57 Essential Questions For Your Wedding Venue

If you’re paying a wedding venue the big bucks to host your big day, shouldn’t they be responsible for every single detail? Well, not quite - so I’m going to give you a list of 57 things you should be asking your venue BEFORE you sign a contract!

Although wedding venues ask us to shell out tons of cash to get married and have a reception, they may not provide everything you’ll need on your wedding day. So as you do your research it’s important to make sure that you are asking all of the important questions that could affect your wedding day BEFORE you sign a contract with a venue.

I fell in love with my venue the instant I found it doing a google search for “unique wedding venues Toronto”. Junto studio is a photography studio at Ossington and Dupont in a giant old warehouse. It’s a huge loft space that has been expertly designed and curated by its owners Theresa and Rana, it is truly gorgeous! I also did a brand photo shoot there literally a week after my wedding, LOVE IT!

I pretty much knew right away that we were going to sign the contract, however I definitely let my excitement get in the way of some key questions I really should have asked - especially as an event planner! Can you believe I didn’t realize that I needed to rent chairs? But I was excited about my own wedding, and when you’re excited about your own wedding it’s very easy to get caught up in all of the emotions!

That’s why it’s great to have a wedding planner with you to ask the important questions! So Today I wanted to share with you 57 different questions to ask your wedding venue before signing a contract. Keep in mind your wedding might not need all of these different items that we’re covering - but some of these questions might spark other questions that you’ll want to ask, so stay tuned!

Full list of questions here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/57-wedding-venue-questions-you-didnt-know-you-should-ask/

Just because you’re paying for a wedding venue, doesn’t mean that they’ll take care of all the tiny details! So make sure you write down all of your questions before you do your site visit to make sure you’ve got everything covered. And hey, if you need someone to point out very obvious things (like the fact that you need to rent chairs at a chairless venue) I’ve got your back! Send me an email at [e-mail] to see how we can work together.

00:01 Intro
01:03 My wedding venue story
02:40 Questions to ask your wedding venue
12:35 Wrap up

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [e-mail]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
You're listening to Joyful Wedding Planning your
spot for de-stressing andrelaxing while you plan your
wedding.
You might be thinking is thateven possible?
Well, heck, yeah it is.
I'm your host, emily DeCluv,founder of the Joy Factor
Weddings and Events, and I'mhere to help you plan the
wedding of your dreams joyfully,whether you're a DIYer or a

(00:24):
delegator.
This podcast will help you findthe Joy Factor as you plan your
wedding.
If you're paying a weddingvenue the big bucks for your big
day, shouldn't they be incharge of every tiny little
detail?
Well, not quite.

(00:44):
So I'm going to give you a listof 57 things you should be
asking your wedding venue beforeyou sign a contract.
Hi, I'm Emily DeCluv, founderof the Joy Factor, a wedding and
event planning company based inToronto serving couples
globally.
I release new podcast episodesevery Thursday, so make sure you
are following to get all thejuicy, juicy wedding planning
details you need.

(01:04):
Although wedding venues ask usto shell out tons of cash, they
may not actually be providingyou with absolutely everything
you need on your wedding day, sothat's why I want to go through
some really essential questionsfor what you should be asking
them before you sign a contract.
This list is also attached inthe blog post that this video is

(01:25):
connected to, so I will link tothat in the show notes and in
the video description below.
Feel free to print it and bringit with you, or you can just
hire me and bring me with you.
What do you say?
So I fell in love with mywedding venue the instant that I
saw it.
I was Googling unique weddingvenues in Toronto and I found it

(01:46):
Jimtoe Studio at Osington,dupont, run by Teresa and Reina
Wonderful, wonderful people.
I was blown away with how theycurated the space, like the
design, the decor.
It's actually a photographystudio.
It's really cool.
And I also did my brandingphoto shoot there too.
Yeah, all the pictures that Ihave up on my website all at

