Vancouver brides are blessed with an amazing array of venues for their wedding day. Modern or rustic, traditional or quirky, the city offers something for everyone. The venue is really the cornerstone of the wedding, since so much of the event will take place there and it has an impact on everything from the guest list to the colour scheme. Your venue can be a great source of inspiration for your stationery, cake, guest favours or centerpieces.
I began the search for our venue by focusing on locations with a "wow" factor. By having a great view or interesting details, we could offer something unique to our guests and avoid using a lot of decorations. This was an excellent resource for me, and I started to narrow down the choices by looking at websites and thinking about weddings I'd been to recently. Of course, our budget was a major factor as well and I was forced to say goodbye to this quintessential Vancouver beauty and this unusual option.
We now have 3 venues up for consideration: the Diamond Alumni Centre at SFU, the Inn at Westminster Quay and Cecil Green Park House at UBC. Trying to schedule viewings of these places has been frustrating to say the least given J's unpredictable work schedule and the popularity of the venues. In the last 2 weeks I've gone from worrying about whether anything would be available for our date, to thinking 12 months was too early to be booking, and now panicking because one venue is booked for our date and it's difficult to even view these places because they're in such high demand!
I made a list of questions to ask at each venue so that I won't forget anything and so it's easier to compare each site head to head. Some venues have detailed websites that will give you a lot of this information, or you can email the site to ask for a wedding package to review before you visit.
What hours are available for rent? Are there charges for overtime?
Is there space for the ceremony? What happens if the weather is poor?
What are the policies and restrictions? Cancellation policy?
What's included in the rental? (linens, decor items, staff, tables, chairs, sound system?)
Can we choose our vendors or does the venue require use of its preferred vendors?
Can we bring our own cake or alcohol? Are there extra charges for this?
Is on site supervision required?
Does the rental cost include set up and clean up?
What is the staff-to-guest ratio? How will staff be dressed?
What is the per-person cost for food and beverage?
What bar service options are available?
What taxes and gratuities apply?
Is there a minimum food and beverage amount?
What is the payment schedule?
Is there outdoor space for the guests to use?
How many bathrooms? Is there a coat check?
Are there decorating restrictions? Can we use open flame candles?
Is there a separate room for the bride to get ready?
How will the tables, bar and dance floor be laid out?
Are there any noise restrictions?
How big is the dance floor? Is there enough space and electrical capacity for the DJ?
Will there be other weddings at the same time? On the same day?
How many weddings has the venue hosted?
Does the venue have liability insurance?
What are the acoustics like? Is there air conditioning?
Does the venue offer menu tasting?
Where will guests park? How much does parking cost?
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
When will vendors have access to the space on the wedding day?
No comments:
Post a Comment