Questions to ask a wedding venue: 12 to ask on every visit

A venue tour is a sales visit. The coordinator shows you the best room in the best light, and it's easy to walk out in love and without the answers that decide what you'll actually pay and what you'll be allowed to do. The questions below are the ones that save surprises later. Take them with you, ask every venue the same ones, and write the answers down before you leave the car park.

Before you visit

A few things are worth settling before you book a single tour, so the visits you do make are to places that can work:

• A rough guest count. Capacity is the first filter. If you're not sure yet, our guest list guide gets you to a working number.
• A venue budget. The venue is usually the biggest single cost, often a third to a half of the total once food and drink are in. The budget guide shows how to split your total by category.
• Two or three dates or seasons. Availability rules out more venues than anything else, and an off-peak date can change the price.
• What matters most to the two of you. Space to dance, a view, a ceremony on site, being close to family. Agree it before the tour, not in the car afterwards.

The twelve questions to ask every venue

These are the questions on the free venue scorecard, and the same twelve every venue gets in a Linenfold account. They're in the order most coordinators talk, so you can tick them off as the tour goes.

1. What's included in the rental fee? Tables, chairs, linens, a coordinator on the day, setup and cleanup, a getting-ready room. Two venues at the same price can be very different once you count what you'd rent elsewhere.
2. Are there additional fees for setup or cleanup? Some charge for the hours before and after the event, or for clearing up after an outside caterer.
3. What's the payment schedule and cancellation policy? How much is the deposit, when the rest is due, and what you get back if you move or cancel the date.
4. Do you require a security deposit or insurance? Many venues want a refundable damage deposit, event liability insurance, or both, and certificates from your vendors.
5. Are taxes and service charges included in the quoted prices? A service charge of 18 to 25% plus tax can add a quarter to a food and drink quote. Ask whether the service charge goes to the staff.
6. Outside vendors allowed or preferred list only? If you must use their caterer, bar or rentals, those prices are part of the venue's price. Ask to see the list and a sample menu.
7. Is there a fee for overtime? Find out the last hour you can play music and serve drinks, when everyone must be out, and what an extra hour costs.
8. Are ceremony and reception fees separate or bundled? Holding both in one place usually saves on transport and time, but not always on price.
9. What's your alcohol policy and corkage fee, if any? Whether you can bring your own wine, what corkage costs per bottle, and who must serve it.
10. Is there a backup plan for bad weather (if outdoor)? See the indoor space, and ask when you have to decide and whether a tent costs extra.
11. How flexible are you with custom layouts or decor? Can you move the head table, bring a dance floor, hang things from the ceiling, use the lawn for the cocktail hour?
12. Are there any restrictions on noise, candles, or confetti? Many venues ban open flames, confetti, sparklers or music after a set time. Better to know before you order them.

More questions worth asking

The twelve cover the money and the rules. These cover the day itself:

• How many guests fit, seated with a dance floor? The headline capacity is often standing, or seated with no room to dance. Ask for the figure for your layout, and see our table sizes guide for how many tables that means.
• Are there other weddings that day, or that weekend? Two events at once means shared spaces and less flexibility on timing.
• When can our vendors get in, and when must they leave? Florists and rental companies need hours, not minutes.
• Is there step-free access, and how far is the parking? Think about grandparents and anyone using a wheelchair.
• Where can guests stay nearby, and do you have room blocks?
• Who will be our contact on the day, and are they the person we're meeting now?
• What's the sound like with 100 people in the room? Ask to hear the speakers, or ask a recent couple.

Questions to ask yourselves after the visit

Score the venue in the car or that evening, while you still remember the light and the smell of the kitchen. A good scorecard asks the same things of every venue:

• Did it feel like us? Not "was it beautiful", but could you see your people there.
• What would the real total be? Rental fee plus food and drink at your guest count, plus service and tax, plus anything you'd need to rent or bring.
• What does it leave out? A long drive between ceremony and reception, no backup for rain, a curfew earlier than you'd like.
• What would we have to change to make it work? A smaller guest list, a different date, no candles.

The free venue scorecard has seven sections and 32 criteria, weighted by what matters to you, and it ranks your top three. Once you've narrowed it down, our guide to comparing vendor quotes side by side shows how to set the final two or three against each other line by line.

After you choose

Get the answers that matter in writing. Every promise the coordinator made, from the setup time to the free cake cutting, should be in the contract or an email you've kept. Then book the vendors the venue doesn't provide: our guide to questions to ask wedding vendors has the lists for the caterer, the photographer, the DJ and the rest.

Keep every venue's answers in one place

In Linenfold, Venue Options gives each venue you're considering its own card: the price or a full cost breakdown, guest capacity, what's included, your scores with sections and weights you can change, and these twelve questions with a tick and an answer for each. Compare two to four venues side by side, then choose one, and it moves to your confirmed vendors and your budget. Vendor Questions keeps the same list for every venue beside the contract and documents.

The free plan holds five vendors and venues together, which is enough to compare a shortlist; Complete removes the limit. The features page shows the rest.

Start with the free venue scorecard, and take its printed question sheet on your next visit. When you'd like to keep the answers with the rest of the wedding, create a free account, and your scorecard comes with you.