Red Flags To Look For When Finding a Unique Wedding Venue
You’ve found the love of your life, and you’re ready to say ‘I do!’ to a lifetime of love, loyalty, and happiness. You’re ready to start your happily ever after, but you need to finalize the place from where you’ll start this new chapter of your life.
Finding the right wedding venue is likely the most difficult part of the wedding planning process. The venue will have the most significant impact on many aspects of your wedding, so it’s imperative to choose the venue wisely. But this doesn’t mean that you lose sleep over this decision. You’ve already found a fantastic partner, and you’ll find the perfect venue too. Simply adopt a systematic approach when scouting for venues.
When you find a venue that you think will make a stunning backdrop for your wedding, take some time to consider all important factors before making any commitment. Sometimes in the rush to find a unique wedding venue, we ignore obvious red flags. Some red flags hold the potential to ruin the special day. This article will shed light on some wedding venue red flags to watch out for and provide some guidelines on what to do if you find one or more of these red flags at prospective venues.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Wedding Venue
The venue sets the tone of the wedding and majorly influences the experience of the guests. In your quest to find a venue with unique options, remember to take into consideration these factors:
- Your Wedding Budget: Draft at least a rough budget before the venue hunt. With your wedding planner and partner, decide how much of the budget you’re willing to allocate to the wedding venue. You don’t want to set your heart on a stunning property or worse, make a commitment and later discover that renting it will throw your budget off. Inquire about the total costs associated with the venue you like, and check what facilities and services are included.
- The Guest List: Your combined guest list, or estimated guest count is another important factor to consider when you’re looking at venues. It will help you gauge the event space. The venue should have the necessary capacity to accommodate all your guests comfortably.
- The Wedding Date: Is getting married on a certain date important to you? If getting married on a special date is a must for you (and understandably so), you might find that this limits the number of wedding venue options available to you. Some flexibility regarding the date can help you nab your dream wedding venue.
You may need more than one wedding venue if you’re planning a wedding weekend (the wedding ceremony and celebration on different days) instead of one big day.
- Your Vision: This goes without saying, but the venue needs to fit into your vision for your special day. You shouldn’t have to adapt your vision for the venue. The venue should be such that with minimal decor (and associated costs), it should align with your wedding theme and dream aesthetic.
Apart from these considerations, you might also want to take a look at the wedding venue restrictions and their backup plans. Consideration of these factors at the right time will go a long way towards ensuring a stress-free and joyful wedding experience.
The Most Unique Wedding Venues
You want your wedding to not only be memorable but go down in the list of the most favorite weddings of your guests. A traditional wedding venue just won’t cut it for the vision you have in your mind. If this sounds like you, you’ll need to explore unconventional venues to select one that truly reflects your personality and interests.
Here are a few unique wedding venue ideas that might help you in the process:
- Greenhouse/Glasshouse venues: Doesn’t a climate-controlled indoor event space with an outdoor feel sound perfect to host weddings? Conservatories and atriums can serve as unique and aesthetically pleasing wedding venues. Such venues offer ample natural light, which makes them perfect for daytime weddings and stunning photographs.
- Historic Places: You could opt to exchange vows in a historic space that has a timeless charm. This will provide a chance for your guests to marvel at historic architecture too. The Mill City Museum is a prime example of a historic place that can serve as a unique and chic wedding venue. If you wish to combine a place known for its past as well as current events, consider Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. This estate was built in 1919, but you might remember it as the background of Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ video.
- Summer Camp Venues: With such a venue, you can provide a unique wedding experience to your guests, that will bring forth a wave of nostalgia and enwrap them in warm, fuzzy feelings.
Rather than dancing and celebrating under crystal chandeliers in a grand ballroom, you can have a magical wedding under the stars.
- Treehouse Venues: Treehouse venues comprise a relatively new but increasingly popular wedding trend. These venues are specially prepared with proper amenities such as cabins for overnight guests, fireplaces, and jacuzzis.
You and your spouse-to-be will love the features such as suspension bridges and beautiful balconies that overlook trees and twinkling lights. TreeHouse Point is one such unconventional wedding venue that consists of an enchanting four-acre forest with a collection of tree houses.
Other than these, unique wedding venue options to consider include libraries, sports facilities, stadiums, theaters, rooftop gardens, train stations, yachts, revamped warehouses, former factories, and aquariums.
Red Flags of Wedding Venues
You’ve collated a list of interesting and unconventional wedding venues. Now you’re preparing to finalize a wedding venue. This is the stage where you need to be cautious. Some venues pass the initial criteria check, however, when you take a deeper look at the details, you’ll find glaring red flags.
What counts as a red flag when it comes to unique wedding venues? Anything that raises doubts about the venue’s reliability, transparency, or ability to meet expectations could be considered a red flag.
Here, we have elaborated on red flags that you should check for before you succumb to the pull of a venue’s photogenic appeal and potential.
