It is just a question out of curiousity really, or just me being nosey either way :P i've started the scrapbook idea that some of you ladies suggested for the H2B while he is away and it is going really well :)

But what did you all look for in a venue? What was the feature that made you go 'yes, this is the one for us'? Was it the venue itself? The menu for the wedding breakfast? Etc. I'm just being nosey :D

x

We both wanted the old Manor House with exclusive use and beautiful grounds and preferably close to the Church. Then also somewhere that was professional in dealing with us and a good package. Our venue when we viewed it just felt the love, it was perfect in everyway possible and more than what we had hoped for :D
xx

Really random but it was the mood lighting that made me fall in love with our venue!
As soon as she switched it to our colour I knew I'd book it.
It's the little things lol xx

we wanted a manor house ideally and fell in love with this one as it is so ornate with features everywhere in case in rained. Amazing interior and the staff were very friendly and accomodating. Went from a recommendation.

honestly? affordability. i would love a nice manor house but we just cant afford it. also somewhere that holds the amount of guests we have x

really want to get married at Chatsworth but hubby has other ideas. I want old he wants, I'm not sure what he wants but he has strong opinions.

I really wanted to get married in a castle so that was the key thing for me, H2b did'nt care where we got married he just wants to marry me! LOL. x

as soon as we alked and looked around the venuer we are having we fell in love instantly the room is amazing and has a great atmosphere the service we got while looking around and booking was second to none and we could imagine our selves being there straight away xxx

we just started looking for venues online, we knew hotel / golf&spa sort of places would have some stunning grounds for photographs, and also meant guests could just roll on up to bed later on. Also, value for money, didn't want to pay over the odds for somewhere rubbish!
Having a Manor House or Stately Home wasn't a bother for me really. Just wanted to go in somewhere and think wow this is it!
So we looked online at a few, booked viewings for a couple, some had to cancel, and we were like oh we'll never find anywhere now.

Went to one, OH had his eye on it, from front we were like it looks like a typical hotel golf course, nothing special, and definitely not worth the price tag... as soon as we walked in, we were overwhelmed, it was amazing, we saw the room we'd marry in and both fell in love, then saw reception/bar/evening room etc and the grounds, were so beautiful.

We both walked away thinking wow this is it! We went on to see a couple more but couldnt get this one venue out of our minds. So went back with my parents, worked out some figures, and even though its not the cheapest, theres alot included and benefits etc. x

We wanted totally different to each other. I was all set for a small beach wedding or a small servives and reception somewhere old and cosy. The oh wanted big and modern with bright colours ect.

We looked for a venue for at least a year and half.

Then fell in love with a converted coach house. We think its beautiful. :) Modern but old. Spacious but yet cosy too. Its both our dream :) So happy. Its a small drive away but worth it x

All I really knew was I didn't want a manor house or golf club, but a city centre venue. More choice of hotels, easier for people getting train and better opportunity to see the city (75% of our guests do not live locally).

Then when it came to city centre hotels, I wanted somewhere a bit different. I wanted to feel we were somewhere unique and carried the character of the city. Budget obviously a factor, but it came down to a couple that were fairly evenly matched and it was decided by the fact one hotel couldn't be bothered to provide any sort of service. Lazy and rude, while the other hotel's staff were so helpful and friendly.

I wouldn't underestimate service. You can get an absolute bargain at some places but the staff are rude and won't do anything for you, similarly the most expensive places aren't necessarily the most polite or helpful. View a few and see what you feel from them. Some will see you as a 'booking' and some will want to make your wedding day perfect.

Cost was my main factor as I didnt want to pay over the odds for what is essentially one day.

Then location - wanted a city centre venue, that would hold my no of people.

Also accessability- it had to be wheelchair friendly.

We wanted somewhere a bit different and a bit historic as we are both nerds.

Also I wanted somewhere we hadnt been to a wedding before at (this is a double edged sword as now im a bit nervous as to what it will be like having never seen it "in action").

Had to look lovely, and we had to feel comfortable there, and imagine our guests feeling comfortable.

Not lock you into a "package" I wanted flexibility.

God I didnt want a lot did I? Think we have found it though.

Also agree the staff are very important - some places I looked round in Liverpool were so disinterested in us booking it just put me right off them.

Our essential requirements were:

Located within an hour max of where we live
Good access eg public transport, plenty of parking, etc
Only one wedding per day
If having the ceremony in the same venue, completely separate room
Good flow of space, including access to outside directly off the evening reception room for smokers
Good drinks ie draft beer, or at least bottled beer (some we looked at had cans!! and ice buckets instead of fridges!!)
Flexibility: we didn't want to be relying on good weather, so somewhere with no alternatives for photos etc was a no-no as were marquees
Good toilet facilities ie clean and spacious, and near to the reception room

Our desirable criteria were:

Complete exclusivity ie no-one else there but us
No set finish time ie we can party for however long we want
Accommodation on-site
Luxury and wow-factor
A non-traditional venue (ie no chair covers/sashes, patterned carpets, etc)
Grounds for photos

Our venue meets all our essential and desired criteria, apart from having grounds, but there's a lovely park opposite, and TBH, I think most of our photos will be done inside, as the venue is just BEAUTIFUL inside.

It was love at first site with ours, and there was just nothing wrong with it; it really was perfect. Everything else we looked at had at least 2 major cons eg at one venue the reception rooms were upstairs, so smokers would have to traipse down two flights of stairs to smoke; at one, the dance-floor and buffet would have been in separate rooms, which we felt would have split the party and detracted from the atmosphere; most had 'cut off' times of midnight, or even earlier; at one venue the toilets were up 2 flights of stairs; as mentioned, at some the drinks weren't good, etc.

I wanted it to look good without needing tonnes decorating it, I also want it to be the right size....there is nothing worse than having fifty people in a room meant for two hundred! I also wanted it in York city centre as this is where I and most of the guests live and it would feel odd getting married out there.

Price was a constraint, too and I was soooo pleased that my dream venue was affordable.

It was also important that I felt I had a rapport with the events organiser, who has been there twenty years and wa very knowledgeable and very proud of the venue. We looked at some lovely venues but the events organises just didn't seem too fussed so I passed on them xx

We knew we wanted it to all be one place and have the option for guests to stay - lots of guests!! Which limited us quite a bit. The problem was I did not want a "hotel" wedding. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against hotel weddings, I just spend a lot of time on conference days in hotels and did not want to feel like I was at work! So when we found the Lion Quays and saw they're delightful conservatory that opened out on to the canal I knew it was the place for us. All the perks of a big hotel with a beautiful spa, lovely grounds so we could be outside and a room to get married in that did not feel at all like a hotel, i knew it was the one we wanted.x

I'm so glad to see so many of you looked for the same things i have! I was wondering if some of them were a bit mad tbh. H2B spoke to me last night and we're going to have a long sit down and chat and write of list of the essentials :)

x

we started off looking at hotel venues, but the catering was very pricey as we ve both been married before we wanted something on a budget, but we also wanted somewhere nice with gardens for fotos we have a tudor house for the ceremony at five o clock and for our evening party which is only ten mins away and we have laid on transport so guests are not worried about driving, we looked for somewhere with a large dance floor, holds 250 people, outside catering and not too expensive for the guests drink wise :-)