The reception venue is one of the biggest investments you’ll make in your wedding day. Typical wedding budgets suggest spending upwards of 50% on your venue alone. Selecting the celebration space entails numerous considerations. Before booking your reception venue, consider these factors.

1. Capacity

   How many guests does the space COMFORTABLY seat? Will it allow for as many as 75% of your guest list? Do you have to seat guests in long banquet tables to fit all of your 250 guests?

2. Date availability

   Is your wedding date available? If not, are you willing to work around the venue’s availability?

3. Location

Is your venue easy for out-of-towners to find? Is it near a hotel or an interstate? Or is it more important for your venue to be in a secluded location with a natural setting? Either way, make sure the location is one you can work with.

4. Cost

How much can you afford? Do you have a solid budget allotted for the venue? What is included in the venue packages? Are linens included? Fees for bartenders? It all adds up.

5. Style/ theme

If you’re looking for a rustic-themed wedding, perhaps the rooftop bar would not be an ideal location. Does the venue reflect your chosen style/ theme?

6. Guest experience

Think about the restrooms, accessibility, cleanliness, ambient temperature, and parking, and how those components will affect your guests.

7. Policies

Are you required to chose from the venue’s preferred vendor list? Use their in-house caterer? When can you set up decorations and when must everything be torn down? Do these policies work for you?

In the end, every venue is different. Each will be unique in their packages and policies. Ultimately, it comes down to your priorities and your wedding day vision.

QC Wed Me is the Quad Cities’ first comprehensive wedding blog and vendor directory. If it’s love and it’s in the QCA, we want to know about it!

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