Questions to Ask Before Reserving a Ceremony Site

When it comes to wedding venues and receptions, each ceremony should be as individual as you are.  Whether you want to hold the wedding outdoors, indoors, at an exotic location, or in your own backyard, you and your fiancé(e) certainly will have questions regarding all of the logistics.  We are here to guide you down the aisle with some tips and answers to all of your ceremony concerns. 

• What type of ceremony do you want?
• Consider the formality of your wedding.  How will this match up to your venue?   
• Think about how many people you are looking to invite and make sure that the site you have in mind will be large enough to accommodate all of your guests.
• If you are planning to have your reception and ceremony at the same venue, be sure to check up on the rules at each venue. 

• Is your wedding date available?
• There is no need to get attached to a place if your wedding date and time are not available. 

• Who will be marrying you? 
• If you are planning to marry at a church, contact the pastor to find out more about which priest might be conducting the ceremony.
• For destination weddings or weddings outside of a place or worship, be sure to search for an officiant that you like.  Perhaps the venue can recommend someone!

• What will be happening before/during/after the wedding ceremony?
• For weddings in a hotel or specific destination, you will want to know what other kind of events might be taking place around the resort that day, and how they might interfere with your wedding ceremony.  For example, say you are planning to wed on the beach.  Romantic, right?  Not when flocks of tourists are on a snorkelling tour right behind you.
• Does the site have enough room for you and your wedding party to prepare?  Is there a room for you to get ready?  Or will you have to do this elsewhere?
• Find out when you will be able to arrive at the site prior to the wedding.  If you are marrying at a church, you may not be able to come too early, as there may be a mass taking place. 

• What can we do with the décor?
• Ask if candles  are permitted or not.  If this is a huge part of your dream wedding, you may end up disappointed if you don't find out about policies and regulations for candles.
• Find out if an arch  and/or canopy  are provided.  In some cases, you may need to bring your own.
• Will aisle runners  be there already or is this something else you will need to provide?
• Are chairs  provided?  Kneeling benches?   
• Find out what time your vendors can set up these decorations prior to the ceremony.

• Are there any special requirements or restrictions for the ceremony?
• Some churches may require couples to be a member of the church of a certain length of time and others may ask couples to undergo counselling within the church before being wed.  Find out if this applies to you or not.
• For destination weddings, citizenship issues can sometimes cause a problem; be sure to check with the local board of tourism to find out what you will need to know. 
• Is photography allowed?  Are there any restrictions?  If so, be sure to talk to your photographer in order to work out the appropriate guidelines.
• Is video allowed?  Some places may not allow you to film in their venue.  Be sure to find out!
• Are there any restrictions on how long the ceremony can be?  What will happen if your ceremony is longer than anticipated? 
• It's also a good idea to find out where you guests can park.  There may be restrictions in the local area, and you will want to inquire about this as well. 

• What about music?
• If you are bringing your own musicians, find out what the acoustics of the location are like and how that will affect your chosen music.
• Will musicians or soloists be provided for you?
• What kind of sound system  is available at this venue?
• If you are using the venue's musicians, find out what your choices of songs might be like.

• Can you hold your rehearsal here?
• Find out if the rehearsal can be held at the location. 
• If you are planning to do this, will there be a fee or any sorts of extra charges to do so? 

• Can we talk money?
• How much will it cost you to reserve the site?  How much will the deposit be? 
• Find out about any payment plans that the venue might offer.  Perhaps you can pay off your wedding through instalments!
• Inquire about any special wedding packages  that the venue might have.  What does the package include and how will this work for your own wedding?
• Can you hold your reception and ceremony at the same venue?  For non-traditional weddings, this is an important question to ask; you can often save a lot of money by keeping it all in one spot. 
• It's a good idea to see if the venue offers a wedding coordinator or planner to help you along the way.  Is this person included in the fees or will you need to pay him or her separately? 
• Is there a cancellation policy?  Though we hope this doesn't happen, it's always a good idea to ask.  If you need to call off the wedding, you will want to find out how much money you might lose. 

• What kind of paperwork needs to be done?
• You will certainly need to fill out all kinds of paperwork and commitments to the site.  Be sure to get a few copies of this... just in case.
• Make sure that you sign an agreement on what the venue will provide or not provide.  It is always good to have this in writing.

Related Guides 

To help you formulate even more questions and to help you in your planning, use these guides for reference! 

Choosing a Wedding Date	Choosing a Wedding Location	Ceremony Checklist	Destination Weddings	Choosing an Officiant

External Links

• WeddingChannel.com: Ideas and tips to planning out your wedding ceremony.
• Woman.ca: A list of things to think about and a list of questions to ask regarding your ceremony and reception.