It is no secret that there is a rise of people dreaming and opening a wedding venue and event space, and as someone who has built 2 from scratch I'm hoping to give you some ideas and direction that can save you some of the heartache I faced. Creating a successful wedding venue business does not happen by accident and many legacy venue owners operated under the mindset of "build it and they will come" and are now struggling to compete with new venues and venue owners opening with intention, authenticity, and a tenacity to create their perfect wedding venue.

This post is not an exhaustive list, and many of the items listed here have more sub-steps that are not discussed in length. I will come back and add links to future posts, but feel free to add a comment or work with me directly to get more specific insight on any area of interest.

The Business Plan

wedding venue owner consultant — As with any business, the first step after your daydreaming is often developing a business plan that includes information about market research, market demand, aesthetic direction, target market, list of additional services, and start up cost. This is not an exhaustive list, and as you meet with investors or lenders they may have different data sets or requests to include in that business plan. Keep in mind your threshold for risk and the type of project you are comfortable with. Is the idea of buying an existing venue, renovating a building, or building from scratch what you are most drawn to? If you are more risk adverse starting in a leased building with existing infrastructure may be more comfortable, than buying land and developing from scratch.

As your developing your business plan, you're going to want to dig into the data, identify who your competition is and who you want to serve with your venue. It's easy to believe that your target audience is just anyone getting married, but this mentality is going to cost you in the long run. You have to zero in on certain segments of the population in your wedding venue business plan, so you know who you are building for and what expectations that may bring with it. Luxury markets will have different demands than a micro-wedding venue, or venues just wanting to mostly operate as an event venue for baby showers, birthdays, and other special events. A comprehensive business plan will both help you understand your market and direction better, but also prepare you for important conversations with private investors, lenders, lawyers, accountants, and other early key players.

With my first venue, we were able to cash flow our start up. Which means I didn't have to put together a business plan or garner the support of outside people in my vision and ideas. Looking back now, I do feel that it was a mistake to not have the vision and plans really written down on paper. I truly believe it took me longer to get my footing on the business and all of the elements I needed to regularly consider. While these plans can feel overwhelming, tedious, and take a lot of time to prepare they can make a huge difference in your total costs to get started and your overall profit margins.

In your business plan you will likely also be looking at different types of ownership from legal perspective. Many venues are a limited liability company (LLC), sole proprietorship, or a corporation. Lawyers and accountants are the best people to discuss which type of ownership makes the most sense for your situation and your new wedding venue - while also protecting you.

What makes your venue different, unique, or special?

wedding venue consultant inspo — To have a successful wedding venue business your building needs to be more than just a space to get married. Yes, that is technically meeting the brief but it's not enough to connect with today's couples. And yes, I do put this section above start-off costs because I feel like it's an important step to really know how and where you're going to fit into your market and how it's different than the current choices. Potential clients may see multiple venues in a similar look and feel, and then may ultimately make a purchasing decision based on pricing. That is a quick race to the bottom. This is a great opportunity to connect to your passions or to meet an unmet need in the market. Review the venue's in that market - what makes them special, how do they present on their website, social media, etc. And then look at the wedding planning facebook groups and other forums to see what potential couples are looking for. What's the average pricing, does that align with what people are searching for? What is missing from customer demand? Is that something you can offer? Reviewing Google Search volumes may also be a good way to research, if your local and state groups aren't as active. You may also want to start reaching out to local event planners and photographers to see if they have any insight they can share.

I did spend quite a bit of time before starting my first venue talking to a lot of wedding planners and other local vendors/local businesses, I wanted to see what needs they would have in a space and how I could make their lives easier in our building plans. Did the makeup artists have opinions on outlets, number of makeup stations, or mirrors? Did the caterers have certain requirements so they could function? I knew that I didn't want to have a lot of these services in house, at least to start with, so I wanted these vendors to love our space when we opened so they would want to keep coming back. While some of this feedback you have to take with a grain of salt and not all ideas are feasible, just because someone shares an idea with you doesn't mean you have to.

If I had the desire to offer in-house catering that would have completely changed some of our initial plans and greatly impact the total cost. I never wanted to own and maintain the catering kitchen because I am personally a bad cook, and while I could hire a chef - I felt like I lacked the vocabulary and experience to even properly vet and understand the needs of that service. In addition to the costs of installing and maintaining a commercial kitchen was more than I felt like entertaining. However, many areas require an onsite kitchen to be able to hold a liquor license - that may impact your desires.

While I am a big advocate for following your styles and passions, there may be times in your venue planning you may need to put that aside. You may be dreaming of owning a barn wedding venue, but if all the venues in your market are already barns - you may need to be looking for an opportunity to purchase an existing venue instead of building a new one. Or if the ideal property comes around and is already a specific style like a historic estate or industrial loft, you may need to stick within that architectural style instead of trying to force your own tastes into the space. It's always a give and take and there isn't always a clear answer on what to do or why. You have to let your research and a little bit of instinct guide you.

Knowing how and where you're going to fit into the market also greatly impacts many important decisions that you'll face early on in developing your own wedding venue business. This will likely inform where you will be buying or renting, if you will be building or renovating, and so many other important financial aspects that will then inform your business plan. And guide you through the decision making process if wedding venue ownership has viable options for you that meet your overall goals and financial limitations.

