As you comb through the Internet doing research on Long Island wedding venues in preparation for your special day, there are certain qualities you want your chosen spot to possess.
Some of these wedding venue features might sound obvious, but as you’ll find during your wedding planning maraton, even the most unmistakably important details cannot be taken for granted. Can the venue accommodate all of the guests you wish to invite? Will all your guests have a place to park their car? Is the wedding venue’s catering menu varied enough to satisfy a diverse array of tastes?
These questions and more should be on your mind from the moment you begin wedding planning, until you wake up on the morning of the event and start to make your way toward the ceremonial aisle. To help you make that moment as stress-free as possible, here’s a handy list of the top seven features your wedding venue should deliver to you, your wedding party, and your guests.
Plenty Of Room For Guests
If there’s one detail you need to have figured out as early as possible, it’s the number of guests you have at your wedding. And once you have those numbers ready, it’s time to find out if your venue of choice can accommodate the amount of family and friends you want to bear witness to your nuptials. If you have 200-plus attendees set to arrive at your wedding gala, the venue should have room for that amount and then some. Equally, if your wedding is a more modest affair, you should check if the venue has a smaller ballroom available for the reception.
Stylish Decor
One of the last things you want your wedding to be described as is outdated and unfashionable. If this happens, every time you look back at your wedding, either in your memory or immortalized in photos, you will only be able to think about how much you wish you could change. The problem with the past is, you can’t change it! So, if your wedding venue is dressed in outdated decor, it will never match the wedding of your dreams. Instead, choose a wedding venue that places a premium on timeless beauty—this way, no matter how much time passess, your wedding will always remain stylish. Don’t be shy about asking your venue of choice for a tour so that you can be sure it has the look you have in mind.
Full-Service Menu
Let’s be honest, a big part about what people love about weddings is the food. From the cocktail hour to the main course to the late-night snack, your guests are going to crave an array of gourmet bites and exhilarating beverages to keep them full of energy and on the dance floor. Your wedding should be an extravagant and indulgent affair—and the best way to ensure that happens is to see that your venue serves cuisine meant for a party with those attributes. First, the cocktail hour should have playful, delicious, and passable finger foods that enliven the appetite and get everyone into the party mood. Then, the main course should present an air of refinement before the dessert delivers a decadent coda to the event. And for any attendees that are especially hard partiers, a late-night snack might be an ideal final touch. Also, the opportunity to add menu enhancements is a big plus.
Vendor Options
Any wedding venue that has the best interests of its customers in mind should offer as many vendor options as possible—this will help you build the perfect wedding that matches the vision in every way. Wedding vendors include florists, DJs and entertainment, photography and videography, limousines, custom cakes, rental attire, hotel accommodations, make-up artists, decor, and even cigar rollers. When you host your wedding at the Watermill, not only do you get a team of in-house specialists, but they also recommend local vendors for all your additional needs—helping you to breathe easier.
Ample Parking
This might be easily overlooked, but you definitely don’t want your guests circling the neighborhood in search of a parking spot. Wherever you get married, you should ensure that the wedding venue has its own parking lot and, ideally, a valet option for an added layer of piece of mind. This also helps protect against any guests arriving late to the ceremony or reception.
Lighting & Sound Equipment
Does your preferred wedding venue have its own lighting and sound equipment, or are you going to have to provide that through a third-party vendor? Ideally, this is an element that the venue should provide, but it is worth asking just in case. When wedding lighting is done correctly, it can set the mood to the desired balance of romance mixed with revelry and oftentimes it is the final piece to an unforgettable wedding event. As for sound equipment, this is something usually provided by the DJ, but it doesn’t hurt to confirm that detail with your wedding venue professional.
And finally, you want to hold your wedding at a venue that has hosted hundreds or even thousands of “I Do’s” on its grounds. Not only does this level of experience breed professionalism and courtesy in the venue’s treatment of you and your guests, but it also means that they will be able to improvise should unforeseen circumstances pop up. Whether its having a bridal attendant or maître d' on hand to step in and take care of business or simply white-gloved staff members with unmatched attentiveness, the knowledge and professional courtesy of the wedding venue staff is an aspect of your special day that some of your guests will remember.
