When visiting potential wedding venues for the first time, it’s incredibly easy to become overwhelmed. Wedding venues are designed to be spectacular; to create a “wow” factor that takes your breath away – which can mean that you overlook the smaller, more intricate considerations that will influence how suitable a venue can be.
In order to ensure that your venue truly meets your needs – rather than just offering a beautiful setting – below, we’ve detailed the four often-overlooked aspects you will need to keep in mind when visiting any venue you are considering for your wedding.
The hospitality staff
When hiring a venue, it’s important to remember that you’re ideally looking for more than just the structure itself – you’re also hiring the people who work at that venue. High-quality venues such as Clevedon Hall provide hospitality staff to help manage your entire event, which can make a massive difference to your wedding planning experience. It’s always worth asking the venue for information on the assistance their staff are able to provide, if possible, requesting to see photographs of the events that have previously been held on the site.
The photography opportunities
No wedding would be complete without incredible photography, so it’s important to remember that the venue has a significant role to play in this regard. A good venue should provide a range of different areas that are perfect for wedding photography; design elements such as staircases, archways, and outdoor floral displays can really help to enhance photographs by providing a little extra interest in the background of each shot.
The nearby accommodation
While some guests will attend your wedding and then return to their home that evening, this is unlikely to be an option for guests who do not live close to the venue. As a result, it’s always worth checking to see if there are hotels or B&Bs close to the venue, so that if guests want to stay over, they have plenty of option to do so. If the options are limited, you’ll need to inform guests of this beforehand so they can make plans that suit their own preferences.
The network coverage
We live in an ever-more connected world, so checking network coverage at a potential venue is a step worth taking, and all the more so if you are intending to create a social media hashtag specifically for your big day. First and foremost, check the mobile signal for your network; you’ll want this to be sufficient for your guests to be able to make calls if they wish to do so. If the signal is weak, it’s worth including a note on your invitations to explain this, so your guests know what to expect. Secondly, you’ll need to think about interconnectivity; ideally the venue will provide Wifi, but if this is not available, you’ll have to check 4G connections and inform your guests that they will be reliant on data to get online throughout the day.
In conclusion
By focusing on the above areas, you should be able to ensure that you can find a stunning venue that is perfectly suited to the needs of you and your guests – enjoy!
