The Venue of Your Dreams
Ohio wedding planners share insider tips on selecting the perfect venue for your big day
By Sara Sybert
Perhaps one of the most important decisions you’ll make about your wedding is the venue. Venues can make or break a ceremony, and you want it to complement your style as a couple.
“One of the things I love most about working with my full-service clients is helping them find the perfect wedding venue for their wedding vision,” says Lara Sarver of Dayton-based LS Event Styling. “Your venue sets the tone for your entire wedding planning journey and wedding day experience.”
Sarver has several tips for couples choosing a venue. She says the first thing you want to do when you start wedding planning is decide the size of your guest list.
“Not only does deciding a guest count help you understand your overall budget better, it also helps you choose a realistic venue for your wedding,” she says.
This is important because if you want to have several hundred guests, you aren’t going to be able to choose a venue that only holds a maximum of 175. Knowing what you want your guest count to look like will help you take that first step in your venue search.
Sarver says that it’s also important to have a clearly defined wedding vision, so that you have your own guide in staying focused.
“If you know what you want your wedding to look and feel like, you’ll be able to determine if a venue is a good fit for you while shopping online,” she says. “Let’s say you want an outdoor, botanically designed reception. You’re probably going to look for venues that have beautiful architecture and landscaping for the season you want to be married. You’ll most likely not look at historic barns for your reception.”
One important thing that Sarver does for her clients to help them determine what they want their wedding to look like is to do a vision session. “I need to know what’s in your head and on your Pinterest board,” she laughs. “I want to understand exactly how you want to feel on your wedding day and every decision you make will contribute to that feeling.”
When it comes to trends in wedding venues, Melanie Tindell of Oak and Honey Events in the Cleveland/Akron area says she’s seeing couples choose spaces that are more neutral and offer great lighting. “Couples are preferring spaces that have great views and are on upper floors,” she says.
And when it comes to the barn trend that took hold of the industry for a while, she says that couples are gravitating away from that, unless of course those spaces have a neutral look. Instead, she says, couples are wanting unique venues.
“[Couples are] looking more for something that is light, bright and neutral, and will create a more memorable experience for them and their guests,” she says.
Tindell says that when she works with couples, she encourages them to really think about their budget and run the numbers with each venue. “Ensuring the numbers are in order will help couples make an educated decision on how much it costs to be at a venue,” she explains. “If they book a venue and the fee is high, then they’ve already eaten a chunk of their budget. It’s important to consider what’s all included in your venue selection, such as caterers and other vendors.”
Tindell and the team at Oak and Honey Events work with couples to guide them through the process of wedding planning to help make their big-day dream a reality.
Overall, choosing a venue for your wedding is a big decision, but working with a wedding planner can help you narrow down your choices so you can stay on budget and find what works for you. For those who don’t utilize a planner, knowing these insider tips from the pros can help you make your wedding the best day ever.
