As an established luxury wedding planner since 2010, I have learned that venue selection is more important than most couples realize. In fact, I estimate that over 60% of your wedding budget is determined by the venue you select. Do you have to bus guests to the location? If so, estimate an additional $22 per person. Does the venue require you to get ready offsite at a hotel before coming to the venue? Plan to rent that hotel suite the night before, because you need to start hair and makeup time in the morning and check-in isn’t until 3pm. Do you like the chairs the venue is offering? Otherwise you will need to spend a minimum of $4 per person to bring in chairs.
With just a few examples, you can see the importance of asking the right questions before taking the leap.
The Austin wedding scene is competitive, as many of the best venues are booked 12 months in advance. Thanks to the fall festival scene, Formula One, and SXSW in the Spring, there are only a handful of open dates during our peak great weather seasons. Couples feel the need to move quickly but aren’t educated on the nuances of how venues differ, and they don’t know the right questions to ask.
Here we will cover the most important questions to ask a wedding venue.
Wedding Venue Questions About Location and Accessibility
If you’re looking for a wedding venue in the Austin area, there are five general territories to consider: Downtown Austin, Central Austin, North Austin (Round Rock, Hutto, Manor, Pflugerville), and the Hill Country (Dripping Springs and Driftwood to the south, Lakeway and Fredericksburg to the west).
1. “How far is the venue from downtown Austin?”
This question is key as you consider transportation plans, especially if your guests are staying downtown. If you’re sticking to a tight budget, I think it’s fine to have guests use a rideshare service to venues in Central Austin or North Austin. However, I highly recommend investing in buses if a large share of your guests are arriving from Downtown Austin to the Hill Country.
Certainly the combination of drinking and dark winding roads are a factor, but the situation that is often overlooked is the guest experience. If guests flew into Austin, and you don’t provide transportation to the Hill Country, that’s an additional expense you’re passing on to them. If they did drive to Austin (let’s say they live in Dallas or Houston), they want to be cautious and not push it too far knowing they need to drive home. Don’t be surprised if the guests start dropping like flies an hour before your wedding ends.
In my years of experience, the only weddings I’ve ended early are those in which the guests were not provided transportation back to the city.
Bus arriving at UMLUAF Sculpture Garden | Images by Diana Ascarrunz
2. “What parking options are available for guests?”
Think about this: your guests’ first impression of your wedding is the entrance and parking situation. Venues vary greatly in this department, and they tend to exaggerate the truth. Downtown venues are the worst in terms of parking, so make sure you have a clear grasp of how you think guests will arrive, and what they should do with vehicles. Additionally, do your best to communicate the expectations in advance.
3. “Is the venue easily accessible for guests with mobility issues?”
We take for granted the enormous strides venues have made to meet ADA requirements. Many historical venues have retrofitted the grounds to accommodate mobility issues, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for guests in wheelchairs to get around.
If you anticipate having a guest in a wheelchair, walk the venue with their needs in mind. Just because there are ramps and ADA accessible restrooms, doesn’t mean they are going to feel comfortable moving through a tightly packed crowd, or transitioning on gravel paths between the ceremony and reception space.
4. “Are there ample restrooms for guests arriving by bus?”
Bussing your guests to the ceremony is a wonderful touch especially when your venue is 45 minutes away. However, know that as soon as everyone gets off that bus they ALL have to use the bathroom at the same time. If you plan to bus your guests from Downtown Austin to the Hill Country, make sure your venue has plenty of restrooms so that restroom lines don’t hold up your ceremony start time.
I’ve experienced this bottle neck several times. For example, The Prospect House features lovely private toilet rooms as opposed to the more traditional toilet stalls. If you have over 100 guests arriving to a small handful of toilet rooms, build in an extra 15 minutes between the time guests arrive, and starting your ceremony.
There are many more important questions to ask a wedding venue!
Wedding Venue Questions on the Topic of Capacity and Layout
Capacity must be at the top of your list of questions to ask a wedding venue. To determine if it’s the right venue for your guest count, you have to think about scale. If it’s too big, the party vibes will fall flat. It will feel too empty. If the venue is too small, your guests are squished together like sardines and feel agitated.
5. “What’s the maximum ideal capacity for a seated dinner?
First off, don’t ask for maximum capacity. You don’t want to hit their maximum, and there is no way to accurately hit that number when you’re making guesses as to who will RSVP yes or no. Aim for the ideal, or comfortable, number. That way if you go over, you’re still under the maximum.
6. “Can you share examples of layouts for my guest count?”
