Reception venues

[Hughto]

Now it's time for me to actually start planning! Wahoo! And boy, I feel like I know nothing about weddings all of a sudden. I figured as soon as the ring came that I would be good to go and breeze right through everything. HA!

Anyway, I am going to be planning my wedding 4 hours from where I am currently living. I have a vacation in August when I will be going to look at reception venue options. To help me prepare, what are important things that I should be asking the venues and looking into?

TIA!

[StaceyG]

the bar situation....
dance floor space.....
extra costs such as desserts and coffee bar.........

[Diane]

The minimum number of guests you need to guarantee, as well as the maximum number of guests the location will accomodate.
Cost per person (including the costs for children and vendors)
Any "add-ons" and their costs
What hours you can have the facility for
Table arrangements--how many guests per table?
How much of deposit is needed to hold the room, and when additional payments would be due?
Do they have a list of "preferred" vendors? If so, do they charge extra if you decide not to use one of those vendors?
Do they provide centerpieces or can you bring your own?
Can you do a tasting to make sure the food tastes good?
Tax, gratuities

That is all I can think of off the top of my head.

[Hughto]

Fabulous! Thank you so much!

I feel really stupid when it comes to the reception for whatever reason. This is the one thing I don't think I get!

[Kari]

Since you are planning from far away, it is in your interests to see if you can find an all inclusive venue. The one we chose includes officiant, ceremony space, reception space, catering, waitstaff, bar, DJ, cake, etc. It has really made things so easy for us since we ARE so far away.

Plus, usually, those kinds of places do nothing but weddings. Because of that, they have it down to a science!!

[Hughto]

Now, are there any basic questions I should be thinking of? I honestly am serriously clueless, so any and everything you can think of will really help me. Like would I bother to ask a place that does their food if I could use an outside caterer? Or, there is the cost per person, but is there also a venue fee that I need to find out about? I really am clueless!

[mrrr]

Yes, you can ask about using an outside caterer. My venue does their own catering but allows for an outsider to come in, they just can't use the kitchen. Find out about all fees. Usually there is a rental fee for using the space that night. If they are doing the catering there is usually a cost per plate. You may also want to find out about cancellation policies and restrictions. One place I looked at didn't allow open flames, balloons, or confetti.

[PurpleFlower]

Truely I had no idea what to ask the first couple of times I met with places but They know what to do and tell so it went perfect. I would say for me the questions I asked were

Price to rent room
Dance floor (price/included)
Decorations( what is included and what can you do)
Bar ($ to set up and meet)
Security needed?
Certain caterer needed
Can you take the leftovers after?
Cancellation policies
mmm I might think of more later if I do I will post them for you!