(02:06):
Jimtoe Studio.
I did that like a week after mywedding pretty fancy.
Anyway, I was like soemotionally connected to this
place that I was just like okay,I have no questions, I'm just
gonna sign everything away.
I didn't have somebody awedding planner with me telling
me hmm, maybe you shouldconsider one or two things about
this place before you book itand like, look, I know I'm the

(02:30):
wedding planner, I should knowthese things, but when you're so
emotionally connected to aplace.
It just like just flies out ofyour head All of the important
questions.
So that's why today I wanna beyour wedding planner.
You can have all of thesequestions in your back pocket,
on the blog post.
I'm gonna have it all printedout.
I may add more questions hereand there as I think of them,

(02:51):
but you can print off this listand you can ask all of these
questions to your venue inadvance.
Keep in mind, some of thesethings might be like, not
necessarily applicable to yourwedding, but it might spark some
other questions that you shouldask your venue.
Anyway, essential questions areon here and you can take it and
run with it, so I'm just gonnaread these bad boys off.

(03:15):
All right, what dates areavailable?
Do they actually have the datesthat you want for your wedding
Cause?
If not, just bye-bye?
What is the capacity?
How many people are you allowedto have?
Oh no, maybe you can only have50 people.
That means you can't inviteweirdo norm or something.
Oh no, what are you gonna do?
Might work out in your favor.

(03:38):
What is included?
You might not realize this, butchairs might not be included in
your venue.
There were chairs included withmy venue, just not 65 chairs
and I really I blew it on thatone, so I had to rent more
chairs.
So if you're thinking about thecost to rent the venue versus

(04:00):
the cost to rent the chairs andet cetera, which one is gonna
end up being more and which onewill make you happier, that's
something you should considerfor your budget as well.
So, does it include chairs?
Does it include chair covers?
What style of chair are they?
Maybe they're really ugly, oldconference room chairs and you
don't want that.

(04:20):
So do you have to rent thechair covers to go with them?
Do they provide the tables?
Might sound weird, but theymight not actually provide the
tables.
Do they provide the linens, orare you supposed to rent those
or bring those?
How about plates or silverwareor glassware?
Are you responsible for that?
Is your caterer responsible forthat or is the venue

(04:42):
responsible for that?
How about AV equipment?
Will they have microphones sothat you can have, maybe, if
you're doing the ceremony in thesame venue as your reception?
Do they have microphones forthe ceremony and for the toasts
at the end and for the MC?
And on the subject of AV, dothey have a tech person that's
gonna be able to help you or areyou supposed to provide that

(05:03):
tech person as well?
Staffing is a very differentthing for every single venue, so
you're gonna have to be reallyspecific in what you ask for if
you know that you want certainelements.
What is the overall fee and aredifferent fees included in that
fee?
Or are there additional feesfor garbage removal, on-site
coordinator, security, any otherstaffing fees, bartender,

(05:28):
anything like that?
Is the gratuity included inthat or is that on top of it?
What is the gratuity?
What is the overtime fee?
Most of the time they're gonnahave an overtime fee.
Is there an additional fee tohold the ceremony and reception
in the same space?
That's robbery in my opinion,but I guess some venues do that.
Is there any decor included oris it just what you see?

(05:49):
Is what you get?
Maybe they have an on-sitedecorator.
That could be kind of cool.
In the case of my wedding, formy venue everything was already
decorated so I didn't have to doanything extra for decor.
Is there a changing area for thebride and the groom and where
is that room?
Because it might impact how youenter the venue to walk down
the aisle to do your grandentrance.
So knowing where that is aheadof time is really, really

(06:11):
essential, and hopefully they'renot just providing you with a
bathroom stall.
Is there an area to store youritems?
So if you are a DIYer likemyself, maybe you have giant
boxes that need to be stowedaway during the wedding so
they're not out sticking outlike an ugly eyesore.
Is there a space for you to dothat?
How many tables are there?
What are the dimensions of thetables?
How many chairs are there?

