Five Tips for Choosing a Wedding Venue in New Jersey
You’ve gotten engaged, picked your wedding party and started looking for the perfect dress. Now you need to focus on finding the location for the wedding. Choosing a wedding venue depends on a lot of factors. You have to consider the look and feel you want for your wedding. This can be overwhelming so we’ve broken it down into a few simple tips to get you started.
Here are our Five Tips for Choosing a Wedding Venue in New Jersey
- First and foremost you have to consider your budget and the amount of people coming. You don’t want to book a small venue only to realize over 200 people are going to be crammed into a tiny room with few tables and barely any room to move. A castle in the hills may be your dream location but if it’s not in your budget, it’s not going to happen. Pick a location that is more neutral, someplace you can put your own special touches on to make it perfect for your special day. You don’t want the aesthetics of the room to overpower your theme.
- What is the look you are going for? Do you want a traditional spot? An outdoor wedding? A rustic cottage? A cozy garden? With so many wedding venues out there, it’s important to know the theme you are going for before you start looking. Otherwise you’re going to be overwhelmed. If you do decide on an outdoor wedding, make sure you investigate the facilities. Are there bathrooms nearby and shady places for people to rest? Knowing what you need before you go out will make the search a lot easier.
- Does the room make sense with the flow you want for the reception? The room not only has to hold all your guests but also a DJ, tables, dance floor, wedding cake and possible a buffet table. Not to mention room for everyone to mingle. If the hall is broken up into small rooms or there are statues and pillars throughout the room, it may disrupt the flow you are looking for.
- Check with the venue to see if you can bring your own caterer. Some places will require you use their own cooking team, while others will allow you to bring in an outside team for a fee. If you like the food the venue serves, great! If not you may want to consider another spot instead of paying extra money. It’s also a good idea to see if they have a cake cutting fee if you’re bringing in a cake.
- Make sure you ask what’s including in the package. You may assume a hotel or restaurant will include tables, chairs and linens but if youre having the wedding outside in a park or vineyard, this may not be the case. It’s always a good idea to double check. Are the serving equipment included or are the caterers (if they’re separate) expected to bring them? Are the decorations included or are you expected to provide them? Some venues will include in house flowers, others do not. Double check so you save yourself a headache later on.
You wrote that you want to make sure that the venue has enough room for guests, DJ, tables, dance floor, and the wedding cake. My younger brother is getting married and has been really wondering how to best choose a venue. If he could find a couple places that fit all these requirements, he could start narrowing them down on other specific needs. Thanks for the tips.
My fiance and I recently got engaged, and we want to get started on the planning process for the wedding. I really like how you mentioned that the amount of people coming has a big effect on the venue you choose. I want to get a venue chosen and booked, but maybe it would be a good idea to compile a complete guest list first so we know how many people to expect.
Congratulations on your engagement. You can always drape off sections of a big venue, but you cannot cram too many people into a smaller venue. Having a general idea of the amount of guests is a good starting point, but you don’t need the exact number, just an estimate. Good luck with the planning and check out our other blog posts for more wedding ideas!
I like how you would want to consider if you can bring your own caterer to a venue. It would probably be smart to find this out in order to know if your caterer will be allowed in. My sister is planning her wedding, so when she looks for a venue she’ll have to find somewhere that allows her to bring her own caterer.
I like that you talked about checking with the venue to see if you can bring your own caterer. My daughter is getting married this summer, so I want to make sure she gets the best experience. Thank you for your tips on choosing a wedding venue.