It’s a beautiful sentiment to be part of making dreams come true like love stories shrouded in wedding gowns, suits, romantic décor, catering, and lots more. If you want to know how to buy a wedding venue and start your wedding business, then you’re in the right place. Today’s article discusses some valuable things to bear in mind when venturing onto this route.
Weddings are beautiful, and some fairytale-like with glamor and magic and not forgetting the beautiful couple in love. If it’s been your dream to own a wedding venue and be part of the magic, you can do exactly that. Getting everything in order is very important, and planning is the key to success.
What Are The Pros Of A Wedding Venue?
When considering how to buy a wedding venue, you may want to consider any advantages and disadvantages that are associated with the business. Since this is a long-term investment, and you may even put in everything you have in order to make it work, you should consider how this could make or break your profits.
Advantages of owning wedding venues
- Help make some couples’ dreams of their perfect wedding come true – The job is fulfilling and wonderful for you and the client.
- Excellent profits are made – You can turn around exponential income and profits renting your venue. Wedding venues can range between $3,000 – $11,000 per couple. If you had several weddings in the same year, you could make a lot of revenue, which is great for business.
- Expenses are fairly low – Thanks to the fact that the venue preparations are the main thing you focus on, it too comes in as one of the major expenses in the business, and of course, the crew involved with making it happen, like the caterers and so forth.
Disadvantages of having a wedding venue
Another consideration when thinking about how to buy a wedding venue is the disadvantages and as with everything there are always cons too.
- Seasonal events – Many people prefer getting married in warm weather and warmer seasons. Since warm seasons are a preference, the business might be slower during winter or fall. Still, it’s not to say that you won’t make any money at all during cold weather. You may need to adapt the venue to keep guests warm or even create a winter palace-like theme, whatever your client is looking for.
- Starting-up costs can be steep – Not everyone can afford to purchase the ideal commercial property to host the weddings. Since purchasing a venue isn’t an option for everyone, you may need to rent, and this can become expensive since you’re renting monthly. If you don’t make the turnaround required, the rent might be expensive to maintain.
Venue Challenges
Another disadvantage might be the fact that many couples are considering destination venues and not necessarily a fixed building. For example, the beach wedding, as mentioned earlier, or jetting off to a tropical island, some couples elope for their wedding. Other people may even prefer getting married on a yacht in a more intermate setting. With these wedding venue challenges, it’s hard to stand out from the competition and to convince your party to choose your venue. This is why standing out and being able to accommodate your clients is imperative
Some business owners collaborate with event planners that can take care of the decor and create exclusive themes that will transport the couple and their guests to the destination. For instance, an aquatic theme or an island theme and so forth. It would also be less expensive for clients to go with a themed wedding in a building since this will be cheaper than actually going to the destination and having to think about how the guests will get there as well.
Prepare Your Finances
How do your finances look? It doesn’t matter what business route you choose. Getting a load of finances is a critical part. You’ll need money to fund your running operations, like purchasing stock and paying staff members. Will you need to make a loan at the bank, or do you have some money saved up for this venture? You may also need to hire payroll services to get the bookkeeping and accounts running and in check. Some people do the finances on their own and larger companies hire help
Create a Stock of Chairs
For the wedding venue, you may need to invest in chairs since people will be seated throughout the day. You may have the event chairs go with the dining tables where the guests will be seated as they enjoy their meals. Chairs are also important in the dance hall and throughout the venue, as there may also be older guests and people may simply need to rest their tired feet after a long day taking photos and enjoying the couple and the sights and scenes of the wedding day.
Have the Roof Repaired
Perhaps you purchased a building that requires some TLC. Start with the important stuff like roofs, for example. An indoor wedding venue will be beneficial as it can take place in any weather. Your building may need roofing repairs to pass any construction regulations associated.
What about staff for your business? Sure, you will need some staff to tend to the venue as it transforms from one magical wedding event to the next. Every wedding is different, and you will have to cater to your client’s needs. You may need to hire an interior decorator and catering company to assist. Some people may want catering staff to wait on the guests at the event. Have your options open either way.
Make Things Accessible
As part of your considerations of how to buy a wedding venue, you should consider the accessibility of your venue. Can your potential clients see it, and have they even heard about it? Some people partner with wedding planning companies to set up a process and create accessibility for their wedding venue. Sometimes combining expenses helps both businesses to achieve their goals.
