Planning
Nineteen questions to ask a venue before you sign
5 min read · Published September 8, 2026
The short answer
Ask what is included in the rental, who sets the room and who decorates it, who cleans, when you can get in, when you must be out, whether you can bring your own caterer and your own alcohol, what holds the date and what is refundable, and what happens if it rains. A venue that cannot answer those on the phone is telling you something.
Most venue checklists on the internet run to sixty questions and half of them do not change anything. These nineteen do. We have grouped them by the order you will actually need them, and where it is useful we have put our own answer underneath — not to sell you, but so you can see what a straight answer to each one looks like.
On the first phone call
1. Is my date free? The only question that matters if the answer is no.
2. What does the rental include? You are listening for four things: tables, chairs, dishes, kitchen. Then ask the question underneath it: does anyone put the room together, or is that you? Ours: all four, plus free parking and the gazebo. We do not set the room, do not decorate, and rent no decor — that part is yours.
3. What are the hours? Not "all day" — the actual clock, and whether it is the whole building or a block inside somebody else's day. Ours: 7 AM to midnight, the whole building, or 1 AM for $200 more.
4. What is the number, before extras? If they will not say on the phone, ask why. Ours: $500 to $2,500 depending on the day, and it is on the pricing page.
5. How many does it hold, seated, with a dance floor? Capacity numbers are routinely quoted standing-room. Make them say seated, with the dance floor in. Ours: 200 in the room, 180 seated for a plated supper.
Before you get excited
6. Can we bring our own caterer? Some venues have an exclusive caterer, some have an approved list, some do not care. All three are fine — but they are very different budgets. Ours: bring anyone, including family.
7. Can we use the kitchen, or only look at it? A kitchen you cannot use is a photograph. Ask what is in it. Ours: two fridges, a commercial dishwasher that runs a wash and rinse in two minutes, stove, microwave, coffee maker, and you are handed the keys.
8. Who provides alcohol, and who holds the permit? In Manitoba you almost always hold your own permit — here is how that works.
9. Who cleans, and what happens if we do not? This is the question that ends up in a deposit dispute more than any other. Ours: you can, or we will for $250.
10. When can we get in to decorate? "The morning of" is an answer that will cost you the morning of your wedding. Ask the other half of it too: does the venue decorate, or do you? Ours: from 7 AM on the day booked, and all of the day before as well if you take the Friday at $1,000 or the whole Friday-to-Sunday weekend at $2,500. The decorating itself is yours.
About money
11. What holds the date, and is it refundable? Ours: a $500 damage deposit, back within two to three weeks if nothing is broken.
12. When is the balance due? Ours: one week before.
13. Is there a food and beverage minimum? Common in hotels, rare in halls, and capable of doubling a budget on its own. Ours: none. We do not sell food.
14. What is charged per person rather than per event? Per-head items look small and are not. Multiply every one of them by your actual guest count before you agree to it.
15. What happens to our money if we cancel? Ask for the actual clause. "We would work something out" is not a clause.
About the day itself
16. Where do 150 cars go? At a rural venue this is a real question and the answer is usually good. In a city it is usually the answer nobody volunteers. Ours: on site, free, and it is not tight. They can stay overnight at no charge, which is the answer to the other question you were about to ask.
17. What is the sound situation — is there a PA, and is there a curfew? Ours: projector, screen, wireless mic and house sound for $125, and a stage at $80 a day if the band or the speeches need one. No curfew inside your hours — the building is yours to midnight, or to 1 AM with the extension.
18. If it rains, what is the plan? Every outdoor element needs an answer that does not involve moving 150 chairs in twenty minutes. Ours: the 12 × 28 gazebo is roofed, so the ceremony can go ahead in it with the wedding party dry and the guests holding umbrellas, or the whole thing comes inside. It is a decision you make on the morning rather than one the forecast makes for you a week out, and the gazebo costs nothing extra.
19. Who will actually be here on the day, and what is their number? The best answer to this question is a name and a mobile number. Ours: Helmut, on site all of Saturday, and the number on this website is his.
If our answers above sound like the venue you want, the next step is a real price for your real date.
The meta-question
You are not only collecting answers. You are finding out how a venue behaves when asked a direct question about money, and that is the single best predictor of how they will behave in June when something has gone sideways. A venue that answers questions 4, 9 and 11 plainly on the first call will answer the hard one plainly too.
