Wedding venue success – what’s the secret sauce?

I’m often being asked on my wedding venue consultant travels ‘what’s your favourite venue Kelly?’ But what most people are really wanting to know is what is special about that place, what makes that wedding venue success possible, what are the must-dos and must-haves that make them popular and fully-booked with their spot-on wedding clients?

Today I’m sharing my take on the ingredients of a sustainable, successful venue – what are the things that make one place stand out and another struggle to make impact. And particularly in what are testing times for many in the wedding industry, with customer expectations and demands changing at super speed, what areas does your venue need to review, refine and uplevel on?

First up, this isn’t a list of physical features and facilities. Those matters for sure and my two biggest renovation/facility development tips to respond to consistent trend (if you haven’t already) is investing in couple/ guest accommodation and in prep/getting ready spaces for wedding mornings.

However this feature is less about what’s up front and more about what’s happening behind because in my experience of over 23 years in the business of weddings, attention to this is what keeps a business thriving and sustainable through the ups and downs.

So what are the ingredients of the secret wedding venue success sauce then?

1. Knowing Their Niche

These venues have really spent time honing their ideal client types and then designing/shaping their venue offering to absolutely tap into the needs of those people. They are not all things to all people but boldly embrace what they are all about – some of them I know have teetered on the edge of going more “luxe” market but have consciously embraced what they are and doubled down on serving a client base that works for them consistently. It’s never been more important to really know your ideal clients – not just their demographics but what are they passionate about? What are their beliefs? What’s important to them beyond a wedding day? What are their most important wedding wishes but also their worries, painpoints and challenges? And then design for them honestly, simply and authentically.

2. Systems and Process

Not the sexy stuff for sure but the venues who are winning out right now are the ones with solid foundations. The ones who have been consistently crunching their numbers for years – monitoring all of their key metrics (expenses, profit, conversions at every step of the sales process for example). They are the venues who have put in software systems to support the customer journey, are very carefully using automation to support with co-ordination and admin, focussing on their people to do the intuitive people-led tasks.

3. Team & Leadership

Talking of people, my most successful clients are the ones with the best teams of people – people who are invested and passionate about the company they are working for and about the industry as a whole. No mean feat and I know one of the biggest challenges of recent times for our sector to recruit, retain and develop talent. What have some of my clients with the best retention done differently? What do I see everyday? An investment from the get-go into development and progression for team members. A solid on-boarding process with experience of all the venue “departments” and roles, enrolment to sales and wedding industry trainings (I know because I deliver some of these trainings), encouraging participation in industry wide networking events not just to focus their learning on the venue needs but to encourage those people to build themselves careers within the wider industry.

And for owners and more senior leadership? Continued learning via major industry conferences both UK and overseas, coaching and mentoring as business people to develop and enhance leadership skills. Some of my most successful venues have owners/leaders who have learnt how to genuinely lead and be present but empower their highly competent teams to do.

4. Digital

This is a work in progress for us all but venues with the secret sauce know that they need to consistently invest in digital and to listen to & embrace the needs of wedding couples and their high expectations of their customer digital journey. Gen Z (and all customers really) expect very high quality branding and visuals – they expect to be able to experience and see their wedding inspiration at the click of a button or a scroll with intuitive digital sources, be that website, blogs, social media all working in a cohesive way. They demand transparency and clarity at all points and to be able to plan their wedding with the help of people but also software platforms and portals to make it easeful.

In Summary

The secret venue sauce, in my opinion, it’s not one single thing, it is a wonderful recipe. And the success of the venues with the sauce has not come with quick fix solutions. I know because with a number of these venues I’ve been part of their support as a trusted advisor for years. These venues have been around the block and are consistent and persistent, that’s important to note.

And my favourite venue? It’s never what people think. I’ve been fortunate to work in many absolute gems both as a planner and consultant but the ones that stick in mind – it’s always about the people – the welcome, friendliness, passion for what they do and their wish to be better and work hard at it and evolve for themselves and their customers – that’s what makes a venue stand out for me and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

About Kelly

Kelly Chandler, a Wedding Venue Business Consultant since 2014, empowers diverse locations, from country homes to city landmarks, fostering growth, sales, profit, and market diversification. Kelly assists property teams in achieving ambitious goals through tailored consulting and training.

Working with Kelly

If you’re a wedding venue owner or senior leader and recognise you need to make shifts and changes to grow your wedding sales but could really use a highly curated group of advisors to help you sanity check your strategy and areas for change, you might be perfect for Kelly’s next Wedding Venue Leaders Collective which takes place on 29-30 September in North Oxfordshire. You can read all of the details here including how to apply for one of only 12 places:

Image Credits: David Bostock Photography, Waddesdon Manor, and Charlotte Webb Photography