After the ring gets slipped onto your finger and the date is chosen, it’s time to start considering your wedding venue! If you’re lucky enough to get married in a beautiful Wilmington, NC wedding venue, you have lots of options to choose from.
A quick online search will bring up some of the most popular venues, and it’s a good time for you and your partner to talk about what kind of venue will fit your wedding aesthetic. Do you like something more urban and eclectic, or something more contemporary?
Our top 5 suggestions for things you should look for in your potential wedding venue.
An On-Site Getting Ready Space
Wedding days are often chaotic and have lots of people and lots of moving parts to coordinate. Having a place on-site to get ready for the wedding couple can be a huge time saver and can reduce the stress of getting your bridal party across town in time.
Who doesn’t want to feel relaxed while sipping champagne the morning of your wedding? Another perk of having a bridal suite onsite is the sweet pictures your photographer can capture of you and your bridal party getting ready and celebrating together.
Vendor Flexibility
Some venues take a one-stop-shop approach to what they allow when it comes to outside vendors. This can mean they provide your caterer, bar staff, and even your baker in some cases. While these vendors are certainly reputable, they may not be your first choice and can often be significantly more expensive than other vendors, so be sure to compare pricing and check over the venue contract for additional fees such as gratuities that are built in.
Other venues may have a more open-door policy for vendors, allowing you to select any professional vendor, such as bartenders, caterers, or even bringing in your own alcohol. Take some time to consider which of these scenarios is right for you and your wedding.
What’s Included in your Venue Rental
Warehouse style buildings and open concept venues have become increasingly popular over the past few years. These spaces offer the ability to take a raw canvas and design your wedding to be truly unique in space and design.
Often times couples see amazing photos of the space only to find out they have to pay an outside company to bring in extra rentals such as the tables, chairs, and even the lighting. This can be a big expense on top of the rental fee, so be sure to ask what you are getting with your venue rental fee.
Location, Location, Location
You need to take into consideration not only the look and feel of the venue but the location. Is the venue located near local hotels or restaurants so your guests can easily come and go without having to travel too far? Are there plenty of locations for photos or does the venue have stunning views? Does the venue offer an amazing view, Is there enough onsite parking or nearby parking for your guests when they arrive? These are a few things to consider and can often add a bit of stress if a venue does not offer these elements.
Floor plans and Flow
Knowing what the flow is on a wedding day is an especially big consideration if you are planning on having your wedding and ceremony in one location. Ask to view a floor plan of the space and understand how your guests will be ushered to the different locations on the wedding day. Look for venues that have an open floor plan so guests are able to see all the important moments of the wedding.
Cape Fear Wedding Venue
Choosing a wedding venue is a huge decision and often is one of the first things that a couples books, which can then set the tone for the rest of their vendor selections. Wilmington has so many great venues to offer and here at The River Room we would love to meet you, show you our beautiful venue and hear more about your wedding day vision.
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