How to Choose the Perfect Venue For Your Wedding

Choosing the perfect wedding venue is much more than shortlisting one beautiful location to host the wedding. Apart from essential factors like - Your wedding venue should be able to accommodate your entire guest list for all your pre-wedding and wedding ceremonies, and the location of your venue should be easily accessible, millennial couples need to prioritise various other vital details before they pick the wedding venue. 

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How do you find the ‘perfect’ Venue for your wedding? 

What makes this choice so challenging? The plethora of wedding venues available in your city or in the city where you plan to host a destination wedding can make it confusing to shortlist one particular venue for your wedding day. Before you start your venue search, the first factor to remember is finalising your wedding’s venue budget. 

1. Decide your Wedding & Venue Budget 

We will assume your total wedding budget is already planned by now! If you haven’t planned your expenses yet, check out the free Wedding Budget tool by WeddingWire India that helps you break your budget down for different wedding planning requirements. Booking a venue is one of your wedding budget's most critical decisions and investments. Once you have decided on your venue budget, it’s time to shortlist the venues in your preferred city as per your final budget. This will help you save time and make a practical decision when shortlisting dreamy wedding venues for the wedding day. 

2. Find an approximate no. for your Guestlist

Your wedding venue cannot be perfect until it has the space and seating capacity to accommodate all your guests. Various venues like hotels and marriage gardens have multiple areas with different guest capacities, and they host more than one wedding in a day. Keep an approximate guest list no. you were planning when you started shortlisting venues. You can talk to the venue managers and share your exact preference and guest list with them, and they can help you find the right area within their venue for your wedding ceremony and party.

3. Be sure of the Wedding Date/Time

You cannot book the perfect wedding venue until you know your date and time. Knowing which of the venues you like is available beforehand always makes choosing the right venue easier. Devendra Parulekar, Founder of SaffronStays, shares, “The time of the celebrations also matters. If it is an indoor wedding, the property must have air-conditioned, spacious common spaces. During evenings, the lighting needs to be taken care of.”

4. Plan the Theme of your Wedding  

Brides and grooms-to-be usually have the aesthetic in mind from the beginning. You might be looking for venues alongside famous beaches because you want a destination beach wedding, forts and palace venues in India for the majestic venue vibe. Suppose you are looking for suitable wedding venues in your city. In that case, you might have primary references in mind, like a farmhouse wedding, an open-air venue for a day wedding or perhaps a pre-wedding venue with a swimming pool. 

Ajeet Pal Singh, Director of Events at Andaz Delhi, shares some interesting insights on the importance of a wedding theme when choosing a venue. He says, “Every couple wants their wedding day to be perfect, with a theme that matches their aesthetic and idea of a perfect wedding. Couples frequently come to our venue with different, offbeat ideas and references in mind.  Every couple looks for a beautiful place that matches the theme, has the perfect capacity, and is easily accessible to everyone. Planning a wedding theme before finalising the venue is one of the most significant concerns for a couple. Every couple wants a balanced wedding in which all the elements are blended into a unique symphony of colours, proportions, shapes and details. Every detail plays a huge role, from interiors and the creative presentation of cuisines and floral arrangements to personalised services and extraordinary moments. Couples and their families seek a wedding celebration that brings life to their unique love story. The venue should align with the couple’s idea of a dreamy wedding that brings out their love in an atmosphere of intimacy and harmony.”

Devendra Parulekar shares, “The kind of location or vibe they are looking at. Do they want a beachside villa or a riverside home? Some people want to have a mandap by the lake for scenic beauty. This is one of the key factors people consider before choosing a venue. Some couples want to have a vacation at their wedding. In this case, the amenities are essential. They need a pool and enough outdoor area for games and activities - a home with amenities."

5. Explore the advantages of booking Full-service Venues 

There are hotels/marriage gardens/farmhouses, or banquet halls that can also take care of additional services for your wedding events, assigning a DJ for wedding entertainment, etc. If a customised package with more than one service interests you, explore the options with your venue manager. Ajeet Pal Singh spoke to us about what couples prefer: "Couples are always on the lookout for all-inclusive and trusted packages to make their wedding experience flawless. We have seen an upward trend for full-service venues in Andaz, Delhi. As per the couple’s demands, we work with leading designers and stylists who specialise in creating spectacular themes for dream weddings.” Speaking of services and facilities, Devendra Parulekar shares, “One also needs to figure out accommodation for guests. Some of our villas are close to each other, and it is easier to divide the guests between these homes."

Ajeet Pal Singh summarises it with highlights that couples must consider when choosing their wedding venue. “The key factors to keep in mind when choosing a wedding venue include - what type of venue you are looking for according to your preference and depending on the weather. The venue could be outdoors, indoors, lawn, poolside, etc.  Distance from airports and metro stations also matters since guests arrive from different places.  Venue detailing and décor, as mentioned above, play a crucial role in bringing out the couple’s vision.  Types of cuisines and services offered, food and beverages to suit the theme and palate, experiences like wine pairing, elegant sit-down dinners, dramatic live stations, show-stopping wedding cakes and bridal services and packages also play a role in adding the perfect touch to a wedding.”