Choosing the Ceremony Venue

You probably already have an idea of where you’d like to get married. Sometimes it’s an obvious choice, like your home church, other times it’s a tough decision, especially when the bride and groom are from different places. Whether you’ve decided the venue already or you have yet to go shopping for one, there are some important issues to think about and get ready for your wedding:

• Is the venue pretty for pictures and videos?
• Will you be able to have the reception at the ceremony venue, or should it be separate?
• Does the ceremony provide decorations and chairs or will you need to rent them separately?
• Does the ceremony provide a sound system and someone to run it, or will you need to rent one separately? Also, can you hook up an mp3 player to it to play pre-recorded tracks?
• For an outdoor wedding, is there a place inside you can move the wedding to in the event of inclement weather?
• What day can you have your wedding rehearsal?
• Are there restrictions for photographers and videographers?
• Does the venue have places for the bride and groom to get ready?

This might be a good list to print off and take with you when checking out at ceremony venues.

These questions will shape your wedding planning process substantially. It could become much more complicated or much easier, depending on what the venue is willing to do for you. It will also affect your costs for other people you have to hire to provide services like decorations or sound. The most important concern in choosing your ceremony site, however, is to pick a place that is meaningful for both of you.