Oxfordshire Venue Guide › Twenty questions to ask on a viewing

Twenty questions to ask on a viewing

Published 30 August 2026

Print this. Ask all twenty. Request the answers by email afterwards, because only the written version counts.

Licensing and legality

1. Do you hold an approved premises licence, from which local authority, and which exact spaces does it cover?
2. Is outdoor ceremony space included in that approval?
3. When does the licence expire?

Money

4. What does the quoted figure include, and what is billed separately?
5. Is there a minimum spend, and does it include VAT and service?
6. What is the overtime rate, and when does the clock start?
7. Are there minimum accommodation commitments?

The contract

8. What is the cancellation schedule, and what is refundable at each stage?
9. What happens if the venue changes hands before our date?
10. What insurance must we hold, and what do you hold?
11. May we see the full terms now, before any deposit?

Question eleven is the one to insist on. The clauses that decide how a booking behaves — price variation, minimum numbers, what postponement costs — are all in the document you are usually sent after paying, and what to read before the deposit sets out which of them matter. Question ten is worth reading alongside wedding insurance, honestly assessed, which covers less than most people assume.

The day itself

12. What time do suppliers get access, and is earlier access chargeable?
13. What is the hard end time, and is there a noise limiter? At what decibel level does it cut?
14. Will another event be on site that day?
15. Who is our contact on the day, and will they be present throughout?
16. What is the wet weather plan, precisely, and does invoking it cost extra?

Suppliers and restrictions

17. Must we use your caterer, or is there an approved list? What does it cost to go outside it?
18. Are there restrictions on open flame, confetti, fireworks or drones?
19. What are the parking arrangements, and how many spaces?
20. Is there accessible access to every space guests will use, including the ceremony room and the lavatories?

Reading the answers

Question thirteen is the most revealing. A noise limiter set low enough to cut a live band is a genuine problem, and venues rarely raise it unprompted. Ask for the level in decibels, not a reassurance — and understand where the figure comes from, because a limit written into a planning condition cannot be waived for you. Noise limits and end times explains the three separate sets of rules involved and why rural venues are the strictest.

Question fourteen belongs with a fuller conversation about what exclusive use actually means, since the phrase covers everything from sole occupancy of an estate to one room in a trading hotel.

Question sixteen is the one venues answer vaguely and should not. Ask them to show you the room, name the person who decides and the hour they decide, and state whether invoking it costs anything: the method is in wet weather plans.

Question seventeen determines the largest line in the budget before you have tasted anything, and the three models are compared in in-house, approved list, or free choice.

Question eighteen usually has a reason behind it. Restrictions on flame, confetti and fireworks are most often a consequence of the building being protected, which is set out in listed buildings and what they restrict.

Question nineteen deserves a follow-up that nobody asks: what is the parking surface, and what happens to it after a week of rain? That, and whether a coach can physically reach the door, is covered in access, lanes and parking.