How To Market a Wedding Venue: 6 Tips for Using Your Business as a Destination for Weddings

The wedding venue matters. On their special day, people want to make the most of it. So what's your part in the story? If you have a space to use as a wedding venue, you can create an amazing side hustle and offer a unique experience. Win-win. 

Wedding ceremonies bring many people together in a joyful environment, ready to consume. Therefore, many businesses think about turning their establishment into a wedding venue. 

Some examples of those businesses might be:

• Farms,
• Restaurants,
• Mansions,
• And hotels. 

Especially the hotels have plenty of reasons and opportunities to create a wedding venue. Just consider what you have ready for a transformation: a conference room, event hall, or restroom can perfectly serve private events. These places in your hotel are great for wedding ceremonies. 

By organizing weddings in your hotel, you may:

• attract more customers,
• increase your revenue,
• boost brand awareness.

Before transforming your hospitality business into a wedding venue, check these tips out and hit the target quickly. When starting something new, it's wise to take each step gingerly. 

These tips will lead you on your way to establishing a successful wedding venue from your hotel. Good luck! 

Be sure you are capable of being a venue

Evaluating your business' capability of becoming a wedding venue will save you time and money in the long run.

Let's be realistic. You won't be able to turn your property into a wedding venue simply because you wish to. You should ask yourself several questions before deciding anything concerning your place. 

Here are some examples:

• Is my space big enough to host a wedding? Maybe for a micro wedding? 
• Can I accommodate a ceremony and a reception? Or just one over the other? 
• What would the theme of my venue be? 
• What will my business offer in a wedding package? 
• Will I be able to bring in my own caterers? 
• Do I have to use the venue's staff instead of paid caterers?

Details make a difference. Take your time and ask as many questions as you can. In this way, you can be well-prepared.

Pro tip: The municipal regulations regarding noise and parking are a must to know. When is the music expected to be shot down? Is there a voice level that you must abide by? Is the structure of your building suitable, and if so, how can you obtain the necessary authorizations? 

Create a separate business plan for the venue

A well-thought business plan makes your work easy from the beginning to the end of every business process. 

Your business plan will serve you as a guide about how to establish, manage, and develop your new wedding venue. These can assist you in attracting new potential clients or partners. You should focus on your venues' business plan separately to make your mind carefully and act in an organized way.

Pro tip: After the city has granted you the go, it's time to get certain on your objective. There is certainly a lot to consider when establishing your property as a wedding venue. You should meet the diverse demands and expectations of your customer. Additionally, provide different spatial options as well as conduct research beforehand. 

Some of the questions you should focus on can be as follows:

• Would it be possible to provide the bride and her bridesmaids with a place to get dressed? 
• Will the groom and his groomsmen have the same services? 
• Where would the ceremony be held? 
• Is it possible to have the reception inside? 
• Is it possible for couples to have an after-party at your venue, too? 
• Do your business need to partner with any other organization? 
• Do you need catering services? 
• Will you be able to provide different catering options to your customer? 

Establish the costs of the conversion

You will strengthen your business plan and be ready to take action when you evaluate the conversion cost beforehand. 

It is not easy or cheap to transform your building into a wedding venue. And, the process and the requirements change according to your building's structure and your land's properties. Some types of costs you should consider are as follows: 

• consulting an expert,
• providing professional kitchen equipment and an area,
• providing restrooms and organizing their cleaning,
• and, of course, decoration. 

Pro tip 1: You may think long-term and employ a lawyer for your hotel. In this case, you can advise them whenever you want about anything, including your wedding venue business.

Pro tip 2: You may charge the cost of cooking and services in the catering per guest fee.

Pro tip 3: You could charge an extra fee for the usage of these facilities. For example, you may ask for extra payment for a couple's bathroom.

Advertise what sets you apart

Hotel businesses wishing to turn their space into wedding venues need to employ various marketing strategies.

Due to the increasing popularity of wedding venues that were inherently a hotel space, creative and branded ideas are paramount for success. Therefore, in addition to tasty cuisine and a wonderful ambiance, hotel businesses put a big emphasis on advertising their goods, services, and brand. These marketing strategies indeed are what make your venue unique and favorable. 

Pro tip 1: There are several ways to promote your wedding venue to help you achieve your marketing goals. For instance, you can start with different hotel branding techniques to boost your identity and voice. Then you can create content to share on various channels to boost bookings and brand awareness. 

In this way, those who aren't already following your hotel's social platforms can discover more about your brand personality. It helps to be active across the platforms. For example, apart from Facebook and Instagram, you can also inform your audience through email marketing about your upcoming wedding venue or existing discounts and packages.

Pro tip 2: Good-quality hotel photography will allow you to showcase eye-capturing photographs of your new wedding venue. You will need these amazing images for many purposes, such as social media posts, marketing content, website, and even offline advertising. So make sure that they represent you well. 

Make necessary remodels and repairs

Since hotels are not essentially designed as wedding venues, additional renovations and specific repairments are required. 

Do you need installations inside the hotel or outside of it? Well, maybe you have to rent some equipment or area for specific purposes. These remodeling and repairments are essential for aesthetic purposes and practical advantages.

Pro tip: Dwelling into details, you can ask yourself what you should do to transform your hotel into a wedding venue. Here are some examples:

• building enough restrooms,
• renting portable bathroom trailers and tents,
• building parks for guest cars and staff,
• getting additional lightning,
• furnituring, plumbing, and flooring,
• building a banquet hall etc.

Consider Caterers

You should partner with the best caterers to run a successful wedding venue in case you don't have your own catering service. 

We mentioned the importance of asking for guidance from experts. Foremost amongst them comes caterers. People remember the taste and smell after an organization. So don't get cheap on it.   

The general planning of wedding ceremonies will rely on what caterers think. For example, you might change the reception place according to your caterer's suggestion. Building a good kitchen area and gathering the required equipment for cooking will also not be simple. Here, it is helpful to get a caterer's instruction. 

Pro tip: You should organize and promote various package sets, including catering options. In this way, you can charge extra fees for each one added to the caterer's share.

Transforming a hotel into a wedding venue is pretty common in the hospitality industry, and it continues rising in popularity. However, take each step carefully while starting a wedding venue to establish one.