(06:32):
Who is responsible for garbage?
Is there a coat rack for yourguests to hang your coats, or is
there a coat check?
Is there an additional fee forthe coat check?
Can we bring outside vendors?
If so, what is or is notallowed?
Some venues have a preferredvendor list and you may end up
having to go with one of theirs.
If you decide to go with theirvenue, you might not like that
vendor, so it's good to knowthat ahead of time.

(06:54):
That brings me to the nextquestion.
Do they require you to workwith a specific vendor, just one
vendor, or is there a list ofpreferred vendors to choose from
?
Find out what the cancellationpolicy is and find out what the
fee structure is.
So, is there a deposit?
Is there a fee partway througha couple months to an advance,

(07:15):
three months in advance, twomonths, one month.
What is it so that you canbudget for it?
Is money due on the day?
That will also help you figureout how much cash you need to
have available on site at thevenue to pay your vendors.
If you're doing an outdoorwedding, what is the weather
contingency plan?
Do they have a space indoors tobring you into?
Are you required to hold acertain amount of insurance?

(07:35):
Do they have liabilityinsurance and, if so, how much?
Do they require you to have aspecial occasion permit or an
SOP?
In some different regions it'scalled something else, but
basically it's to have a specialoccasion allowance to serve
alcohol.
Some venues require this, somejust automatically have it.
If you bring your own caterer,will they have access to the

(07:56):
kitchen?
Is there a food and beverageminimum or an alcohol minimum,
and what are the penalties ifyou don't meet it?
Do they provide wait staff orshould they be hired separately?
Is there a minimum number ofwait staff required?
Is the gratuity included inhiring the wait staff?
Is there a noise policy?
After a certain hour, can youbring your own cake in or does
it need to be made on site.

(08:17):
If you bring your own cake in,is there a cake cutting fee?
Can you bring your own alcohol?
Some venues will allow you tobring your own wine.
Some will allow different typesof alcohol.
Some allow zero outside alcohol.
If you are allowed to bringyour own alcohol, is there a
corkage fee?
Can you bring your owndecorations?
What is and what is not allowedfor the decor?
How early can you get in todecorate the space and is there

(08:38):
an additional fee for that?
Can you move furniture aroundor should everything remain
fixed as it is?
Can you use confetti, glitter,rice sprinklers, sprinklers,
sparklers or any otherpyrotechnics?
Fireworks Is there an openflame policy?
Our outdoor space is coveredand heated and our umbrella is

(08:59):
provided if it starts to rain.
Will the venue provide signageto direct guests or are you
responsible for printing anddisplaying the signage yourself?
Here's a doozy.
Do they provide an on-sitecoordinator and what are they
responsible for on the day?
How early can you begincommunicating with them?
Will they be your point personfrom now on or will it be

(09:19):
somebody else?
Different venues have differentpeople doing totally different
jobs, so you might becommunicating with a few people
leading up to your event?
Does venue staff assist withloading and unloading or are you
responsible from gettingeverything the decor, the gifts,
all that stuff back to yourhotel room at the end of the
night?
It would be good to know if youneed an extra pair of hands
before you get into it.
Are there different spacesavailable within the venue?

(09:40):
For example, is there acocktail area if you're doing a
cocktail hour?
Is there a separate ceremonyroom?
Is there a reception room?
What rooms are available andwhat rooms are included in that
particular fee, because theymight be more?
Is there parking on site?
Is it paid or is itcomplimentary?
Is the building accessible forwheelchair users or are there

(10:02):
elevators?
How many steps?
If there's no elevator, is thevenue easily accessible by
rideshare apps and taxis?
Is there a shuttle service ifthe venue is far from a parking
lot?
How many restrooms are there?
Is somebody available to cleanthe restrooms if they become
dirty, and will the venueprovide amenities in the
bathroom or should you provideyour own?
For hotels specifically, isthere a complimentary suite to

(10:25):
be made available for newlywedson the night of the wedding or,
if not, is there a discountedrate for bulk room bookings?
If it's not a hotel.
What are the nearest nice hotelor accommodations available?
Find out if there are any otherrestrictions food, decor or
otherwise.
Just ask generally.
What are the other restrictionsyou have If you're bringing in

(10:46):
a band or anything that requiresa high amount of voltage?
Ask what the electricitycapacity is, and it might be a
good idea to ask for a floorplan so that you can see where
all of the electrical outletsare.
That'll make it easier whenyou're setting up your different
stations.
You might also want to know howmany weddings your venue allows
per day.
So some weddings run kind oflong.

