Choosing the Venue

One of the first things H and I did even before we settled on a wedding date was start visiting venues. These places go quickly, especially if you're looking to have a wedding during the prime wedding seasons (i.e., late spring through early fall). Therefore, my advice would be to start looking at venues early. Now, do note that if you're planning to have a traditional Chinese wedding, the below won't apply as much as these weddings are normally just held at a Chinese restaurant. Therefore, the main things to consider is really just whether you like the restaurant and how much they cost per table.

What I had done to jump start this process was buy a book all about the different venues available in my region. The guide I had was very comprehensive, albeit a little dated with regards to its pricing information. Nonetheless, this was a great starting point to figuring out the relative prices of each location, as well as where the venues were, what a sample menu looked like, capacity, and photos. Using this magazine, I narrowed down the venues of choice to about 10-15. My wonderful maid of honor helped me conduct some online research on each one to help us narrow down the selection to just 5-7 potential venues. After this, we contacted each venue to book an appointment to visit.

Venues we visited:


Photo: Source

• Jericho Terrace
• Chateau Briand
• Greentree Country Club
• Dyker Beach Golf Course
• Marina Del Rey
• The Inn at New Hyde Park
• The Fountainhead

Things to bring to a venue visit:


Photo: source

• Camera - You want to remember how each place looks. Pictures online won't be enough because it won't show you every part of the venue that will be used--also, venues will likely only post up flattering photos. You also want to be able to have a reference point as to how large each place is so taking your own photos are important -- especially when it comes to comparing venues afterwards.
• Notepad - Don't worry about taking notes for everything that is discussed because the venue manager will definitely give you material that covers everything they discuss for your reference. What a notepad is most useful for is to jot down your own thoughts and reactions as you tour/discuss the venue because these will come in handy when thinking about the pros and cons of each venue. Chances are you won't be visiting every venue on your list in one day, so if you don't down these thoughts right away, you risk forgetting about them and having them blend in with other venues you visit that day.
• Tote Bag - don't bother with any small bags -- bring a big bag to carry the materials the vendors will give you and also for your own notepad/camera. Do note that different venue will give different materials, but generally it'll be a folder with all their information as well as quotes. When I went to Jericho Terrace, they gave me a full BINDER'S worth of material to lug home. 
• Comfy Shoes - there will be a lot of walking, so you want to be comfortable, ergo, wear comfy shoes!
• List of questions - is there anything specific that you MUST have/accommodate for at your wedding? Do you have a relative who needs special attention/care? Vegetarian/vegan options? Brainstorm a list of questions and items that you absolutely need to have at your wedding. Often times venue visits will result in data overflow and you might get overwhelmed. You don't want that to cause you to forget important questions about things that matter most to you. 
• Friends - Bring a friend, members of your bridal party, or your parents with you on the tour. It's nice to see how venue managers would treat other people outside of the groom and bride. Are they just as friendly or do they ignore them? The manager will be someone you will need to work with and communicate with during the course of planning your wedding so you want to make sure it's someone pleasant. On top of that, it's always nice to get a second set of opinions -- maybe they will think of other factors/questions that you didn't think of. 

Things to consider for a venue

• Wedding Theme - Do you have a theme to your wedding already? Is it a fairy tale theme or a nautical theme? This can help you begin narrowing down your venue choices so you don't have to spend as much time visiting venues. 
• Budget - Think about how much you want to spend for your wedding and come up with a budget for what you expect to pay for a venue. This will help ground you as you visit different venues and discuss pricing with them. Make sure to do some research on how much venues normally cost in your area so you're not just walking in with an unreasonable budget though!
• Capacity - Estimate a rough number of people you plan to invite. Your guest list will definitely be a determining factor for what room you will end up with at the venue and whether the venue will have enough space for your wedding. 
• Availability - make sure to ask the venue manager to provide you with a few dates of when they are still available during the time frame of your desired wedding time. As I mentioned earlier, venues go quickly so you want to make sure the venue has time for you before you start analyzing them any further -- will save a lot of time and anxiety.
• Food - Does the venue come with catering? Will there be a tasting available? Make sure you know how the food tastes. Sure, the wedding is about the two of you, but food ends up being one of the more memorable aspects of weddings too! Take a look at the menu and see if what they have to offer works well for you and your guests. 
• Technology - Make sure to ask what technology support is included. Do you need to provide speakers separately? Does the venue come hooked up to screens/TV's already? What other technology related expenses will you need to consider?
• Site fee - are there any additional site fees associated with the venue outside of the per person reception costs? These are fees that will add to the cost of your wedding.
• Bathroom - bathrooms have always been important to me. Whenever I go somewhere, I make sure to check out if I like the bathroom because I absolutely hate nasty looking bathrooms. Does the venue look spectacular while the bathroom look crappy? 
• Bridal suites - Make sure to check out the bridal suite -- this is where you'll be changing into your gown and prepping prior to the ceremony. You want to make sure there's enough space for your full bridal party if you have a large bridal party. Also make sure to ask if there's a suite for the groom -- not every venue will have one, and I'm sure you don't want the groom and groomsmen just hanging out in the reception hall awkwardly. 
• Exterior - how does the outside of the venue look? I can only imagine that some people might get so caught up about how the inside of the venue looks that they forget that the first thing guests see when they arrive is the outside. Does the outside look sketchy or sterile? Does it look presentable and offer various photos ops?
• Ceremony - Do you plan to have the ceremony and reception in one spot or will you be having the ceremony at a church and move to the venue afterwards for a cocktail hour and reception?
• Tax - Does the per person cost include tax already? Tax is one of the main hidden charges that can really make a huge difference when it comes to the cost of a venue.