How to choose the perfect wedding venue?

One of your most important decisions for planning your wedding day is to choose the right wedding venue. You need to consider your available budget, location, amenities, your expected guests count. Many couples are not experienced with event budgeting. In your early planning stage, try talk to your friends who had experience planning their own weddings. Before you make any major decisions or sign any contract, take a serious look at your total budget and make sure it can cover all your anticipated expenses. 

Other things you should consider are:

what theme do you want for your wedding day?  

do you want indoors? outdoors?

does the venue allow you to hire your own vendors (photographer, DJ, catering)?

In Southern California, you can get married pretty much anytime of the year. However, you should consider the season when you plan your wedding date. If your wedding day is scheduled sometime between December and February, the weather can be pretty chilly, and it will get dark quickly after 4pm, so plan your wedding day accordingly. You should have alternative dates for your wedding, if a venue is not available for your first choice. Consider to book a venue at least 8 months in advance, so you have plenty of time to plan ahead. 

Have open mind to search for other lesser known venues. Those popular event sites tend to have more costly rental fee and other service fees and are less flexible to accomodate your special requests. Also, these sites are more likely booked quickly, especially those months between April and October. 

When you finally commit to a venue, you should try to get a signed contract or at least a confirmation letter from the vendor. Take your time to review everything on the contract.  Even after you’ve placed your deposit to secure your date, contact the coordinator every other month to confirm your reservation. Some venues require clients to choose a list of preferred photographers and videographers, other venues don’t have such policy. 

You can find out more details from these links : 

12 things to consider for finding a wedding venue

25 best wedding venues here in LA