Venues will tell you a space comfortably fits X guests seated for dinner, but if you’re a real pro, you’ll have these followup questions:
- “Is that with a band or a DJ?”
- “Is there still enough room for a buffet at that guest count?”
- “At that guest count, do you have to strike tables to make room for the dancefloor?”
All of these items (music, buffet, and dancefloor) take up space. So if you know that you are likely to have a band, ask for layouts around your guest count with a band.
At WeddingScout, we provide our members with sample layouts of every venue. The layouts are organized by guest count, and take into account DJ and band placement.
Don’t take a simple number as the answer. Ask the right questions to avoid costly mistakes.
7. “Are all indoor and outdoor spaces available for use?”
Most venues have a combination of outdoor and indoor spaces, but that doesn’t mean all the spaces are available for use, even if you’ve seen photos of weddings there. Rules change, especially at the non-profit venues that are run by ever changing boards. Even at hotels or privately owned venues, they may try a space out, only to realize it causes issues or inconveniences for them. Here are some examples.
Sperry tent reception at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center | Photos by Brett Heidebrecht
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center now has very strict rules on tenting the Family Lawn and doesn’t allow for any tenting in the Courtyard. One of my favorite weddings, albeit one of my hardest weddings, featured a gorgeous sperry tent on the lawn. Now this space is primarily used for wedding ceremonies only.
The front lawn of the Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria is no longer available for events, except for the museum’s own fundraising events. It’s common for prospective clients to assume the large open lush grass is available, until they request a contract and see that it’s off limits.
Couples are no longer allowed to have their band or DJ on the lake-side lawn | Photos by Julie Wilhite
The lake-side lawn of the Four Seasons Hotel is available for ceremonies, cocktail receptions, and dining alfresco, but you must move the party inside when it’s time for the band or DJ to start. Once you move your guests inside, you can jam out with live music until early in the morning.
8. “How flexible are you with layout customization?”
Some wedding venues encourage creativity. They appreciate that couples want to create an event that’s unique to them. Others encourage a more cookie-cutter approach and strongly suggest you follow their tried-and-true methods. There are pros and cons to both approaches, so it’s worth asking about flexibility before signing on the dotted line.
Wedding Venue Questions Regarding Amenities and Services
At WeddingScout we provide virtual tours of wedding venues following the same five chapters, the first of which is “Service”. The Service chapter is where we address food and alcohol, rental items, and getting ready suites. These factors have huge implications for your wedding budget and are key in understanding if the venue is a good fit for your vision.
9. “Do you offer in-house catering? If not, what are your policies on outside caterers?”
Nearly all hotels and resorts require you to use their inhouse catering, but wedding venues vary.
- Open policy: Bring in any caterer you wish, including food trucks or a drop-n-go BBQ company.
- Restrictive policy: Choose from a long list of pre-vetted catering companies. If you have something else in mind you must get pre-approval.
- Specific policy: Choose from a short list of required caterers. If you go off-list, you will pay a fee.
10. “What are your bar service options and alcohol policies?”
Similar to the above, nearly all hotels and resorts require you to use their bar services, whereas venues typically follow one of these policies:
- BYOB policy: Bring in your own alcohol, so long as it’s served by a TABC certified bartender.
- Optional policy: You can do BYOB if you want, or you can use our third-party recommended company for a more turn-key experience.
- Restrictive policy: Required to use in-house or third-party bar and bar service company. These companies pay a small percentage to the venue in return for being the required bartending service.
11. “What items (tables, chairs, linens) are included in the rental fee?”
There are several ways in which venues handle tables and chairs. Some venues, such as the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, provide tables and chairs for a one-time fee. Others provide tables and chairs as part of the venue rental fee, but you can bring in something different if you prefer. Lastly, there are the venues that do not provide any tables or chairs. For example, at Laguna Gloria, the client is responsible for bringing in every item.
12. “Is there a bridal suite or groom’s room available for getting ready?”
The cultural norm for most weddings these days is to host a special glam time the morning of the wedding. There is often music, light bites, mimosas, and a ton of hairspray.
Some venues feature incredible getting ready rooms for you to use throughout the day. However, make sure you note what time they will let you arrive, because an 8am hair and makeup start time is not unheard of.
If the venue doesn’t provide a space for your ladies in the morning, you will likely need to book two nights in your hotel suite instead of just the wedding night. Hotels typically don’t let guests check in until 3pm, sometimes noon if you are lucky, so be sure to check into your getting ready suite a day early.
