How to Choose a Wedding Venue: What to Do Before You Start Touring

Photo: @heathernan

If you’re trying to figure out how to choose a wedding venue, this is the part most couples skip before booking tours or sending inquiry emails. This is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in the planning process, and it works best when it’s done in the right order.

A quick but important reminder: venue shopping should never be step one. Couples who skip ahead often end up planning backwards, overspending, or falling in love with a space that simply does not work for their budget or priorities.

Start with your wedding non-negotiables and your budget first. That foundation will save you a lot of frustration later. Once that groundwork is in place, then it’s time to talk venues.

Start With Venue Type, Not Pinterest

Before you compare pricing or availability, narrow down the type of venue that makes sense for your wedding. I typically group venues into three main categories:

1. Traditional banquet halls or hotel venues

2. Backyard or private residence weddings

3. Unique or non-traditional venues

Each option comes with its own tradeoffs, and understanding them upfront is key to choosing wisely.

Banquet Halls and Hotel Venues

Traditional banquet halls and hotel venues are popular for a reason. They offer built in structure and fewer moving parts.

Pros: Most of the essentials are included. Catering, bar service, tables, chairs, linens, staffing, and sometimes even basic timelines are handled for you. You’ll have set menu options, established layouts, and experienced staff who run weddings regularly.

Hotel venues add even more convenience. Getting ready, photos, the ceremony, reception, and overnight accommodations can all happen in one place. Many hotels also offer rehearsal dinner spaces or next day brunch options, which keeps things streamlined for you and your guests.

Cons: You’ll usually be limited to their in house catering and bar packages. Customization can be more restricted, and some venues host multiple events on the same day, so it’s important to ask about timing and privacy.

Another thing to consider is style. Traditional venues can sometimes feel similar to weddings your guests have attended before. If having a very distinctive or unconventional setting matters to you, this may feel limiting.

Backyard Weddings (or Tented Weddings)

Backyard weddings offer maximum flexibility and personalization.

Pros: You choose everything. The caterer, bar service, rentals, layout, and overall vibe are entirely up to you. Backyard weddings are truly one of a kind, and they often allow more creativity than traditional venues. In some cases, you may also avoid food and beverage minimums.

Cons: You are essentially building a venue from the ground up. Tents, tables, chairs, restrooms, lighting, power, staffing, and rentals all fall on you to organize. You are also the site manager, which means more coordination and decision making.

Backyard weddings often cost more than couples expect once all the rentals and logistics are added in. A realistic budget and a healthy buffer are essential here.

Unique and Non Traditional Venues

Unique venues sit somewhere between a banquet hall and a backyard wedding. Think warehouses, museums, lofts, barns, or repurposed spaces.

Pros: You usually get the structure of a venue without the full service packages. Many unique spaces allow outside catering and bar services, which can offer flexibility and cost control. You often avoid major rentals like tents while still having room to personalize the design.

These venues also tend to feel fresh and memorable for guests, especially if the space isn’t a traditional wedding location.

Cons: Rental fees can be significant. If a large portion of your budget goes toward renting the space, you may have less to allocate to food, bar, rentals, and your other wedding vendors.

You’ll likely be more hands on with timelines, layouts, and logistics than you would be at a traditional venue. Some unique venues operate events as a secondary function (i.e. farmers markets, small museums, etc.) which can mean less experienced event coordination and slower communication. It’s important to ask who your main contact will be and how involved they are during planning.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign Anything

No matter the venue type, these questions are essential:

• Can the ceremony and reception be held in the same location?

• What is the capacity for ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing?

• How many hours are included in the rental?

• What time is access for setup and teardown?

• Are tables, chairs, china, glassware, or linens included?

• Are there restrictions on vendors, décor, or timelines?

Ask for sample layouts and clarify expectations early. Limited setup time or missing rentals can quickly become deal breakers if you’re planning a more involved design.

Final Thoughts on How to Choose a Wedding Venue

Choosing the right venue isn’t about finding the prettiest space on Instagram. It’s about finding the venue that works with your priorities, your budget, and how much planning responsibility you realistically want to take on.

If you’re considering a backyard or unique venue, I highly recommend grabbing my free Backyard Wedding Guide. It walks you through budget planning and includes a full rental checklist so there are no surprises later.

You can also find a complete venue and vendor question checklist inside the Wedding Planning Blueprint, along with step by step guidance and support if you want expert help throughout the process.