Oh The Places We’ll Go – Venue Search Part III*

Useful tools for making decisions?
Why a checklist and a handy dandy spreadsheet, of course. Gotta make sure I'm comparing guavas to guavas. The checklist was made with the help of my wedding planner.

My checklist

Being new to the whole venue search thing I had no idea what questions to ask but having a checklist to refer to ensured that I didn't forget to ask about the things that were important to me.

My spreadsheet

Notes on a Spreadsheet

• Tax & Gratuity included where applicable.
• Cost based on 200 people except for the Brooklyn Academy of Music which could hold 160 max with a decent sized dance floor.
• Underneath total cost I noted what was included for the price.
• Food and beverage pricing have probably increased 5%-15% since 2009.
• Sales tax for New York has increased since 2009. 
• Cost per person for Stage 6, Capitale, Brooklyn Museum of Art and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

 

Based on the numbers and a wee bit of emotion I eventually booked my wedding location in August of 2009. Yup, you read that right I booked my wedding venue more than two years in advance.

So is this the norm or am I a crazy wackadoo? How do real people make decisions about their venue and how soon do they put down a deposit? Also, let me know if the checklist and/or spreadsheet were useful.

* info as of Summer 2009