With a ring on your finger, a giddy smile on your face and a well-researched budget in hand, it’s time to book your wedding reception venue. You might want to run to the bridal boutique right away to find your dream wedding dress but it’s essential to look into your reception venue first—venue logistics can be complex and will take the greatest portion of your budget, from 40%-60% and up. In addition, the other decisions you will make in regards to catering, decor, and entertainment rely on what is viable at your reception venue. Do not leave this for the last minute!

The Wedding Date

If you have a specific date and time in mind, it’s imperative that you book your reception venue at the beginning of your planning. One year to eight months in advance should be ample time to secure a summer wedding date. If you are flexible with dates and times, you may not need to book so much in advance. Alternately, the spring and early fall months are becoming popular of late as well as non-traditional luncheons, Sundays, and weekday evenings.

The Style of Venue

Hotels, banquet halls, golf & country clubs and community/cultural centres are the more traditional and popular wedding reception choices and can accommodate medium to large parties (100 – 300+ people). Venues such as private clubs, museums, art galleries, restaurants and outdoor locales are options for smaller weddings. Whether large or small, think about the ambience you want for your wedding; do you envision formal or casual, traditional or unconventional, opulent or rustic. If you want the ceremony and reception at the same location, ask the venues if this is possible. Some locations can provide separate areas or rooms for these two purposes.

Guest Count

When approaching reception venues for that first point of contact, make sure you have a few key pieces of information decided upon. “Knowing your numbers is one of the key things to come to your venue with when making your first inquiries,” advises Jennifer Jones, Wedding, Proposal and Special Event Manager for the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. “You may fall in love with a venue that can’t accommodate your guests and then have to cut back guests or look at another venue.”

Know Your Catering Needs

You will need to inform your venue about the type of food and beverage service you anticipate. Do you want a cocktail hour with canapes and signature drinks? Plated service, a buffet, or food stations for the main meal? A dessert table or late night snacks? And how about a hosted open bar? You should also know if you need special dietary options; the Fairmont Hotel group, for example, has a new program called Lifestyle Cuisine Plus that offers special menus for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and diabetic concerns.

Beverage Service

You may have heard horror stories of a newlywed couple receiving an unexpectedly gigantic bar tab at the end of the night, the consequence of fun-loving guests and an open bar. If you understand the cost calculations involved in bar services, you can better decide your options. Hopefully, your honeymoon budget doesn’t end up going to the bar tab.

“Usually we budget about three drinks per person plus wine with dinner. Depending on your group, you may get a credit at the end or a bit of an amount owing because your group drank a little more than expected,” explains Jones. “We also try to get a feel from the couple [at the beginning] because they know their guests but you want to add a little over that, just so there’s no surprises.”

Venues Without In-House Food & Beverage
Venues such as museums and art galleries, community and cultural centres, outdoor facilities, and smaller vineyards may not offer catering so you will have to book a caterer separately. Oftentimes, venues have preferred caterers they can suggest to you if you don’t already have one in mind.

Reception Entertainment

As wedding reception entertainment is becoming increasingly popular, special technical or spatial considerations may need addressing. Think about what kind of reception entertainment you want to incorporate into the reception. Inform your venues of these ideas (such as multimedia presentations, performers, kid-friendly activity areas) to make sure the venue is able to facilitate these.

Venue Wedding Packages and Customization

Most venues offer set packages with different price points. If a venue’s set packages don’t contain exactly what you want, most gladly customize their offerings to suit your vision, with price adjusted accordingly. Many also have a list of preferred vendors that they often work with and you may be able to save money on decor rentals or food and beverage by enlisting those vendors. Venues also may have linens or furniture as value-adds or for a discounted rental fee. “Check with your venue to see what things you can use without charge. Check the value-adds. If you are using their tableware and cutlery, maybe they’ll throw in chargers,” advises David Yanchuk, principal decorator with PartyArt Decor & Design. “It never hurts to ask.”

Go Forth and Conquer

Once you you are ready with information regarding your preferred wedding date, ambience, guest count, catering and beverage and entertainment, you’re ready to approach your prospective venues. If have concrete information for them at the outset, they are better equipped to provide a more accurate estimate of their services and costs. Just like establishing your wedding budget, the more decisions, thought and research you have done, the more realistic (and hopefully more smooth) your experience will be when looking for your perfect wedding reception venue.

Recap: Wedding Venue Do’s and Don’t's

Do

• Establish your guest list numbers first. There is a significant difference between 50 and 75 guests for a wedding reception.
• Budget 20% extra in case of emergencies
• Ask about value-adds and their preferred vendors
• Ask about catering and beverage options
• Ask about reduced room rates for you and your guests if you’re considering a hotel venue or reduced rates at nearby partnering hotels.

Do Not

• Book your venue at the last minute
• Book your venue too early (You never know, you may change your mind about decor and numbers if you book more than a year in advance.)
• Make your initial enquiries to venues without a budget