Wedding Venue Search Guide For Your Los Angeles Wedding

Its February which means many newly engaged couples are on the hunt for their perfect wedding venue. If you’re searching for a venue for your Los Angeles wedding, or Southern California wedding, take a look through this guide before you go for a tour. As a Los Angeles wedding planner, we’ve seen many local venues and know what important details to consider when choosing your venue. Read below for 10 things to consider on your wedding venue search.

1. what’s Included in the venue fee

I put this as number one because overall you want to know what you are getting with the fee you are paying for the venue. This includes the amount hours, any furniture, in house sound systems, lighting, and parking. Many Los Angeles wedding venues will have a total rental period of 10-12 hours. This includes the load in and load out time your vendors will need to set up. Some will also specify the hours of the actual event. Existing furniture and decor are always a great bonus if is goes with the style or theme you want for your wedding day.

2. Be aware of the service fee

Most venues will have a service fee of around 18-20% on top of your rental fee which acts as an administrative fee. In most cases, this fee goes toward paying the amazing venue representatives that work with you throughout your planning. This fee can be quite hefty on top of a $10-20k rental fee so make sure you are clear on the amount from the start.

3. Are there any exclusive vendor requirements

Some wedding venues will require you to use exclusive vendors for your event. In Los Angeles, catering is often the vendor that is exclusive and required for a specific venue. In some cases, you are able to pay a buy-out fee if you prefer to bring in your own catering company. This is definitely good to know when touring venues if you have your heart set on any specific vendors for your wedding day.

4. What is the parking setup

Isn’t parking always a topic in Los Angeles? When on a venue tour, take note, or make sure to ask about the parking options. Locations like DTLA, a private estate, or the beach are likely to have limited options and will require you to provide valet. If valet isn’t required, is there an ample parking lot? Or maybe the location is very remote and you will need to shuttle guests in. This can often be overlooked at first but plays into your overall guest experience.

5. What is available to use on site

You’ll want to know what is existing and available to use at the venue for when you are working on securing the rest of your vendors. Things like an on site kitchen, built in bar, restrooms, running water, and electricity would all be things to check for. If these things are missing, they will end up being something you need to bring in with rentals and pay for. So it’s good to keep in mind when looking at the venue fee and how it fits into your total budget.

6. What are the options for inclement weather

Being in Southern California, we don’t have to worry about bad weather too often. But also, there are certain months of the year that can be very unpredictable. For any of my couples that are getting married in late fall or early spring, I always like to make a rain plan from the beginning so we’re ready to go, in case. If your wedding falls in a month when the weather can be questionable, you’ll want to know and also be ok with whatever the set up would be at your venue for inclement weather. Some venues won’t have a lot of options and you would have to bring in a tent which can get costly. But many Los Angeles wedding venues have amazing indoor-outdoor options that can work if it does indeed rain on your wedding day.

7. What is the existing lighting

This goes back to number 5. But make sure to ask about available lighting. You’ll likely be touring venues during the day, so you won’t see the ambient lighting that would be on in the evening. Many venues have existing lighting that works great. You’ll want to ask about this as bringing in lighting would be an additional expense.

8. What are the insurance requirements

All venues will have insurance requirements for events. Venues are usually happy to let you know this up front, but if not, make sure to ask. Typically you as the couple will need to provide insurance and some or all of your vendors may need to provide proof of insurance.

9. Will there be venue staff on site on your event day

This one is important because what if something goes wrong with the venue? A water leak, power goes out, something stops working. A knowledgeable and savvy wedding planner will be able to assess and problem solve things like this. But it will often result in getting a hold of someone with the venue that has answers. Having a venue representative on site for the entirety of your event is a must!

10. What is the cancellation/postponement policy

Knowing a venue’s cancellation and postponement policy is always important but became even more so in 2020. Of course, we all don’t want to think about this possibility but it’s something that is good to be aware of with your venue as well as each vendor that you book for you wedding day.

Is this list overwhelming you? As a Los Angeles wedding planner, we offer a venue search service that handles the heavy lifting and details both big and small so you can enjoy the fun side of picking your wedding venue. Contact us to learn more!

Photos in this post: Alexes Lauren, Jes Workman, Jordan Galindo, Jacki Potorke