Once the wedding date of your son or daughter is finalized, the first thing to do is to identify and book a suitable venue. Good venues get booked very early and you may have to compromise by selecting a less-than-ideal venue.
Here are some pointers about selecting a good venue for your event:
Is this the right venue?
Capacity: I am sure you have a tentative guest count in mind. Shortlist the venues which can accommodate all your guests comfortably.
Availability: The venue has to be available on your event date. Sometimes people have made pencil bookings but if you are willing to commit with advance, many venue owners will allot the venue to you.
Flexibility: Do they allow you to bring your own decorator and caterer or you have to hire one from their fixed panel?
Cost Factors
There are several direct and indirect costs in hiring different venues. You must consider these before giving the final go ahead:
Cost of hiring the venue: This is one of the biggest cost head in addition to the catering cost. Check out what all costs are included in the basic cost. Specifically ask about additions like taxes and compulsory items like service charge.
Catering Costs: Some venues, especially hotels and clubs have in-house catering service. Some other venues have a preferred list of caterers from which you have to choose. Find out the cost of hiring the catering service for your wedding and related ceremonies, if you decide to use their services and check how different this is from the cost you would have incurred otherwise.
Decoration Costs: Find out the charge of decorations for your event, if the venue has in-house or empanelled decorators.
Electrical Costs: Do they charge a separate fixed or variable cost for the electricity consumption? How much?
Overtime Fee: some venues may have prescribed hours within which you have to hand over. They may charge a hefty amount for overtime occupancy.
Cancellation charge: What is their cancellation fee if you have to cancel the booking due to some unforeseen situation? This needs to be kept in mind too.
Logistics
Rooms and Restrooms: Do they provide extra rooms for storing things and for the bride and/or groom to get ready? Are these rooms chargeable?
The banquet hall should look modern and contemporary so that the guests feel energetic and excited while attending the party. You might also opt for some heritage property to give your functions a grand look.
If the main function is to be held in an open area, you have to decide keeping the weather – heat and rain – in mind.
Fire Exits: For closed areas, it helps to find out if there is a decent fire fighting arrangement and proper fire exits if an emergency evacuation is needed.
Parking Lot: A sizeable parking lot in or near the wedding venue is a necessity. The guests can get quite inconvenienced, even with valet parking, otherwise.
Security: A fat Indian wedding needs good security arrangement as the guests will be wearing expensive jewellery. There may be some celebrity guests also. It helps to have good CCTV monitoring and allied security arrangements.
Water Logging: If the event is to be held in rain-prone season, make sure that the area near the venue does not get waterlogged or else your event is bound to be badly spoiled. Verify that the venue entry area remains free of mud and slush despite heavy rain.
In the wedding of the daughter of one of my friends, a senior guest actually did not get down from the car at the entrance as it was mud-spattered. She was worried that the mud could spoil her very expensive designer lehenga and actually turned back from the entrance. You can imagine the embarrassment for both the host and the guest.
Travel facilities: Not all of your guests would come in private cars. Some would use the public transport. Is the place well connected by public transport? Can the guests get a vehicle for their return?
Wedding Cakes: Nowadays it is quite common to cut and serve a cake during the wedding reception. Will you need to buy the cake from the in-premise patisserie or you can get it from your favorite cake shop?
Bar: Does the venue house a licensed bar? Some places allow you to get your favorite drinks from outside and they will serve them at no extra cost. For others, you may be forced to buy the drinks from them only.
DJ: Music has become an integral part of most events. You may like to get a DJ to play your favourite background music to create a nice ambiance. Young and teenage children may even want to shake a leg and you will need to setup a dance area and ample capacity speakers. Check out the possibilities.
Lodging Facilities: You will need to book lodging arrangement for your outstation guests. Will you book rooms in the same hotel or a nearby hotel? Check the room quality and other arrangements like swimming pool, 24-hour coffee shop, Internet facility etc before you decide.
Dress Code: Some clubs have a strict dress code and the guests have to be intimated well in advance so that they can make suitable arrangement. For some places, the strict dress code may be the deal breaker.
This is only a guideline. You can come up with many more venue-specific questions when you actually visit a venue. Generally you tend to evaluate a few venues on different parameters before paying the deposit and confirming one.
If you have hired a wedding planner, he or she might be able to help you with lots of grunt work for the venue selection. She may even get you a booking in one of the prime property through her connection.
For the sake of convenience and ease of planning the other logistics of the marriage, check out WedPlan, the online wedding planning software for end to end planning and management. There is a small investment but it offers a very good Return on Investment.
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