Creating your dream wedding should start with the basic building blocks of any great wedding (known as the big 5 – venue, entertainment, photography, videography and décor). One of the very first choices you should make is choosing the right venue to create your vision for your wedding. It is a must for creating the desired mood, atmosphere and energy on your wedding day. On average only one out of every four or five people at your reception will have attended your actual ceremony. Therefore, for most people in attendance, your reception will be all they remember about your wedding day. Furthermore, your wedding reception will take up the greater portion of your time and money, so choosing the right venue is crucial. Different facilities offer different options and you’ll need to choose what works best for you. It is recommended that before you reserve a specific venue, you speak with people who have had events there for references. A great resource is entertainment companies who have played there on many occasions. Entertainers have a unique view of the
room. They know the flow of the rooms, the pros and cons of trying to create a successful event, and while having a beautiful venue is nice, it is sometimes
counter-productive to a successful event. For example, having the bar and dance floor in the same room helps keep all of your guests–and therefore all of the energy–in one place, versus having them in separate rooms. Here is a list of frequently asked questions:

•Do they require minimum spending amounts for specific dates?
•What is the deposit required?
•What is the payment schedule?
•What are the room and setup fees?
•What are the automatic gratuity and service charges?
•What is the charge per bartender?
•What are the decorating guidelines?
•Do you supply table linen/napkin choices? If so, is there additional cost?
• What time is the room available for vendor/decoration setup?
•What are the options for host bar and cash bar?
•What menu options are available?
•When are final guest list numbers due?
• Is there a children’s menu?
• Is the reception facility handicap accessible?
•Does the location offer champagne toasts?
•Does the venue have services that we are required to get through
them? (i.e. – cake, linens, etc)
•What are the dimensions of the dance floor?
• Are there many windows? Are there drapes available to make it darker if desired?
•How late can we stay?
•Will the venue provide and on site supervisor?
•What is the cancellation policy?

One of the biggest mistakes couples make is picking the wrong venue. In many cases it has to do with size of the venue vs. their number of guests. One of the general rules of creating an event with a great deal of energy is having an area that is equal in size to their guest list. For example, if you have 100 guests in a venue that holds 300 people, no matter what you do ,it will feel empty and be extremely hard to create any closeness and energy. Make sure to select a venue that will match your ideals both in the benefits they offer as well as being the proper size to match your crowd. The same holds true for advance floor. If you have 100 people at your event and a dance floor that holds 100 people, chances are you will never fill it, and the perception (whether real or not) will be that it is never full.You would be much better suited to having a dance floor that holds 30 people and having people dancing on the carpet, instead of it being too big.