The venue you choose for your function, be it business or pleasure, can be the most important part of ensuring that you and your guests enjoy the event. Your decision on the perfect venue should be based on what type of event you’re planning, how many guests will attend and how much budget you have.
To begin with you’ll need a venue that suits the type of event you’re planning. A conference centre may not be entirely suitable for a 10 year olds birthday party while a wedding reception held in mid winter will need to have somewhere for guests to get away from bad weather. Many venues will also not host certain functions or will require that you end at a certain time of day which may impinge on your guests enjoyment. Contacting a variety of function venues and requesting a visit of the venue should give you a good idea of how suitable it will be.
The number of guests you plan to invite must also be taken into account when visiting a venue to check its suitability. An extremely large venue can ruin a small, intimate gathering while a large function will become very uncomfortable in a venue which is too small. Some function venues will have the ability to change the size of the area in the event that you require more or less space but they will need sufficient warning to prevent them hiring out an unused section of the venue. Discuss your needs with the venue staff, who should be able to advise you on additional costs and notice periods.
Lastly, you need to know how much you can spend. No doubt everyone would like to be able to hire an entire tropical island in order to celebrate their 21st birthday but this may well be outside the average persons budget. Knowing exactly how much you have available to spend will help you to negotiate the best possible rate while ensuring that you do not spend more than you have available. Remember that if you spend too much on the venue you will have to cut costs in other areas of the event.