How Much Should You Spend on a Wedding Venue?

The venue is usually the single largest line in a wedding budget, so it helps to decide your figure on purpose rather than letting it settle by accident. This is a short sample article, written so the planning layout can be reviewed.

The venue’s share of the budget

For many couples the venue takes a meaningful portion of the total, often before catering is counted. Knowing roughly where that share tends to sit makes it easier to judge whether a quote is reasonable for the day you have in mind.

Start from your total, not the venue

Set the amount you are comfortable spending overall first. The venue budget then becomes a share of something real, rather than a number you are forced to work backwards from later.

What a venue quote usually includes

Hire fees, minimum spends, catering and corkage are not always presented the same way. Reading each quote on the same terms is what makes two venues genuinely comparable.

A calm way to set your figure

The Hainsworth & Vow budget calculator will help with this once it launches. Until then, a simple split across venue, catering and everything else is a steady place to begin.