The choice of venues in Switzerland is almost limitless and yet many venues are still almost unknown. In addition, there are a few important restrictions and selection criteria that need to be considered and evaluated. We have summarized the most important criteria to the question “how to find the perfect wedding venue? “
Type of venue
- What kind of venue do you want at your wedding? Do you need premises for the wedding ceremony, for an aperitif and for the banquet?
- Should the different activities of the day all take place at the same venue or is a change of venue conceivable or even desired?
- Can church or civil weddings be held in the desired venues, if such are planned?
- How far are the routes and what is the traffic volume on the planned day when changing venues? How far and how long are the distances?
- What style do you want for the venue? Should it be a castle, a barn, an industrial hall or rather a restaurant? Would you like to get married in a church or outside in the meadow?
Location of the venue
- The geographical location is of course important. In which canton or town do you want to get married or which radius around this place is reasonable for you and your guests?
- How easy is it to reach the venue? Can you reach it by public transport or would you have to organize a shuttle bus? How many parking spaces are available and do you have to pay for them? Can you reserve public parking spaces?
- Should the venue be at a lake, in the mountains or at the edge of a forest? Directly at the lake, it must always be considered that this represents a safety risk for unsupervised children.
- Do you need overnight accommodations? Are they available at the venue or in the immediate surrounding?
- Is the venue on a thoroughfare or walking path? Do you have enough privacy at the venue?
Premises
- Are there enough large rooms? Are there premises available for all daytime activities? If necessary, are there additional rooms for children’s entertainment or retreats for the bride and groom?
- Are good and bad weather options available that are keeping with the style of the wedding and are a real option?
- Are there any restrictions on guests such as guests who are poor walkers or in wheelchairs? Is the venue designed accordingly?
- For fire safety reasons, there are sometimes restrictions on the maximum capacity of the number of people. How many people are allowed and can actually celebrate at the respective venue?
- What infrastructure is available? What do the chairs and tables look like? Is it necessary to rent a tent, sunshades or furniture?
- When can the premises be occupied or decorated? When do any materials have to be collected again?
Special conditions
- How important is the exclusive use of your venue to you? Would you like to rent the premises and possibly also hotel rooms completely for your event and not have any external guests on site? Is this possible at all and at what price? Are there other guests or even a second wedding at the same venue?
- In Switzerland, there is generally a noise protection regulation that prohibits loud music from 10:00 p.m. in the outdoor area. Are there any other restrictions regarding music or a closing time? How important is a party until the morning hours to you?
- Beware of package deals for drinks and celebration – these are usually geared to make them profitable for the provider and not focused on the bride and groom’s interest.
- Are there any restrictions regarding season or day of the week? Is the desired date still available?
Contract
- What restrictions and costs are included in the contract? It is worth to check the contracts with the venues carefully, because often additional costs are not obvious from the offer. For example, the tapping money, rent of furniture, use of infrastructure, as well as the extra hours and the staff after 0.00 p.m.
- What happens if the wedding has to be cancelled? For personal reasons or for reasons of force majeure? What is agreed in the contract? What deadlines must be observed?
Price
- Is there a minimum consumption or rent for the venue? What is included in the minimum consumption?
- How much can the venue cost including consumption? A rough rule of thumb says that the venue together with food and drinks should not exceed 50% of the set budget. Otherwise it will be difficult with the other service providers that are still needed for the wedding.
As you can see, there are several points to consider and assess when choosing your dream venue. Therefore, take a lot of time for this part. We are happy to support you. Contact us for a free first meeting.
