Connecticut Wedding Venues

Before booking your wedding venue in CT or even scheduling visits, it’s a good idea to visualize your day from start to finish in as much detail as possible. I know many brides-to-be already have mood boards when they get engaged — but it is super helpful to refresh and write down what truly matters to you and your partner.

Hiring a wedding planner or a part-time coordinator at this stage is a fantastic idea. From a photographer’s standpoint, some venues offer a lot of natural light whereas others are darker and moodier, and will need additional lighting. Neither is better, it is just a matter of what you feel is right for your wedding day.

You should consider your budget at the beginning of the planning stage and take it from there. I’d reach out and ask the wedding venue owner what the average spend is in addition to their packages. Look at the list of add-ons and consider if they will are really necessary.

Once you have your wedding vision and budget, it is time to look at what season you prefer and your ideal dates. Does a crowded dance floor matter a lot to you? Then booking a Saturday is pretty important, for example.

Estimate the size of your guest list

We’ll look at this in detail a little later but having a ballpark estimate of your guest list will help you narrow it down further.

Look at the reviews

You should look at the reviews, and not just on Google. Everybody can leave a review on Google, but The Knot and Wedding Wire have reviews, mostly from previous clients, and they tend to be very honest.

Size matters, obviously!

You don’t want a venue that is too small! But bigger might not be any better. A venue that is way too big can result in it feeling empty. Generally, being at around half to two-thirds capacity will be good. Look at photos from previous weddings the venues have had and ask what the guest count was, simple!

Shape matters too

It is not only size that is important when choosing your wedding venue. Some older and historic places have many rooms and that will ultimately divide your wedding reception up. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you probably shouldn’t choose one like that if you want to keep it intimate and have your guests mingle throughout the day.

Does it have an indoor ceremony option?

Many brides-to-be want to have an outdoor ceremony. If that’s you, it is worth noting that choosing a venue that can accommodate your ceremony inside should it rain heavily on your day is going to keep a lot of stress and anxiety away in the days and weeks before when you will be refreshing the weather app multiple times a day.