually with only a few days of warning. Make sure to get the answer in writing rather than in conversation.
At In The Grove, the reception is held in our permanent 10m x 15m all-weather marquee, so couples have the reassurance of knowing their reception space is already in place regardless of the forecast. We also work with our couples on wet-weather alternatives for the other parts of their day as part of the planning process.
Read the inclusions, not the price
A managed BYO bar can provide significant savings compared with purchasing beverages through a traditional venue drinks package.
Build a simple column for each venue: what is included, what you would source yourself, and what it would cost to fill the gaps. Ask specifically about tables, chairs, linen, glassware, cutlery, a co-ordinator on the day, and who handles the pack down.
This matters more for a regional wedding than a city one. A venue that co-ordinates catering, styling and suppliers for you is doing work you would otherwise be doing yourself from a distance, with suppliers you have never met. That is worth more than it appears on a quote.
It is also worth asking whether a venue can hold your ceremony and reception on the same site. Every transfer you remove is one less thing to organise, one less cost, and one less chance for the day to run late.
Shortlist three, then get on a call before you drive
The aptly named Kissing Tree is a favourite for couples to exchange their vows.
Once you are down to three, arrange a call before you commit a whole weekend to the trip. If you are in a more isolated town, we are happy to set up a video call and talk through everything about the venue, what you will need on the day, and which local vendors would be a good fit, all before you drive anywhere.
It is also worth asking each venue on your shortlist whether they can show you around on camera while you talk. Not every venue will, but the ones that can may save you a trip, and the willingness tells you something either way. If you can, ask to see the wet weather space, the bathrooms, the car park, and where the sun sits at your ceremony time.
Where to compare
A directory is a faster way to build and cut a long list rather than opening twenty browser tabs. Ever After Weddings publishes an independent directory of wedding venues in Queensland with capacities, styles and regions you can filter, so you can narrow to the venues that genuinely suit your guest number and your part of the state before you spend a single Saturday driving.
Then go and stand in it
Every list, this one included, is only a way of deciding which two or three places deserve your time. None of it replaces the moment you walk through a garden, look at where you would say your vows, and know that this is the place.
Narrow it down carefully, and you only have to make that drive once.