For most couples, the wedding reception venue will be the biggest cost on their wedding day.
Everyone looks at the menu, drinks packages and the look of the venue but there are lots of things that can really make or break your wedding that you need to know before you book. Some of these things are often hidden from brides and grooms until the week of the wedding, so it is important that you ask the questions BEFORE you book.
Question 1:
Who is the venue manager going to be on the day of your event
You have probably dealt with the Function manager in your pre-sales relationship with the venue. Sometimes the Function manager will also be your event manager, quite often they just do sales and won’t even be there on the day of your event so it is important that you meet the venue manager and that you are comfortable with them, they are the person you will be dealing with on the day of the wedding. Also ask them how long they’ve been working at the venue, some venues are based around sales and may shuffle venue managers around, generally the best venues retain their managers for years, if not decades. Beware of grumpy or irate managers!
Question 2:
Are there any noise restrictions?
This is a huge problem that many venues don’t inform customers of. It’s purely selfish on their behalf as they have had the council put restrictions on the noise levels due to neighbours complaints and they know they will lose bookings if they tell clients up front. This is very prevalent in destination venues and restaurants that have been refitted as wedding venues without proper fit outs to soundproof the venue. There are ways to work around some levels of noise restrictions, but anything under 130 dB with a band probably won’t cut it. Some venues have restrictions to 100dB, which is the noise level of people talking loudly!
There are ways to change the entertainment around to deal with noise restrictions, but I would recommend that you choose another venue if the restrictions are under 130 decibels to give you the most options for entertainment, even if you are opting for an iPod.
Question 3:
What are the additional fees?
Always ask what their additional fees are, it is quite often better to go with a venue that has higher up front costs than to pick one that has cheaper packages but charges for anything extra. Paying an extra $5/head for the wedding cake to be cut up adds up with 200 guests!
Question 4:
Can you use the suppliers you want?
Some venues tell you that you MUST use their suppliers and make up all kinds of stories as to why. Sometimes it is because they want you to use good suppliers as it makes their weddings run smoothly. More often it is because they get kickbacks from the suppliers and they use that to supplement their profits from the weddings.
Firstly, its illegal for the venue to require you to use their providers in Australia. If they are concerned then they can require your providers to supply the necessary documentation for OH&S reasons, which any good supplier will have.
Secondly and more importantly, it displays that the venue tries to strong arm customers which is a warning sign for later down the track if you want to change other parts of your wedding reception. Last thing you want is an antagonistic relationship with the venue.
Question 5:
Tell me more about your favourite past weddings here?
You want to find out if the venue is passionate about putting on amazing weddings or if they are just going through the motions to service their mortgage. There is nothing wrong about a venue that just wants to draw a wage, but a passionate venue will pull out all the stops to make your wedding unique and put in the extra work to cater to your vision and make recommendations.
Hope that gives you a few questions to help you find a wedding reception venue!
Daniel Toop