How To Choose Your Hotel Wedding Venue

I can hardly believe that around this time ten years ago my husband and I were booking our wedding venue. I can’t even begin to work out where that time has gone. It seems like only yesterday that we set the wedding wheels in motion by setting the date and choosing our venue. Before we did this, I had already helped plan my Sister’s wedding, so it’s safe to say, I have a little experience.

I always knew I wanted to get married in a hotel. I am not a religious person and it seemed like the perfect arrangement for us. If you’re confused as to which kind of wedding venue to pick, I’m here today to tell you how to choose your hotel wedding venue and to share a few tips on how to select the best one for you.

Choose the style of your hotel

It’s kind of glaringly obvious, but by choosing to marry in a hotel you have a huge selection to choose from. You might fancy a chic modern boutique hotel or you might prefer the idea of an older hotel full of history. The choices are endless. So many hotels have wedding licenses these days and many offer wedding packages. The choice can be overwhelming, so if you know which style you would prefer, narrow your list down by checking each hotel website and then you won’t spend precious days viewing venues that aren’t really what you want.

Check out the prices your guests will pay

One thing that I was extremely conscious of when booking our hotel was to check the prices that guests will have to pay. Yes, you will likely be paying for your guest’s food at your wedding breakfast and this won’t cost them anything, but if you are inviting your guests to stay at the hotel, don’t pick somewhere that is going to cost them a small fortune. Weddings are expensive for guests too so be mindful. If you can, try and block book some rooms and negotiate a reduced price with the wedding coordinator. Most of the time, wedding venues are happy to do this. The same goes for the bar prices. Don’t expect your guests to pay over the odds for drinks just because they have the privilege of being invited to your day.

Don’t book more than you need

Hotels will provide you with various wedding packages. Most will be down to the size of your wedding. If you are expecting 100+ guests then obviously you will need a larger room, but if you don’t intend to invite that many, don’t be persuaded into booking more space than you need.

Negotiate the menu

So you’ve found the hotel for the perfect price and then you see that the wedding breakfast menu isn’t to your taste. How annoying! Don’t panic. Have a chat with the wedding coordinator and ask if alternatives are available. Most hotels are very accommodating and understand that it is your special day, so everything needs to be just perfect. If they’re not, then perhaps the venue isn’t the right one for you.

Check the corkage prices

This is something we did and saved ourselves a substantial amount of money. We bought our own wine for the tables and negotiated a good corkage price per bottle. Weddings aren’t cheap and so any way of saving money is worth it in the long run – you can put the savings towards your honeymoon!

Do you have any tips on choosing your hotel wedding venue? Let me know in the comments.