Venue Consulting: Hire an Expert to Choose Your Florida Wedding Venue

Choosing a full-service wedding planner and a wedding venue can be intimidating decisions.  A good wedding planner is a large investment, a high level of trust being extended, and basically a new long-term relationship.

After years of meeting with newly engaged couples as a Florida wedding planner, I could tell there is a need for a lower-commitment introduction to hiring a professional planner.

That’s why I created Venue Consulting.

Venue Consulting gives you a wedding planner’s guidance on your most important wedding decision

Choosing your venue is the most critical part of your planning.  You deserve professional guidance in making the right venue choice for your budget and the wedding day experience you want to create.

With my Venue Consulting service, we’ll work together on the most important choice for your celebration, which is choosing where it will take place. 

Your venue sets the tone for all the other parts of your wedding. It’s the space where everyone gathers, it communicates to your guests what they should feel, and so much of your design can be easily pulled as inspiration from this space. 

Venue Consulting is like a “trial run” for hiring me as your wedding planner

Maybe you are on the fence about hiring a full-service Tampa wedding planner. You aren’t quite sure if you need that level of service or if you’ll even like working together. 

If you aren’t ready to commit to full-service wedding planning, let’s start with a smaller commitment first.

What you’ll get from the Venue Consulting service…

When you hire Alexa Kritis Events for venue consulting, you’ll receive:

Budget allocation and pricing education. 

You don’t want to end up being venue poor (aka spending all your budget on your venue and leaving little to no money for investing in your other vendors). I’ll help you think through the total cost of your venue including all the additional fees, unexpected expenses, catering minimums, taxes, and gratuity. 

Wedding planner knowledge to help you navigate the wedding industry. 

There are some key terms we will discuss so you feel confident going into venue tours and having conversations with sales reps. With my extensive knowledge of the Tampa area, I can help you discover the best venue that fits your needs and budget (including some secret venues that book weddings through referrals only)!

A trusted planning process that has worked for dozens of other couples! 

This isn’t my first time choosing a wedding venue. After years of planning weddings and extensive knowledge of the Tampa market, I know the challenges you may not be thinking of. This is the exact same process I use with my full wedding planning clients, and I’ll hold nothing back in helping you too!

The Venue Consulting Process

Step-by-step, here is what the process looks like:

Discovery Call

We start with an in-depth call with both partners to discuss the basics of your wedding day vision. This includes guest count, city/location, setting, and on-site accommodations. We will chat through the food service style options of plated, buffet, family-style, and food stations to find the one that best suits the experience you want to create. And of course, we’ll chat through the pros and cons of an all-inclusive wedding venue that provides rentals, staffing and service, and catering in-house. 

Design Vision

Next, we will talk about aesthetics. This is where you get to close your eyes and dream of how your wedding day feels and what it looks like.  Do you want to be in a garden, in the city, on a rooftop, or near the beach? (And yes, there is a difference between a beach view and a toes-in-the-sand wedding)!  We can absolutely find the right venue for your design vision.

Budget Allocation

Once we have your vision in mind, it’s time to explore your budget and find where your expectations and reality meet. What you are willing to spend may not match the vision you have your heart set on. So it’s time to troubleshoot together to uncover alternative options.

Research & Recommendations

After I understand your dreams and budget, I take over as your planner. Using my expertise, I will identify the best venue options for you and gather the information you’ll need to make an informed venue choice. 

As I start making inquiries at venues and gathering information, you’ll be able to track and review each one on a spreadsheet. This includes all of the collateral that venues send, like pamphlets, brochures, and proposal packages. 

Guided Venue Visits

Once we’ve narrowed down your three top venue choices, I will arrange a site visit to each and accompany you to see the spaces.  There is nothing like having an experienced wedding planner’s eyes on your venue options.  

I will make sure we ask the right questions and help you foresee any challenges the venue presents. This phase includes a maximum of 3 venue site visits.

Contract Review & Booking

Once you’ve found your perfect match and are ready to book, I will look over the contract to make sure everything is outlined properly and clearly. I’ll make sure the elements we discussed are included.  You will truly appreciate having your interests represented in the contract review process.

Hooray – you’ve booked the perfect venue for your wedding day! What happens next?

My hope in Venue Consulting is that you absolutely love working with me and see the value in having me take the lead for the rest of your wedding planning.  As your full-service wedding planner, I can help you choose and book your other vendors, design your dream day, and manage the setup and day-of logistics for your wedding.

So, once your venue is booked, you have the choice to level up to my full-service wedding planning package.  If you do, I will credit you the cost of the Venue Consulting service toward your planning package.  There is basically no additional cost for you!

Sound good?  Your next step is to contact me!

Fill out the form here and mention that you’re interested in venue consulting.  I can’t wait to guide you in this important step!