Many hotels have separate getting ready suites for both the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. This may be a conference room space, or a studio space that is retrofitted to host a variety of events. One of my favorite places for getting ready is The LINE Hotel. They have two dedicated spaces for the wedding party on the same floor as the ballroom, so you literally take over the entire second floor on the day of your wedding!
Couple getting ready for their wedding day at The Line Hotel | Photos by Cory Ryan Photography
Wedding Venue Questions About Weather Contingencies
Rain on your wedding day doesn’t have to be such a downer if you ask the right questions.
13. “How does the ground cover handle rain?”
When choosing your venue, pay attention to the ground. Imagine you are a wedding guest wearing your favorite pair of heels on a beautiful day. Now imagine a storm cell just dropped three inches of rain. In a rain event, especially if it’s been raining for more than a day, your guests will be better off at a venue that has concrete or rock pathways that connect the areas of the venue.
14. “Can you share photos of your backup plan for outdoor events in case of rain?”
As my husband likes to say, “trust, but verify”. The venue should have a well-oiled response to questions about rain and heat, but ask for photos so that you can really imagine what that plan B will look and feel like. This will also help you budget for the rain plan you prefer.
15. “Do you provide any cooling or heating options for outdoor spaces?”
In Texas, you want to consider a rain plan, but don’t forget about the heat, especially in September. In many parts of the US, September is considered a fall date. Since Austin is a wedding destination city, it’s not uncommon for couples to think they’re booking a fall date, only to learn it’s still hot as hell.
Things don’t really cool down until October, so have a plan for extreme heat May through September! I’ve personally seen guests faint in the heat, so please be sure to take this advice seriously.
Summer wedding at The Allan House | Images by Ruet Photo
Important Wedding Venue Questions About Timing and Seasonality
Booking a wedding date in Austin reminds me of signing up for classes in college. You can feel a bit helpless constantly hitting the refresh button and frantically comparing your plan A, vs. plan B, vs. plan C options.
Most venues hold their calendar close to their chests. For some, they don’t want the competition to know how they’re doing. Others are trying to be strategic, encouraging couples to consider less popular dates to fill a hole in their schedules.
If you’re trying to match up the schedule of a church with a venue for the reception, you have even more hurdles to climb. Here are some extra questions to think about as you fight through the first series of obstacles in wedding planning.
16. “What dates do you have available? How far in advance should we book?”
Don’t make the mistake of acquiring a list of dates without asking how much time you have. Depending on the time of year those dates could be flying off the shelves. Feel free to ask if there is a process for placing a soft hold on a date. Not all venus will offer this courtesy, but if you have your eye on a venue that can accommodate that request, you will sleep better at night!
17. “What’s your busiest season?”
For the most part, all Central Texas venues follow a similar rhythm of wedding surges and flows. Peak wedding season is the spring and fall months. They are super busy in the winter with holiday events, and then the summer is dead. However, there are exceptions.
Large venues with big indoor spaces tend to have heavier traffic in the summer months. For example, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is programmed to be set at 70 degrees year round. This venue is ideal for weddings of 150 to 250 guests regardless of the weather.
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is a popular year-round indoor venue | Images by Dreamy Elk
18. “Are there any noise restrictions or curfews we should be aware of?”
Any wedding planner who has been in the game a few years will have a decibel reader on their smartphone. As a growing city, more and more wedding venues are surrounded by residential neighborhoods. These neighbors are not so friendly when it comes to noise restrictions. We have had angry neighbors call the Sheriff, blow megaphone bullhorn sounds across the property, and most recently this year I had an angry neighbor blare the song “We’re Not Going to Take It” by Twisted Sister on repeat for hours throughout my client’s wedding.
In short, take the noise restrictions seriously, as there are major consequences.
Wedding Venue Questions Regarding Vendor Policies
In my experience, some couples go into wedding planning wanting maximum flexibility to craft a wedding that reflects their vision and style. Others want a turn-key experience that’s easy, with as few obstacles as possible.
19. “Do you have a preferred vendor list? Are we required to use them?”
These days most venues have a preferred list of some type. As a wedding planner, this has always annoyed me a bit. The venue interacts with those vendors on one day. The wedding planner is interacting with them throughout the planning process. I’m constantly telling venues, “hey- you should really consider removing X”, or “have you thought about adding Y?”
If these lists aren’t updated regularly, they aren’t helpful to the client. It’s not uncommon to have a florist or caterer gain popularity and then become too overwhelmed and busy to respond to emails or provide the level of customer care the wedding couple deserves. The venue may see the end product on the wedding day with no clue about what it took to get to that moment.
20. “Is a day-of coordinator required? Can we bring our own?”
