Wedding is the most important event of the life of the bride and the bridegroom. It is also a very important event for the families and the friends of the, to be married couple. Venue of the wedding is very important to ensure the smooth conduct of a memorable wedding. Normally, it is felt that there is not much science or art involved to select an ideal venue for a wedding. It is because of this thinking that a venue is selected for a wedding in the nearby vicinity of the residence of the bridegroom or the bride which costs the least. This sometimes results in a fiasco during the wedding when we run out of food for the guests or when the guests are not looked after properly. People have a long memory of such happenings, and the hosts have to bear the ridicule of their guests for the rest of their lives.

There is a well-known saying that “if you fail to prepare then you are preparing to fail.” The seeds of a disastrous wedding function are thus sown in the lack of proper thought before selecting a venue for the wedding.

Some of the points that should be checked while selecting a wedding venue are as under:-

         • Background and reputation check of the venue.

         • Statutory compliance status of the wedding venue.

         • Feedback from the previous user’s of the venue.

         • Location of the venue.

         • State of roads leading up to the venue. Status of traffic on the roads leading up to the venue.

         • Parking space available in the venue.

         • Housekeeping and hygiene standard of the venue.

         • Record of health check up of the food handlers and other staff of the wedding venue.

        • State of power supply to the venue and availability of power backup in terms of a silent generator.

         • State of safety in the venue.

         • Security threat to the venue and the state of the security set up of the institution.

Background and reputation check of the venue 

The wedding venues or hotels are generally owned by politicians, property dealers or people having a lot of black money to invest. A wedding venue being directly or indirectly owned by criminals or person with shady backgrounds should be avoided as these could sully the reputation of the families of the wedding couple. Some hotels or wedding halls enjoy a very poor reputation and are used for promotion of illegal activities like drug abuse. Such places should be avoided while selecting or booking a wedding venue.

Statutory compliance status of the wedding venue 

A hotel or a wedding venue is required to possess a license to carry on their business. It should be registered with the local public authorities. It should also possess labour licence for employing its staff, and other statutory compliance related to employment of staff.

Feedback of the previous user’s of the venue 

One of the best source of reliable information and correct advice regarding a hotel, or a wedding venue are the previous telephone numbers, to get correct feedback regarding the same. This will go a long way in saving us a lot of embarrassment in future.

Location of the venue 

The wedding venue should be located close to the residence of both the bride and the bridegroom residence. However, if the bride and bridegroom reside far apart than the venue should preferably be located close to the place of residence of either of them. This will reduce the commute to the wedding venue by at least some of the guests. This will also facilitate in regular checking of the activities at the venue.

State of roads leading up to the venue. Status of traffic on the roads leading up to the venue 

Commuting in Indian cities by road is a very challenging task. There are frequent traffic jams which can be a cause of lot of trouble for the guests attending the wedding. The delay due to traffic jams may even prevent some guests from reaching the venue in time for the wedding. A wedding venue having easy accessibility and good roads leading up to it should be chosen. The map showing the way to the wedding venue should also indicate the likely time it would take for the  guests to reach the wedding venue from different directions.

Parking space available in the venue 

Finding a parking space close to the wedding venue is the wish of all the guests. It is difficult for the fully dressed guests to walk a long distance to the wedding venue. Such a walk could spoil their mood as well as their makeup before the function which is not desirable. Hence, wedding venue having enough parking spaces for the guests should be chosen for the wedding.

Housekeeping and hygiene standard of the venue 

Most of the wedding venues in the country have poor state of housekeeping and hygiene. This can even lead a bad image to the guests attending the wedding. It is also very annoying for the  guests to use dirty and unhygienic restrooms. The state of housekeeping and hygiene of a wedding venue thus should be checked before booking the same.

Record of health check up of the food handlers and other staff of the wedding venue

Handling of food by sick persons or dirty staff can also lead to sickness among the guests. The health check up of food handlers is required to be carried out regularly. This should be checked before booking the venue for the wedding.

State of power supply to the venue and availability of power backup in terms of a silent generator

A fantastic wedding can get spoiled if suddenly the power to the venue fails. If there is no power backup then the whole function has to wait till the time power is restored. Power failure can thus cause lot of discomfort to the guests, embarrassment to the hosts and lot of problems to the organisers. So, please check the power backup facility at the venue and also ensure that the power backup generators are silent and do no cause a ruckus in the area.

State of safety in the venue 

Just imagine the problems that the hosts will face if there is an accident during the wedding ceremony. Accidents during the wedding function are not uncommon. Some of the causes of accidents are electrocution due to faulty wiring or power overload, fire in the kitchen, collapsing of the stage or collapsing of the tents erected to cover the wedding arena. The accident and safety record of the wedding venue should thus be checked before finalising a wedding venue. The fire fighting layout of the venue and fire fighting systems should be checked during the pre-inspection of the venue. This will not only save you lot of trouble later on but may even save lives.

Security threat to the venue and the state of the security set up of the institution 

Thefts are common happening during the weddings. Similarly, misbehaviour with lady guests and other staff by locals or some drunken guests during the wedding function cannot be ruled out. Presence of unwanted guests or uninvited guests in the wedding is also a cause of concern for the hosts. These uninvited guests could even steal food from the venue which could result in the food shortage for the guests or additional cost to the hosts. A good security set is thus a precondition to prevent such untoward happenings and ensure smooth a peaceful conduct of all the celebration. Please check the wedding venue for CCTV coverage of the complete wedding area.

Close coordination among all the staff members responsible for the conduct of marriage functions is a pre-requisite for successful conduct of the same. The staff should preferably be hired from a single agency to avoid any confusion or struggle between staff of various agencies. Security staff must be well aware of the antecedents of the all the staff members and permit only the authorised persons to enter the wedding venue.

A single person forms the organiser or at the most two persons should be nominated by the wedding venue proprietors to ensure smooth conduct of the marriage. This person should be present throughout the entire duration of the function. This person should be well acquainted with the hosts and follow their directions only.

Wedding function can go off smoothly if detailed prior planning has been carried out for the same. Selection of a proper wedding venue is the most important part of organising a wedding, and due attention should be paid to the same. The points which must be borne in mind while finalising a wedding venue have been highlighted to help you in smooth conduct of your wedding function.