The Venue Hunt: 6 Tips to Help You Find "The One"

What an exciting part of the wedding planning process: choosing the exact when and where you will get married! As Ben and I are getting closer and closer to finding our special space, I thought I'd share a few tips and resources that have been helpful to us on our way!

FIRST, Dream + Research = List

Imagine your big day. Then reimagine it again. And again and again. Scour pinterest and wedding blogs and start compiling ideas. Then look back: are there and consistencies or themes in what you've chosen? Maybe 80% of the ceremony pictures you've collected are outdoors. Maybe all of the wedding cakes you've pinned have floral embellishments. Maybe all of those first dance pictures you've saved are happening in the middle of a spot-lit wood floor in a brick-walled room.

Consider if there are any special places from your history as a couple or as individuals. Maybe your favorite date night restaurant hosts events and receptions. Maybe you had your first kiss after going to the symphony together. Maybe you grew up on a farm and want to incorporate that into your wedding. It's the personal considerations and details that will really make your big day special.

Taking all of these things into account, start looking for specific venues around town online. Find them on wedding blogs and websites, photographers' portfolios, or google searches. Ask around at work for recommendations and recruit your fiancee to do the same. Make a list...

THEN, Make Your List a Spreadsheet

Do as much online research as you can for all of the places you're considering and place all of the information into a table or spreadsheet. This makes it easy to view all of the info and compare side by side.

Consider...

• Capacity
• Availability
• Fee
• Inclusions
• Exclusions
• Pros
• Cons
• Distance

I've uploaded a really basic venue table document to help you begin to organize all your thoughts on each venue. Plug in the information available online and your own opinions of whether or note each location matches your aesthetic.

Download it here!

NEXT, Narrow It Down

Look at your options, your budget, and your thoughts. Highlight and block out in red any venues that are immediately too expensive or not a good fit for your wedding needs. Once you've narrowed it down slightly, determine which remaining places you need to contact to get more information before deciding if you want to schedule a tour.

During this step, I found it helpful to start fresh with a new grid exclusively for my most recent top venue-picks. Keep your original to look back at incase something doesn't pan out, but keep things visually-organized by minimizing what's on the current page you're working with.

NOW, Reach Out

Fill in any missing information by shooting the venue a quick email with your basic questions. Many venues don't have fees listed online, so decide which spaces are your priority and reach out to get the basics down.

Request info packets from your priority venues and save them in your desktop wedding folder. I'd also recommend printing them out to highlight and color code important information. For example:

• Highlight package names and prices in green
• Highlight important information, included items & services, or "pro's" ("100 chairs," "coordinator provided," "350 people capacity") in yellow
• Highlight all restrictions, limitations, or "con's," ("exclusive caterer," "no confetti," "available March-October") in orange

This system makes it really easy to quickly scan through and see what is all provided by each venue.

THEN, Create a Tour Worksheet

Rule out any obvious "no's" and then create and fill out a tour worksheet, leaving ample space to both fill out all of the information and add in questions as you go. Print out your worksheet and look it over. Fill in the information from your emails and packets by hand in a black pen, and plan to bring a different color on your tour day to differentiate between what is written down and what you were told in person. I also recommend highlighting questions that you are not able to answer from the info packets so that it's quick and easy to see what you're missing when you're on the spot during your tour.

Make your own or use the one I've made!

Download it here!

FINALLY, Schedule Your Tour

After all this organizing you'll get to go see the space for yourself, and you'll be prepared for the task! Enjoy seeing the space and envisioning your day with your beau! Take lots of pictures and videos; not only are they useful in making your final decision, but it'll be special to look back on these tours as one of the first steps in your life together.

Happy hunting! Xoxo!