Venues: What should you consider?

When planning a wedding, choosing a venue is one of your first big jobs. Securing the venue means your date is set in stone and your wedding vision has foundations to build upon. But what do you need to consider when making this all important decision?

Is the aesthetic right?

The first thing you need to decide is the overall vibe that you want to create for your wedding day. The location of your ceremony and reception is pivotal in achieving this and usually dictates the style of your flowers, potential colour schemes and even wedding dress and/or suit styles. A stately home surrounded by manicured grounds might call for a classic and timeless look, a converted warehouse might require something a little more edgy and modern, and garden settings lend themselves beautifully to blousy bouquets and billowing sleeves. My top tip is to get collating your favourite venue and looks on a mood board! When planning my wedding I used Freeform (a pre-installed app on my iPhone) to do this. It allowed me to visualise all of my individual preferences alongside images of my venue, making sure that they felt cohesive and well-matched.

Does the venue hold meaning?

Alongside a framed photo from my own wedding at Kew Gardens, I have an entry ticket from a visit that I made there seven years before. My husband and I wandered around the gardens on an early date and I had secretly been thinking about what a beautiful place it would be for a wedding (keeping the ticket for posterity!). With this little oasis only a few tube stops away from our home in South-West London, we enjoyed many more walks and picnics there in the years that followed. The fact that we then got to say our vows in the beautiful Nash Conservatory felt even more special because of the memories that we had already made at Kew and, following on from our wedding, the chance to re-visit Kew and reminisce about our day was really awesome. My advice is to choose a venue that either means something to you in the first place or that you can continue to visit in the future. This will make it a part of your marriage as well as your wedding day.

What about accessibility?

This one is tricky because if you find your dream venue and it happens to be in a remote village in the countryside, I don't think you should let it slip through your fingers. However... you do need to think about accessibility for your guests so that you're not left worrying about their arrival. If the venue is super rural, you might want to add guest transport to your to-do list and this could come in the form of pre-arranged coaches, making sure that they all arrive at the same time. Alternatively, you might want to dedicate a page on your wedding website (if you're feeling techy), outlining the best transport routes, parking options and local taxi numbers. Doing the leg work for your guests will be much appreciated and can also help to keep your timeline on track. Accessibility also covers the needs of any guests with specific difficulties. Do make sure that you have considered stair-free access points and have enough seating for any guests that might struggle to stand for prolonged periods of time.

Are you opting for an indoor or an outdoor wedding?

Depending on the time of year, you might be dead set on an outdoor wedding. Alternatively, you might have chosen an indoor venue to prevent the forecast from dominating your thoughts in the days leading up to it. Either way, it's always good to consider a venue's flexibility. Even if you are planning to get married in the depths of winter, it's always nice to have some outside space. This allows you to take photos with some natural light and to get some air if needed. Similarly, having a wet weather option in the height of summer is a no brainer (especially in the UK!). Ask your venue how early they make the call to swap to the wet weather option and ensure that your florist and photographer know about this. Shade is also something that is often overlooked, and I would highly recommend strategic positioning of umbrellas even if you think it's going to be a scorcher. By the same token, if there's been recent rain, make sure your guests are clued up on whether or not they'll need heel stoppers to help with the terrain underfoot.

How much flexibility does your venue offer?

This is an important thing to consider before you commit to your venue. Always double check whether they have a set list of suppliers that you have to stick to, or whether they allow greater flexibility for you to bring in florists, caterers and musicians that you have sourced elsewhere. Generally, venues have a pretty great list of tried and tested suppliers, but it is good to know where you stand from the get go and to make sure that the costs associated aren't too restrictive. This can be particularly important with things like drinks packages, which can quickly become very expensive. Similarly, if you are wanting a videographer to create sweeping shots of your wedding from the air, make sure you know where your venue stands on the use of drones.

Many of these points will seem obvious, but with such a long list of things to consider as a newly engaged couple, it can be easy to overlook things. I'd recommend getting out to see as many venues as possible in person and to have a sneak peak online to see if you can access any wedding videos for specific venues that you're considering. They can be really insightful!