Insufficient Facilities
The facilities at the venue will significantly impact the experience of your wedding guests. If the wedding venue is missing certain important amenities such as restrooms, parking spaces or elevators (and other accessibility features) can cause much discomfort and inconvenience. Inadequate indoor space for celebrations, no bridal suite, and lack of nearby accommodation options for the wedding party are examples of some other deficiencies that can negatively affect your wedding.
Even though it’s a unique wedding venue, it should be easy to reach via multiple transportation options. It won’t do if the wedding venue is in a breathtaking location, but your important wedding guests have a hard time finding the venue.
Lack of Flexibility
If the venue management lacks flexibility, you might not be able to tailor your wedding to suit your preferences. It could potentially also affect your budget. The venue won’t accommodate any of your special requests, and you won’t have much control over the quality of the service. Even if it is an all-inclusive venue, there should be some room for customization.
Hidden Costs
Some wedding venues tend to tack on extra costs to the initial quote later. Such hidden costs can come as an unwelcome surprise and put an unexpected financial burden on you and your partner. You might not mind paying more for top-notch service, but there should be upfront disclosure of all costs.
Ambiguity in Policies and Contract Terms
If the management is not 100% transparent about the venue’s policy and contract terms, problems might arise later. There may be disagreements about costs, services, or even cancellation policies. Such issues can lead to unnecessary for you and your partner, and possibly financial concerns. You don’t want any misunderstandings, confusion, and disputes around or on your wedding day.
Although a comprehensive contract is desirable, it should not be overly complicated. Sometimes the contracts are worded in such a way that they’re difficult to comprehend. Watch out for clauses that seem too general, or leave you feeling confused. A problematic contract sometimes indicates deeper issues with the professionalism of the management.
Maintenance Issues
When you visit a venue, if you observe signs of neglect or poor maintenance, count it as a huge red flag. Some issues such as malfunctioning facilities and structural problems have the potential to cause disruptions on your wedding day. Problems with upkeep reflect poorly on the overall professionalism and reliability of the venue management.
Unprofessional Staff
The staff of a venue can inadvertently give away a lot about the venue. For instance, staff members who arrive late for a venue tour without solid reasons tell you what you can expect from the staff on the wedding day. In the wedding industry, punctuality is crucial and tardiness during scheduled appointments is like waving a red flag right in the face of clients.
Slow response times or unclear and rude communication also point toward organizational issues. If, even before you’ve signed on the dotted line, they’re guilty of poor communication, imagine what they would do once you’ve committed.
Negative Reviews
You can count one negative review as an anomaly, but a string of complaints and bad reviews from various clients point towards serious issues. Couples who have experience with the specific venue can provide detailed and real feedback regarding the service quality, facility conditions, and pricing structures. Always check online reviews on several platforms before you make a decision.
Extremely Limited Availability
Count extensive repairs scheduled just around the time of your wedding as a red flag, because if the schedule goes awry, it could cause problems with your wedding. If the wedding venue is prone to overbooking and is only available for an extremely limited time, it could result in a chaotic situation and significant problems with your big day’s logistics. Wedding venues need ample set-up time to ensure that everything is perfect and as dreamy as desired.
Problems with Legal Compliance and Permits
Wedding venues in the US need to comply with local, state, and federal regulations, and such regulations are in place for the safety, security, and comfort of people. They may also require permits for hosting the wedding and for compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). If your chosen unique wedding venue is near protected areas, it may need permits that address environmental concerns. You can get such information from the venue staff, through the contract, by checking with local authorities, or even through online research. Non-compliance with regulations and lack of proper permits are red flag issues.
We’ve highlighted the common red flags, but you may also find others when you compare wedding venues with your list of criteria.
Dealing with the Red Flags of Unique Wedding Venues
If you spot a red flag in a unique wedding venue, it does not necessarily mean you have to let go of it, especially if it ticks all other boxes. Some red flags are deal breakers though, such as non-compliance and permit issues. Smaller red flags offer scope for negotiating better terms. Also, if you identify issues early in the process, you can address the concerns and get additional services or request proper solutions.
Make sure that you’re clear about the terms and conditions of the contract before you commit. Clear terms ensure that both parties are on the same page regarding expectations and rights. If you’re doubtful about any of the terms or policies of the wedding venue, raise relevant questions. Ask as many questions as you like until you are satisfied with your venue choice.
Wrapping Up
Be mindful of red flags when trying to find unique wedding venues. Balancing uniqueness and red flags will require you to evaluate your priorities and consider your non-negotiables. Start the venue hunt with a flexible mindset, and be open to adaptations. Conduct thorough research, visit the venues, ask detailed questions, consult with professionals, and scrutinize contracts. Extra care with these steps should help you land a unique and dreamy wedding venue that is clear of deal-breaking red flags.
Kevin Fagan
Kevin is a food & travel writer, based in New-England with experience in the catering industry. He is always on the lookout for the trendiest food spots and bars on his travels, and also likes to keep his finger on the pulse of the latest news in the world of catering & restaurants.
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