How To Compare Venues

Below is our guide to comparing venues.

Every venue has its own set of services that it offers. Because of this, it can be hard to compare them.

We are going to use three different types of venues to work through how we compare different venue options for our clients.

Hotel – includes ballroom and rooms to book for the couple and guests

Non-hotel venue – a venue that may only provide the space

Tent – in this example, we are going to assume that you will be renting a tent and erecting it on private property that you have access to vs. a tented venue run by someone else

For each of the items below, we have indicated whether you may have to pay it. When you break down the cost of different venues, put each cost in place and whether you have to outsource it. For items that are outsourced, consider delivery and pick up fees. This will give you a better idea of what the actual cost of a certain venue.

Venues could provide services beyond what we have listed here. To compare, find the market value of what is being provided if it is something important to you.

Item	Hotels	Non-hotel venue	Tent
Room/venue rental	Likely to be charged for each room that you use.	Likely to be charged for the rental of the venue. Restaurants may only charge this if you don’t meet the food and beverage minimum.	Not applicable
Tent rental	Not applicable	Usually not applicable unless you are expanding the size of the venue with a tent.	Need to rent a tent large enough to accommodate your guest, dance floor, and other items.
Hotel rooms	You may have to guarantee a certain number of nights that if unfulfilled you may have to pay for. Alternatively, unbooked rooms in a block may be released at a certain date.	Only if you book a hotel room block. Unbooked rooms could be released back into the pool at a certain date or you may be on the hook for unbooked rooms. Read the contract to know which.	Only if you book a hotel room block. Unbooked rooms could be released back into the pool at a certain date or you may be on the hook for unbooked rooms. Read the contract to know which.
Food and beverage	Provided in house.	May be restricted to a list or be able to bring in your own caterer.	Bring in your caterer of choice.
Bartenders	May have a minimum amount that has to be met in sales to defer the bartender fees. May have to pay for bartenders beyond what the hotel provides.	May have to hire your own bartenders or pay a fee to use the venues bartending service.	Likely have to hire bartenders to serve your guests. You may be able to hire this through your caterer.
Basic decor (tables, chairs, linens, etc.)	Likely provided – ask for what is provided.	May be provided or may incur an extra charge depending on the item.	Need to pay for these. Best to have them rented from the company with the tent rental.
Other decor	Will need to rent or purchase anything that the hotel does not include or if you want something different.	Some venues may have decor that you can use for a fee. Make sure you like this decor before paying this fee. Otherwise you can rent or purchase items.	You will need to rent or purchase anything that you need unless you already own it.
Set up	Hotel will set up their items. You will be responsible to set up other items. Alternatively, you can hire a wedding planning company to help with the set up.	May set up their items, but you may have to do it depending on the venue. Alternatively, you can hire a wedding planning company to help with the set up.	You can pay for the rental company to set it up or you will have to set it up. Alternatively, you can hire a wedding planning company to help with the set up.
Tear down	Hotel will tear down their items. You will have to remove items you have provided. Again, a wedding planning company could help with this.	Depending in the venue, you may need to tear down everything including the tables and chairs. You may even have to clean other areas. Again, a wedding planning company could help with this.	You can pay for the rental company to tear down. But you will have to have all of your items removed. Again, a wedding planning company could help with this.
Washrooms	Provided	Provided	May need to rent additiional washrooms.
Power	Provided	Provided	May need to rent generators to run everything.