One of the most important aspects of planning a wedding is choosing the wedding venue.

Your wedding date will decide whether or not you can have an outdoor wedding venue.

A great wedding venue can make or break the celebration and set the tone for your entire event.

Many different features come into play when choosing a wedding venue. The bride and grooms’ religious backgrounds, the time of year of the wedding, and the amount of guests all affect the choices available.

The following list from TheWeddingCommunity.com will come in handy when attempting to make this decision. The article offers tips on choosing the right wedding venue for your specific plans.

7 Top Tips for Choosing a Wedding Venue

Perhaps you’ve just got engaged and can’t wait to book your wedding venue – but do you really know what you’re looking for?  Before you go dashing off to look around every single wedding reception venue within a hundred miles, here are some top tips to think about when choosing a wedding venue:

1. Communication is key
   Have a chat with your other half about the sort of wedding you would like and be prepared to compromise if you have different ideas; this could help avoid disagreements later!  Are you looking for a summer wedding in a marquee, a relaxed or contemporary barn wedding venue or a formal and elegant country house?
2. Civil ceremony or church wedding?
   Deciding what type of ceremony you would like will highlight the area in which you should look for a wedding venue as your wedding reception venue should ideally be within a 20 – 25 minute radius of the church.
3. Decide on a budget
   Working out a budget early on will help you to shortlist potential wedding venues.  Wedding catering and alcohol normally take up quite a large chunk of your budget so remember to include it in your calculations.
4. What’s best for guests?
   Don’t forget about guests travelling to your wedding.  If you want to avoid incurring expensive taxi charges and hotel bills for them or coach costs for you, look for a wedding venue near to where the majority of your guests live.
5. Wedding guest numbers
   Have a rough idea of guest numbers before you start looking for a wedding venue or be prepared to alter your guest list.  This should avoid the disappointment of visiting a beautiful wedding venue only to find out it is too big/small for your wedding.
6. Your wedding date
   If you’ve decided on a date for your wedding and it’s set in stone, check the availability of that date before you visit.  If you’re flexible about the day of the week, month, season, or even the year of your wedding you’ll have a much wider choice of venues…

It is also important to research what type of amenities the wedding venue has to offer. Does the venue offer catering? Do they have a liquor license? All of these questions should come into play, especially if you want the ceremony and the reception location to be the same.

Salem Cross Inn offers a unique wedding venue and reception hall. We also have reception coordinators that will aid you in creating the perfect reception menu. Please contact us to learn more about our customized wedding services and we will gladly answer any questions that you may have.