An excellent wedding venue is more than just four walls and a roof. It’s an integral part of the celebration – a majestic, welcoming, accommodating space that’s every bit as warm and loving as the happy couple.
Naturally, choosing the right wedding venue takes some careful planning and research. With such an important decision, you want to get it right. But how does one separate the great wedding venues from the rest? What criteria should you have as you start your search?
In this article, let’s explore a few key elements of the perfect wedding venue.
Experience
Experience is pivotal in a wedding venue. You can usually tell an inexperienced banquet hall or event space by their lack of coordination, thrown-together décor, and lackluster client service. The problem is that many couples only uncover these problems on their big day – when it’s too late.
As you research wedding venues, peruse the “About” pages of various websites to determine their experience. Have they only been doing this for a couple of years, or do they have a long, storied history of serving the surrounding communities?
Choose a wedding venue with a track record for excellent service. More than any other criteria, that track record assures that your big day is in good hands.
Location, Location, Location
Ideally, a wedding venue is centrally located near main highways and arteries. Weddings typically bring together guests from various areas – some come from nearby, others from neighboring cities, and some bee-line it from the airport to reach your wedding. Hosting your celebration in a central, easily-accessible space shows that you’ve thought about everyone.
Take Le Treport as a good example. The celebrated Mississauga wedding venue sits at an ideal crossroads near four major highways. Guests from Toronto, Pearson Airport, nearby Mississauga, and Oakville can easily access the venue by car or taxi.
Flexible In-House Catering
The next thing to consider as you hunt for the perfect wedding venue is catering. A wedding venue can be experienced and centrally located, but if it doesn’t serve great food – that’s a deal breaker.
Discuss catering options with your shortlist of wedding venues, and look for a forum that shares a commitment to great food. Moreover, determine which venues are flexible with their menus. The best in-house catering teams should be proficient in a range of world cuisines and traditions, from Italian to Indian.
Accessibility
Next, determine whether your chosen venue(s) is accessible. Your wedding guests are a diverse bunch – a community of different abilities and ages. It’s considered accommodating and inclusive to ensure proper venue accessibility for your wedding.
Accessibility should be reasonably well advertised on a venue website, but if in doubt, just ask a venue representative. Accessibility features may include ramps, a connected parking lot, and/or event-level washrooms.
A Collaborative Event Space Team
Having worked through the criteria above, you should have whittled your choices to a small shortlist. The last thing to look for is a collaborative event space team. Are the representatives you’re communicating with open to your ideas? Do they share your vision for the big day? And are they as committed as you are to making the wedding as memorable as possible?
If the answer is yes to all of the above, then congratulations: you’ve found your perfect wedding venue. All that’s left to do is book the space and fill in that little field on your invites that says “location”!
