You can have the most beautiful and perfect wedding venue, but if no one knows about it, you don’t have a business. We take a look and run up some creative marketing tactics to secure more wedding venue bookings, some are low cost and some are even free.

Marketing Ideas for your Wedding Venue

Every venue is different, and every venue will have a different budget on what to spend on venue marketing, here are some low cost ways to promote your venue.

Social Media Adverts

Facebook ads are a great way to promote your venue and you can spend as much or as little as you wish, from a daily spend to an advert budget over 2 weeks. The great thing with these types of ads is how specific you can be with who sees them. You can target your adverts at people who are newly engaged and live within 30 miles of your venue for example. They may or may not know you exist, but a great photo and ad copy that stands out can grab their attention, leading to an enquiry form you can quickly have them booked in for a viewing.

Instagram which is also owned by Facebook is another great way to show images to your target audience, these can also be set up via the Facebook ad manager as well.

Directories

There are many wedding websites, blogs and directories, and being on these can certainly ensure you are found. Wedding venue directories that match your style can help ensure you are advertising to the right sort of couples who are likely to be interested in your venue. Look at the other types of venues on there, are they similar to you, the style of the site and how would it reflect your brand.

Costs can vary depending on the site and the type of promotion, but 1 or 2 bookings can make it a good ROI. There are also some free sites too, with Bridebook you can list your venue for free, other sites are commission based, or just a single annual fee.

Open days

Put on an open day in the quiet season, invite local suppliers to come along too who can help set up and dress rooms, as well as promote their services. Offer a welcome drink and canapés, there is a cost however this could easily lead to a number of weddings being booked.

Brochures

Be it an open day or showing a couple around the venue, it is nice to have a physical brochure printed that you can present. A high quality and well designed brochure can feature beautiful photography of the venue and include details about different rooms, ceremony options, accommodation and food and drink.

This same brochure can also be used as a PDF to email to couples who enquire via your website.

Printed Adverts

Local wedding magazines are another great way to promote your venue, an advert or feature can ensure you are seen by a targeted audience. See what wedding magazines feature in your area and the region they cover, is it local for the South West for example.

Optimise Your Website

Ensure your website reflects your venue in the best light possible, you may be found via Google, social media or a printed advert, the chances are that person will come and take a look at your website.

Make sure it is easy to use, has a clear navigation, is simple and easy to enquire with obvious call to actions. Is it looking tired and outdated? From time to time it is worth redesigning your website, ensuring it is quick to load, works great on mobile, with updated imagery and a fresh new modern look.

Check out our article on common wedding venue website mistakes and tips to improve.

Free Marketing Ideas

When it comes to marketing it doesn’t always have to cost money, and part of your venue marketing strategy can include free activities as well as paid.

Social

All social media platforms are free to use as an individual and as a business. Set up your venue on these platforms, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are the main ones, as well as Twitter and LinkedIn.

Across social media it is all about being consistent, on brand and collaborative. Post photos of your venue and recent weddings, Insta stories is a great way to show behind the scene video snippets of setting up or the reception tables all decorated. Take videos and photos and then use them to post on the different platforms over the coming days after the wedding. You have the content, it is just taking time to edit and share.

Edit your content for the different platforms, photos and videos on Instagram, more detailed posts about a wedding on Facebook with information linking to your site.

Share posts from other suppliers and businesses, wedding photographers will share photos on their Facebook page, you can easily share this onto your page too and add your own description, tell your audience about the day and what you loved about it. Check out and follow other suppliers who may share photos involved in your venue, such as; videographers, florists and stylists, as well as hair and makeup artists too.

Testimonials

Asking recent couples for feedback and a testimonial costs nothing and a great review is worth so much when it comes to marketing. You can use the quotes on your website, social media and brochures. Add a date to the testimonial to show it is from a recent wedding, it adds more weight and trust when it is recent, and not from 2 years ago.

Word of Mouth

The bride and groom are not the only couple experiencing your venue, a good positive word of mouth from wedding guests can also go along way. Food, service, organisation of the day and amenities will all be focused on.

Someone that recommends you is of great value, the cost is ensuring that you make sure everyone that steps into your venue has an amazing experience, be it the special couple, the evening guests, or even visiting suppliers, make sure they all looked after and high stands are maintained.

Google Business

Help your venue be found on Google by ensuring it is set up as a google place, add your business for free and include details such as location, website, contact details, opening times, and photos,

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

How does your website rank on Google, are you being found? Again appearing in Google is free, however it is up to you to help rank as high as possible, you can of course pay for advert to show at the top, but you can also do it organically for no cost.

If you are a London based venue for example, then you want to be showing for search terms such as London weddings, London wedding locations, London wedding venues etc.

There are steps you can take to help optimise your website and things you can do to make it better, you can review this yourself and make changes, or you can hire an agency or consultant to take a look for you.

Blog Content

Writing articles and sharing recent weddings at your venue is a great way to generate more content for your website, it can take some time but no one knows your venue better than you. Articles about your venue, new features, common questions, tips and advice for couples planning their wedding, recent weddings or events, information about upcoming open days and fairs, there is plenty you can write about.

This fresh content helps in many ways for marketing, content you can share on your social media platforms, new content for Google to rank which not only helps you potentially show up for more search terms, but the added benefit of showing Google you update and add new content to your site.