Lastly, it is normal and actually encouraged that business plans grow, change, and develop overtime. Don't fall into the trap that your first plan, is your only plan.

Startup Costs

After developing a robust business plan, you'll use that information to start estimating the startup costs. This may start by gathering inspiration photos into a collage, making hand sketches of any visions, and listing any features that you must include. Gathering those details are important regardless of new construction or updating an existing space. For a new construction, developing a list of start up cost will require working with builders, engineers, architects, and city or county planners depending on the local ordinances in your area. Finding a builder that includes a project manager to help you along this process is extremely helpful, you'll want someone who is responsible for communication and timelines for all of the parties involved. I may be a little bias on the importance of project managers, that is largely the work I did before coming to the wedding world (proof you don't need to have wedding industry or event planning experience before you start!).

I highly recommend using tools like Monday.com to help stay on top of all the projects, ideas, and costs in a shared platform.

Outside of the remodeling, decorating, or new construction costs, other startup costs to be mindful of, but not limited to:

Software - CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool), email, website, EMS (event management software)
Insurance - Property, general liability, workman's comp
Marketing and advertisements
Interior finishes beyond construction - things like decor for the walls, decor room items
Cleaning Supplies
Landscaping
Fencing, gates, and other property improvements
Signage

Working in the Business Vs. On The Business

Working 'on' the business" signifies focusing on the long-term strategic growth and development of your company. This encompasses activities like developing a clear vision and mission, implementing effective marketing and sales strategies, analyzing financial performance, identifying new market opportunities, and building a strong leadership team. In contrast, "working 'in' the business" involves the day-to-day operational tasks, such as handling customer service, managing production, and completing administrative duties. While both are essential, prioritizing "working 'on' the business" is crucial for long-term success. By focusing on strategic growth, you can increase profitability, gain a competitive advantage, achieve sustainable growth, and reduce stress. To effectively work "on" your business, schedule dedicated time for strategic planning, delegate operational tasks, seek outside advice, continuously learn and adapt, and focus on your strengths. By effectively balancing both aspects, you can increase your chances of success and build a thriving company.

Once your venue is up and running, the work doesn't stop there. You also need to know what kind of venue owner you want to be.
Common types of venue ownership:

Owner-Operator: Almost every venue owner starts here, where they are functioning in most roles of the company from sales, setting up for events, bartending, cleaning toilets, all the things. Some owners always stay in this role and enjoy being there for all parts of the events and wedding celebrations.
Hands-Off Ownership: These owners will often hire in a venue manager that takes on a lot of the operational roles and even managing other staff.
Unattended Venue Ownership: Operating the venue more similarly to an Airbnb or VRBO, where event hosts get keypad entry and no event staff is included with the rental. Owners will often just utilize cleaners or expect guests to complete cleaning check lists, and will largely only have tours and marketing roles.
Owner CEO: This person is more focused on overall strategic direction of the venue, and may operate in a more corporate-like way where tasks are handed down to a team to execute while still being overseen as the owner/CEO.

This list is also not exhaustive. The beauty of owning and running your own business is that you get to decide over time how you want to spend your time and the tasks you want to continue to own. Personally, I love to work in the garden and enjoy running the social media and website and I have no desire to hire those tasks out. I would hire out every other role as the business has grown to allow that. But I know many other venue owners that love just doing venue tours and want nothing to do with social media or anything tech related. They are all valid ways to own and operate your business, that plays to your strengths and desires. Likely, no matter where you end-up working in your venue business, you will likely start as an owner-operator. I highly recommend starting there to allow you to gain insight into all the roles the business requires, but overtime allow you employ others and gain more of your time back.

Couple working on venue designs — Hanna Sher Photography

Do I have to Quit My Day Job to Run A Wedding Venue?

The short answer is No, you don't have to. I worked a full-time corporate job for the first 3 and a half years of venue ownership. This comes with benefits, I never felt like every lead or tour was a make or break for the venue - I could approach everything with a lot pressure on myself and for the couple. I could take time to experiment with how I talked the space or play around with what a wedding ceremony could look like or what the expectations were for banquet halls. I could take in the experience of wedding guests at each wedding to see how we might want to change things, and improve and grow over time. You can definitely still do this by going all in from the beginning, we just didn't have the cash flow to make that happen at the beginning where every booking really would have been make or break for us. You never want to be in the position that a cancelled wedding, a tree dying and needing cut down, or natural disaster would mean we would be unable to pay the bills. But I also liked playing with the decor, photoshoots, and really enjoying the creative side of the wedding business without the pressure of it needing to make money. But owning a wedding and event venue can be very expensive, and having the security of a job paying your personal bills may take some of the stress off.

Along with the benefits are the draw backs. Working in the wedding industry is very demanding of your weekends and can be hard work to maintain a level of professionalism and service for each and every wedding day. There were times that I went months without a day off because I was working my day job during the week and tending to weddings all weekend. That can be a quick path to burnout and unhealthy work/life balance. For me, it was a phase of life I had to get through and then I started incorporating a team

Next Steps?

If you have started down this journey and dream of owning your own wedding venue. I'd love help you make that happen, I offer assistance with design, space planning, and technical know-hows of running a wedding venue because I've been there, right in your shoes thinking that this is it. This is the next step in the journey for me. I just want to make that journey a lot less stressful for you with the guidance and experience of going before you.

Start a Wedding Venue: Tips & Lessons from A Venue Owner