Silver Hearth Lodge, a private mountain top wedding venue. — *Silver Hearth Lodge, a* *private mountain top wedding venue*.

Finding the right venue is one of the key elements in your wedding, but if your flexible on the date that you’re getting married, it could save you a LOT of money, Carole and I show you how to save and save on top of that in today’s chapter.

Finding the right venue will set the stage for your wedding and it will also help shape your wedding theme, colors, décor and just about everything else in mind too.

With that, you have many to choose from when it comes to cost, amenities, location and of course availability.

Depending on you location, dedicated wedding venues and those that are something else first all have a similar idea, they want you to get married at their wedding venue.

But, there is a little unknown secret thats lying right in front of you and it’s your wedding date.

See, most couples tend to get married on a Saturday afternoon or evening and rates for venues will be at their prime.

That’s because in any given region, there are literally thousands of other couples just like you looking to secure a venue with the same date.

42307 couples get married in the US every weekend Yeah thats a lot.png

I know, big shock, you’re not going to be the only couple getting married that day.

So, to get around that problem you have to be open minded about your date.

Off-Day Discounts

Venues no matter what they offer, need to operate in order to survive, they know this and to help with that, many offer an off-day discount if you want to have your wedding on a mid-peak day, which is typically a Friday or Sunday.

While its not the most ideal time to get married, it does save you a good amount of money.

In fact, nearly 68% of wedding venues will offer a cheaper rate on a Friday or Sunday than a Saturday.

Beyond that, several also offer non-peak weekday rates too, the Monday through Thursday days.

Here is a great example of that, I found a wedding venue price guide to share, we removed the venue name and information since this is just an example.

At this venue, they have a Friday, Saturday and Sunday rate of $2,000 but if you get married Monday-Thursday it’s a 50% discount at just $1,000.

Not bad for a venue rate at all.

The idea here is to have enough flexibility on the date where it may save you a bit of money, most venues will not list the off-day rates online and you usually have to ask about it.

The same often times may apply to other vendors but not all of them. For example, we at Wedding Photography and Films charge the same rate for a Saturday as we do a Wednesday.

It truly depends on the vendor and what they are able to do with making enough money to keep the venue up and running.

Off-Season Discounts

Another thing to consider is if your region has an off-season in the wedding industry.

Places like here in Virginia typically have an off season from October through late March, while Florida for example is warm enough throughout the year to carry on with weddings. In places like Florida or Arizona don’t usually have off-peak seasons, so it depends on your wedding location.

You can use this to your advantage if you’re willing to have a wedding at the end of the season or during the off-season.

Going back to venues, they need money to operate and stay in business. If a venue for example shuts down at the end of October for off-wedding season, ask them about a deep discount if you had your wedding the first weekend in November.

Other venues will operate during the late fall and winter months offering savings from 20%-50% if not more. You also have venues that charge based not on the season, but the wedding month popularity.

Take this other example I found online, it’s a popular higher-end venue and they Charge based on which month you’re getting married at, ranging from getting married on a Friday in November or December for $6,000 to a May, September or October Wedding on a Saturday for $12,000.

That is a 50% spread based on the same venue for a different day/month of the year.

It’s actually not a new practice, in-fact you run across that all the time with hotel rates, airlines, car rentals and the like too.

I DO Want You To Think For a Minute

There is something to say about what a venue has to offer however and I want you to think about this for just a moment. In addition to what you are paying for you need to ask yourself if the location offers everything you will need for your wedding day needs.

This is what we mean.

Is the venue a dedicated wedding venue or something else first, a venue second?

If it’s a dedicated venue, chances are they will have everything you need and you don’t have to worry about details.

But if it’s a (winery first, hotel first, business first) and a venue second, you need to look at the basics to make sure it will work for you.

Basics include:

A couple of rooms to prep and get ready in at the property
Bathrooms for all your wedding guests (not porta-johns either)
Kitchen are for catering/cake bakers to prep if needed
An indoor area (or tent) for dining, dancing or ceremony if there is bad weather
Ample parking for enough guests

The overall idea is to have enough space to have the wedding as well as have enough of the basics covered where you can do everything you need.

I remember filming a wedding about 7 years ago where the couple got married at a “venue” that was simply a barn with a concrete floor.

No bathrooms, no real place to get married at, even the DJ didn’t have power for his lights or music. It was a disaster because the couple simply didn’t consider everything for the venue.

A Few Things to Consider

Before you sign up at a venue, a couple of things to consider.

First, make sure they have a good contract with some clauses in it.

For example, make sure there is something about needed to change the date due to bad weather (like snow, ice or severe rain, flooding).

Also, make sure they have been insured, I’ve been to a few “venues” before that didn’t and thats just asking for a lawsuit by a guest, vendor or someone working the wedding if they get injured and try to come after you.

Third, make sure that the contract has the right date, hours that allow enough time to setup (usually 2 or 3) as well as a time that the property has to be left, cleaned and in good standing order. For example, if midnight is the end, you’ll want the wedding to end at 10:30 or 11:00 pm so whomever you get to clean it can do so without a huge penalty.

Also, no matter what venue you choose, never pay more than 50% as a deposit.

Why?

Because venues can come and go as is the case for Nesserod Bed and Breakfast which is a wedding venue in my neck or the woods…. or was.

The new owner was deep into debt and had to close it’s doors and left many couples without getting a deposit back and left them without a venue.

You need to remember that a wedding venue is a business like anything else, it’s just a big ticket line item, so don’t pay for the venue 100% up front.