Venue scorecard

How to use it

Every venue looks lovely on the day you see it. The trouble starts when you're weighing your memory of the first one against the excitement of the last. A scorecard fixes that: the same criteria for every place, scored while the visit is fresh, and weighted by what the two of you actually care about. This one has the seven sections and 32 criteria from the classic wedding planning workbook, and you can change any of them.

1. Add your venues. Type the name of each place you're looking at, up to six. Add the guest capacity, location and quoted price if you have them. They show under each name and on the printout, and the lowest price and the most room are marked.
2. Decide what matters. Seven sections share 100%. Pricing starts at 25% and Rules & Restrictions at 5%. Move the weights until they match what the two of you care about. You can rename, add or remove criteria too: if a garden ceremony is a must, add it.
3. Score each venue after a visit. Give every criterion a score from 1 to 5 while the visit is fresh, ideally the same day. Leave a criterion blank when it doesn't apply.
4. Read the top three. The top three update as you score. If the winner surprises you, look at the section rows: they show where each venue gained and lost points.
5. Print it or keep it. Print the scorecard to compare on paper, print the questions to take on your next visit, or keep it all safe in a free Linenfold account.

How the scoring works

Each criterion gets a score from 1, poor, to 5, excellent. For each venue, a section's raw points are its scores added up, and its average is those points divided by the number of criteria you scored. The average is then multiplied by the section's weight. Pricing at 25% with an average of 4 adds 1.00 to the total; Rules & Restrictions at 5% with the same average adds 0.20. The weighted scores add up to a total out of 5.

A blank isn't a zero. If a venue is indoors only, leave “Weather Contingency” blank rather than giving it a 1, and the section is averaged over what you did score. A section with nothing scored adds nothing, so a half-scored venue looks lower than it will once you finish; the top three shows how many criteria each venue has scored, so you can tell.

The weights have to total exactly 100%, so a section can only gain weight by taking it from another. While they don't add up, the tool says by how much and keeps using your last weights that did, so the ranking never jumps around on a half-typed number.

What happens when you save

Your scorecard is kept in this browser, so it's still here when you come back on the same device. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to keep it. When you create a free account, your venues, scores, sections, criteria and weights come with you, and each venue gets the questions to ask with room for the answers. The free plan holds five venues and vendors; if you've scored six, the first five in your order come across and the sixth is named so you can add it after upgrading. In Linenfold the scorecard sits next to your contracts, payments and budget, and the free wedding checklist covers the rest of the plan. See pricing for what Complete adds.

Questions couples ask

How many venues should we compare?

Three to five is typical. Fewer and you may not know what good looks like; more and the visits blur together. The tool takes up to six, which fit side by side on a laptop and on one printed page.

What if a criterion doesn't apply to a venue?

Leave it blank. The section averages only what you scored, so a missing criterion doesn't drag a venue down.

Why do the weights have to add up to 100%?

So the total stays a score out of 5 and the weights mean something: giving Pricing more means giving something else less. The tool keeps your last weights that added up until the new ones do.

Should price be the biggest weight?

It starts at 25% because it usually matters most, but not always. If your budget has room and the setting is everything, move weight to Amenities & Ambiance or Intangibles and see whether the winner changes.

Can we change the criteria?

Yes. Rename any of them, add your own, remove the ones you don't care about and change the order. Removing a section asks which section takes its weight, so the total stays at 100%.

Is my scorecard private?

Yes. It's kept in your own browser and isn't sent to us or anyone else unless you keep it in an account.

Do I need an account?

No. The scorecard works without one. An account keeps it on every device and lets you score venues together.

What's in the free account?

Venue options with this scorecard, the budget, guest list, seating chart and task list, free forever, for up to five vendors. Complete is US$99 once, not monthly; the pricing page lists what it adds.

Want the rest of the toolkit? Browse the free wedding planning tools.