This is a sensitive subject among my colleagues. First off, don’t hire a day-of coordinator. You want someone spending at least a month or two reviewing your wedding details before the big day.
The venues that require a coordinator are usually the more difficult venues. Perhaps the load-in times are tricky, you need to bring in all rentals, or there isn’t a straightforward rain plan. Typically there is something there that creates a lot of questions and confusion for the client. If the venue doesn’t require a planner, that means you are coming to the venue with all these questions. So in short, it’s self preservation.
21. “What are the setup and breakdown times allowed for vendors?”
Why is this important? Timeline constraints cause design constraints.
If your venue is granting just two hours of setup time, that’s going to limit your design options unless you can get special permissions. For example, florists will encourage you to select arrangements that can be built off-site and then transported to the venue. If you’re dreaming of dancing under a large floral wreath, those often take half a day to install.
Floral installation pieces like a flower wall, or anything hanging from a ceiling, is typically built onsite. When you see a wedding with multiple large floral installations, you can bet a large floral team was there at 8am, if not the day before. If this is your vision and the venue doesn’t open to private event setup until 3pm, you’re going to need to ask for special permissions and get it clearly written in your contract!
22. “Are there any restrictions on photography or videography?”
This question typically applies to churches. Many churches, especially Catholic and Episcopal churches have extremely strict photography rules requiring them to keep a low profile and stick to the back of the church. Some even require the photographer or videographer to sign-off on the rules before the wedding day.
If you are getting married at one of these locations, it’s important to hire a photographer who is experienced in this department. They will have specific camera lenses and zooms to guarantee your experience is documented beautifully from the back row, far side aisle, or balcony.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral is known for its strict photography policies | The Nichols Photography
Wedding Venue Questions to Dig Deep on Cost and Payment
When it comes to questions to ask a wedding venue, obviously cost and payment structure are subject areas that need to be covered. In fact, people often start there even though they have no idea what followup questions should be posed. So let’s cover the followup questions!
23. “What’s included in your pricing? Can I see pictures and are there any additional fees I should be aware of?”
Any venue you talk to will have a list of inclusions. The best followup to the list is to ask for photos. If they provide tables and chairs, ask to see photos of them. If they include a winter tent, ask to see photos of the tent. You’ve undoubtedly seen photos online, but it’s hard to know if that stunning wedding used the venue’s chairs and linens, or if they were brought in by a different vendor. Be sure to ask so you have the correct frame of reference.
Winter tent and chairs provided by The Allan House | Images by Paige Vaughn Photos
If you want to know the right questions to ask regarding hidden costs, I recommend a deep-dive into my coverage of fees in “Top Wedding Terms to Know” where I cover fixed and variable expenses, terms like “++”, and other important fees and charges to look for.
24. “What’s the payment schedule? Is there a discount for paying by cash or check?”
If you’ve never planned a large event, or managed a large expensive project, you’re about to learn the lesson of cash-flow! The biggest bills for most weddings are the venue and catering. Be sure to understand when things are due so that you have the funds available.
It never hurts to ask if there is a cash discount. Every vendor you encounter is paying a minimum of 3% in fees to credit card processing companies. If they can work around those fees, and pass the savings on to you in exchange for gaining your business it could be a win-win for everyone!
25. “What’s your cancellation policy?”
Weddings get canceled. I’m sorry, it’s true. They can be called off by the couple, postponed due to family emergencies, and rescheduled by global pandemics.
If you google my name, you will quickly learn that my own wedding venue was struck by lightning and burned to the ground months before my wedding day. I had a cash-course lesson on the legal term, “Act of God Clause”. Since then I’ve had clients reschedule due to washed out roads, unexpected pregnancy, and unexpected death in the family.
To be honest, most venus have worked with attorneys to create an iron-clad Act of God clause since the events of 2020. Your best defense against one of these scenarios is wedding event insurance. You’re not going to have much success negotiating cancellation policies, but at least you’re going under contract with a clear understanding of how the process works!
In Summary: Take Every Typical Wedding Venue Question One Step Further
The person who is giving you a tour of a wedding venue has a career in sales. It’s their job to sell you the venue! They aren’t going to volunteer information that doesn’t paint their wedding venue in a positive light, and I don’t think they are going to lie to you, but that’s why it’s your responsibility to ask the right questions!
In most cases, the goal here is to take the questions one step deeper. Your capacity is 200 guests? Great, can I see an example layout? Does that include room for a band? Do I have to move tables to make room for a dancefloor? In short, followup. They want your business so it’s okay to be a little annoying with the questions, especially if you’re coming at them with good questions!