Is This Venue The One?

Knot Your Average Events... Venue Shopping

Choosing a venue is one of the most delicate decisions that event professionals and party planners face. You may ask: Why is choosing a venue so important? It’s simple, when organizing an event, you are faced by many decisions. However, choosing a venue is the one decision that will have the largest impact on your event. Strategic planning information, such as the date for the event, is dependent on the venue you select. However, making this choice can be a bit intimidating as it can be hard to know what to look for when selecting a venue.

When searching for a venue you’ll want to have a strong understanding of: Budget,

Number of attendees and the type of event you are having. Once you have an idea of these three things, you can begin your search for a venue. While searching for a venue keeping a check log of expectations and what it is you wish your dream venue to have will help narrow down your selection of venues. Here are a selection of important questions to insure when venue shopping.

Cost           

Cost of venue fit in budget? Allow more room in your budget for food and beverages and entertainment. Being flexible on the date can be a great negotiating tool, as certain days of the week tend to cost less.

Ambiance

Pay special attention to the existing decor inside the venue. What style is the architecture and what does the building’s interior convey? The less the ambiance matches the desired feeling of your event the more decorating you’ll have to do to make up for it.

Services and Amenities

Does the venue have a kitchen and can it provide catering to your event? Does it have tables, chairs and linens you can use? Does it have a setup/clean up crew? Is there any decorations or services that are included in the cost of rental?

Acoustics                       

Have you ever attended an event at a venue that was so loud, it was hard to hear others, causing you to strain your hearing and lose your voice, all in one night?

Layout

The layout and floor plan will greatly affect a few different aspects of your event:

Alcohol

Do they have their liquor license?

Pick 2-3 of your top venues and set up a time to visit them. You can do them back-to-back, but that can be overwhelming. Just be sure to do them close enough to remember what you like and don’t like about each. Ask what the parking situation is at each of your venues so you know exactly where you are going to have Guest Park in their convenience.

Allow your event planner to attend venue tours to help narrow down a good selection of venues for your special day!

~Riddim Hackett (KYAE Spring Intern)