(11:08):
It would be good to know, andthen it might mess up all of
your other vendor bookings forthe rest of the day.
So it would be good to knowthat.
You could also ask for aportfolio of past weddings that
you can review for inspirationand also find out if you can
ship any items to the venue aweek, a month in advance, days
in advance.
See if they have a policy onthat.
Some will allow you to shipstuff.

(11:29):
Some will not.
Find out if there's any plannedchanges or any construction
that's going to be happening tothe venue.
I knew one bride who wasabsolutely devastated because
she chose a venue based on thestained glass windows which were
gone come her wedding day andit was really upsetting.
It's not what you want.
Like that was part of the decor.

(11:50):
It was the whole theme of aCinderella wedding, but then
they were just gone and it wasreally sad.
So find out if there's anythingthat's going to be changing
between now and when you'rehaving your wedding.
Find out if the venue isavailable for exclusive use and,
if it is, is there a minimumguest count to hold that
exclusivity or do you have topay a certain amount of money to
do that?

(12:10):
If you're having your ceremonyand reception in the same place,
find out what the plan is to dothe changeover from ceremony to
reception, if the venue staffwill be taking care of that.
And, lastly, ask if they haveany photos of the season that
you will be getting married in.
So if you're visiting in thefall and you want to see what it
looks like in the summertime,make sure you ask for photos of

(12:32):
what it looks like in thesummertime so you can properly
visualize what your wedding isgoing to look like.
Oh my God, that was a lot ofitems 57, plus a little couple
extra just bundled in there foryou.
But now you were like totallyarmed with all of the questions
Well, most of the questions thatyou're going to need to know
when you go visit your venue.
And make sure, when you go visityour venue and before you sign

(12:56):
a contract, make sure you haveanswers to these things, because
they actually will make adifference down the line when
you're doing other planning forthe rest of your wedding.
Things tend to evolve and grow,so it's good to know what you
can and can't do well in advance.
And remember, just becauseyou're paying a wedding venue to
host your big day doesn't meanthat they're going to take care

(13:18):
of all the tiny details.
It would be so nice if they did, but it's really good to go in
prepared and know exactly whatyou're getting before you sign
your contract.
And hey, if you need someone tocome down and point out very
obvious things to you like, hey,you might want to rent some
chairs in this venue, I'm yourgal.
You can email me at Emily atJoyFactorWeddingscom, or you

(13:39):
could drop a comment below, andI would be so happy to help you
with that.
If you found this episode useful.
I'd be so grateful if youfollowed and shared this episode
with a friend or your fiance.
If you have questions aboutyour wedding venue, I'd be happy
to share what I know to help,so drop me an email at Emily at
JoyFactorWeddingscom.
I'll be back next Thursday withanother wedding planning
episode, so until then, keep itjoyful.

(14:01):
Thanks for listening to JoyfulWedding Planning.
I hope you got something out ofthis episode and, hey, if you
did leave me a review.
Wherever you listen to yourpodcasts, it helps me to find
more listeners just like you, sothat we can take all the stress
out of wedding planning and gofrom panic to joy filled moments

(14:23):
.
Need help to plan your weddingBook a call with me at
JoyFactorWeddingscom.
I can't wait to help you planthe wedding of your dreams.
This podcast was produced bythe Ultimate Creative.

(14:44):
Learn more about producing yourown podcast at
TheUltimateCreativecom.