Venue checklists on the internet are written for American barn weddings — parking, restrooms, rain plan, done. An Indian wedding contract carries a different set of landmines, and every one of them is cheap to fix before signing and expensive after. This is the list we actually run, in the order it decides things.
Before you fall in love: five disqualifying questions
Can our ceremony physically happen here? A Hindu wedding needs a fire; not every hotel ballroom permits one, and the answer changes by floor and by property. Ask before the site visit, because no chandelier survives a no. What are the sound rules and until when? The outdoor amplified-music limit is real everywhere; what varies is the indoor option after it. How many events share the venue that day? A hall running two weddings has a changeover hour that will live inside your decor schedule. What is the true capacity — seated, served, comfortable? The brochure number is fire-code arithmetic; a comfortable wedding runs well below it once stages, buffets and dance floors take their share. Which vendors are we forced to use? Panel-only policies are common and legitimate, but the royalty for going outside the panel is a price you want quoted now, not discovered later.
The money mechanics: where quotes and bills diverge
The minimum guarantee is the number under the per-plate rate — you pay for the minimum whether guests come or not, and it is the most negotiable figure on the page. The inclusions list decides whether the rate you compared was comparable at all: basic decor, dance floor, green rooms, power beyond a threshold, cleaning — venues bundle these differently, so normalise every quote to the same list before choosing. And the tax line: quotes arrive inclusive and exclusive of GST in the same inbox; put every number on the same basis before any comparison, because the difference is not small.
The clauses to fix in writing
Advance and refund ladder. Typical structures take a booking advance with milestone payments after; what matters is the refund schedule if you cancel or move — get the ladder in dates and percentages, not adjectives. Overtime, priced now. The rate per extra hour, and when the meter starts. Vendor meals and children's plates, at stated rates. Power, generator and cleaning, named as included or priced. Force majeure and reschedule terms — what happens to your advance if the venue cannot host you, and what a date move costs. None of this is adversarial; venues agree to most of it readily. They simply do not volunteer it.
Comparing two venues honestly
Build one sheet: your real guest count, every line above filled in for both properties, taxes on the same basis. Venues stop being comparable by charm and start being comparable by total. The result surprises families constantly — the "expensive" venue with generous inclusions regularly beats the "cheap" one with a royalty, an overtime clause and a 300-plate minimum against your 200 guests. Our hidden-costs guide carries the full list of quiet lines, and the city-specific concentrations. If a venue resists putting any of this in writing before you sign, that reluctance is itself the most useful information the site visit produced.