Apart from the property’s physical location, consider the accessibility inside the venue. If the venue has more than one story, you may want to consider an elevator upgrade. Installing an elevator can be expensive, but it will be convenient for guests in wheelchairs and those who would like to take the lift instead of the staircase.
Upgrade Your Parking Lot
Another how to buy a wedding venue consideration would be the parking lot. While the venue itself is significant, the parking and accommodating vehicles are just as crucial. A parking lot paving company will assist you with various paving needs like asphalt paving and tarmac or just about any material you prefer for your new wedding venue. Often, paving companies also offer affordable asphalt maintenance, which is handy if this is the paving you have and perhaps it needs some fixing.
Create a Beautiful Window Display
If you have a wedding gown shop as part of your wedding venue business, you could consider the window display. If there is one thing we can learn in marketing and that is that customers are interested in beautiful things. A beautiful display will attract potential clients whether they’re buying a wedding dress or hiring a beautiful wedding venue. Get some good quality commercial storefront glass to show off your store display. Window drapery is also a wonderful feature to add to your display. Elegant drapery is beautiful and romantic, like the love story of your couples getting married at your venue.
Complete Necessary Renovations
Let’s say you were able to get your ideal property that serves as your wedding venue, and it required some extra love and care. Then renovations may be just the thing you need. Buying a property in the right location is always important. Some people prefer their wedding on a wine estate, while others like the sight of the beach and the waves. Adding the last touches of essential renovations is a critical part that may forever characterize the venue from here on out. Many reputable building contractors can help you get the necessary changes done. You might also need to work on the plumbing and electrical, such as electrical panel wiring.
What Your Business Plan Might Look Like
You will need a business plan to get your goal of how to buy a wedding venue. Your business plan may include aspects such as the following:
- You’ll need a business overview.
- What products and services you will use?
- Market analysis and how your business might thrive in the wedding venue market.
- Analysis of possible competitors.
- Marketing and sales statistics
- A management team to undertake tasks.
- An operations process.
- Financial plan for the business.
Would You Use Your Venue For Other Events?
If you have always thought about how to buy a wedding venue and consider the processes involved. You may also consider hiring the venue for other events and not exclusively for weddings. This can help you generate income if the seasons are slow. Secondly, having a venue that caters to more than just weddings can get your business on the map on a larger scale, reaching even more potential clients. You can use your venue for business conferences, birthday parties, anniversaries, and other public events.
Advertising Your Venue
Promote and market your new venue
If you are ready to get the ball rolling, you’ll need to market your venue and advertise your venue so that everyone can see it. Use social media to get the word out, as almost everyone who owns a smart device can access the internet. Social media marketing specialists can also assist you with this.
You can also advertise your business in the local newspaper so that wherever your venue is, the locals will hear about it, which will help attract the locals and others. With every successful wedding hosted at your venue, know that word-of-mouth advertising is very effective.
Make your portfolio and online advertising via a website
Build your portfolio and advertise on your website. Take photos and ask the couples using the venue if they would have you share some of their wedding day’s memories on your website. Your website will serve as a portfolio so that others can see the beautiful times shared and how happy everyone is.
Ask for customer and client reviews
To build trust with people, getting them to share their experiences is critical. Other potential customers will read the reviews and trust fellow customer feedback. Good reviews are key to growing your business and becoming a success in the market.
Use Software To Keep Track of Bookings
Once you’re on the map, you can expect things to get pretty busy, with bookings coming in hot. You might not be able to manually keep track and manage all bookings as you did before your venue became as famous. With software, you can manage and stay ahead of the booking process and never be overbooked.
Some trusted events software includes but are not limited to:
- iVvy Venue Management
- Event Booking Engines
- Tripleseat
- SENET
- Omnify
- Honeybook
- Parafeit
Now that you have everything in order, you can get going with your preparations and enjoy the benefits of owning your own wedding venue. You may have permanent staff, and you might work with a part-time staff that fills in on the event days.
The Takeaway
Wedding venues are some of the most beautiful settings that feature themed colors, blissful vibes, love, and simply happiness for guests and couples. Have you found the perfect venue yet? If your budget allows for it, you can choose to build your wedding venue from the ground up, and you may even be able to host more than one venue at a time. Go ahead and make some couples happy. Starting a new business can be a daunting task, especially in today’s uncertain markets. However, with these business tips, you can enjoy a solid foundation to your business venture and deliver impeccable services and create gorgeous memories with your customers.