Photo: Katie Osgood
Hudson Valley Wedding Venue Search
Important Questions to Consider Before Booking Wedding Venue Tours
We know how hard it can be to find the perfect Hudson Valley wedding venue when you have the entire world wide web to search. There’s certainly no shortage of places to look. If you are anything like the hundreds of other couples we speak with, you are about to brew a large pot of coffee and spend hours searching the internet. You might even just head straight out to tour some venues before you know what you want. If that’s you right now, then you will want to read the rest of this before you book your wedding venue tours. We’re sharing the most important questions to ask yourself before starting a venue search.
What time of the year do I want to get married (season or month)?
It’s best to not narrow it down to a specific date. After all, you could ultimately be eliminating a lot of beautiful venues by choosing a particular date.
Protip: The fall is super popular in the Hudson Valley so be open to other season’s if you are on a short planning timeline. September and October book up sometimes 18 to 24 months out.
Where will my guests be traveling from?
It’s essential to consider this. You might want to narrow your search area based upon what is a convenient and easy trip for your guests. If your guest list has a lot of guests coming from out of the area, you might want to have a venue in a region with a train station or airport nearby.
Protip: Investigate accommodations and transportation in the area to see what’s available before you officially choose a date. Some areas are tougher than others to get room blocks.
What are my absolute top 3 must-haves in a venue?
If you have too many must-haves, your search will quickly narrow. Try to keep must-haves to no more than 2 or 3.
Pro-tip: We find it works best to not narrow the search with things that don’t matter. We focus on essential items that create a fantastic guest experience.
What can I live without if a venue doesn’t have it?
You are not buying a home you will live in forever, so does it really matter if they don’t provide onsite bathrooms? There are some great bathroom trailers out there that are nicer than the ones in your home. We see couples struggle with choosing a venue a lot because it doesn’t have it all.
Protip: We are letting you in our best kept secret…the venue with everything doesn’t exist but we can come close! Think in terms of what your guests will never remember anyway. Those are the things that you can live without.
What’s my entire wedding budget amount?
This really should be the most important of all the questions you ask yourself. You should never book a venue before you know what you have to spend on everything.
Protip: We always say a good rule of thumb is not more than 5-10% of your entire budget should be the venue site fee.
What style of venue do I like most?
Choose the venue style(s) you most connect with and exclude all other options. This will narrow the list quick and help you focus on a particular style. The venue style that would make you feel at home and comfortable on your wedding day is usually the best choice.
Protip: If you are struggling to make the venue fit your vision, maybe it’s time to rethink your venue style. It’s not always on the first attempt that you land the perfect venue.
Photo: Katie Osgood
The first step we want you to take is to go back through the questions and write down your answers. This is going to help you prepare for your search. You will know your price point, geographic area to search, must-haves, and a season for your wedding. These basics are going to help streamline your process and save you hours of work.
If you are still feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to get started, we are here for you, feel free to reach out and chat with us about our Hudson Valley wedding venue scouting service.
xoxo,
Angela and the Elite Team
