Before Visiting Wedding Venues in the Houston or College Station, Texas Area
There are three things you should “know before you go” or before you start touring wedding venues:
What’s your budget?
Don’t go to any venues that are over your budget. It’s not worth the heartache when you can’t afford a dream location. There’s so many other wonderful wedding venues out there.
What style do you want?
For example: Church, All inclusive, Barn, Industrial, Garden Style, All Outdoor or All Indoor, Hotel Ballroom, Mansion, Artistic, Modern, Museum, Restaurant, etc.
What size guest count do you need to accommodate?
Don’t go to wedding venues with a maximum head count of 250 when you have a 350 person guest count. It makes your guests uncomfortable to be squished in, and you may end up paying per head for any over budget.
How to decipher your wedding venue budget:
Downtown Houston venues can range between $15,000 to $30,000. These venues are higher-priced wedding venues because they are centralized in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. Lots of ballroom style venues are in the center of Houston. Some of them have all-inclusive packaging. Don’t be surprised if some of the spaces host more than one event a day, limiting the time for your wedding to a number of hours in a single day. Renting the entire venue will be more expensive in order to have it to yourself!
On the outskirts of Houston, in the suburban or rural towns, you’ll find a few more affordable options in the $5,000-$10,000 range depending on the city.
We work often in the Tomball and Montgomery area where wedding venues range from $4,000-$15,000 and are space rental only. This means the tables and chairs are included but you can pick your own vendors and decorate yourself. The all-inclusive options that do exist in this area can be close to the $30,000 range for 200 people.
There are places that have outdoor ceremony sites and smaller venue spaces for around $2,000, and are still very beautiful venues! You just have to weigh your options.
In College Station, the price range for wedding venues is a little lower. Most of the wedding venues in this area do not have a chapel onsite, but have beautiful outdoor ceremony options, and the ability to do them indoors if needed. You can find wedding venues in College Station from $1,000-$15,000. Capacity plays a large role in venue-pricing in this area.
Questions to ask Wedding Venues when Touring
- What are the rental hours? Is a rehearsal on-site an option outside of these hours?
- What is the maximum capacity? Does that capacity include adequate space for a dance floor, catering, and any extra decoration items like photobooths and cake tables.
- What is the cost of the wedding venue and does that include tax or service fees? Is there a military discount? Is there a discount for paying cash?
- Are the payment due all at once or broken into payments?
- What is the cancellation policy?
- How many tables and chairs are included? Are any other decorations available?
- Does the venue set the tables and chairs? (If not, Uniquely Set does!)
- What staff is included for the day and what are their responsibilities? (event manager, coordinator, security, cleaning crew , etc)
- What are the vendor requirements?
- Does food have to come from a licensed caterer? Is a coordinator required? Is alcohol done through the venue, can we do it ourselves, or does it need to come through a licensed bar service? Is there a buy-out fee or penalty for not using the preferred vendors of the venue?
- What are the closest hotel stay options for guests traveling to the wedding?
- Is wedding insurance required, or do you already have your own liability policy?
- What decoration restrictions do you have?
- Can you use real candles? What can be used for an exit?
Ask about our preferred venue list if you are getting married in either of these areas! Contact us.
