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How To Get The Best Wedding Venue In Hervey Bay in 2023
A wedding is one of the most important days of your life! So let’s look at how to lock in the best wedding venue, without the price tag that haunts you for the next 5 years.
Looking for the best wedding venue in Hervey Bay? Well as you may have noticed in your research, you are spoiled for choice! Hervey Bay is one of the coastal gems in Queensland and a perfect spot for local and destination weddings. If it is a beach wedding or a traditional wedding ceremony you are planning, you will have plenty of options to turn your dream into a reality.
Hervey Bay is situated 3 hours north of Brisbane and is well known for its beautiful beaches, laid back coastal vibe and unbeatable weather. Stats from Climate-Data.org state that on average Hervey Bay has only 76 days of rain per year which is just under 21% of the time. This makes Hervey Bay a great option for anyone wanting an outdoor wedding.
The Best Wedding Venues In Hervey Bay
There are numerous venue options for both your wedding ceremony and wedding reception in Hervey Bay and the surrounding suburbs. These range from traditional indoor wedding options in a grand hall, casual beach theme weddings, a casual engagement party with a surprise wedding, and all the way to more luxe and contemporary weddings. No matter the wedding style or theme you are wanting, the same factors for a wedding venue will always come into play:
Venue location
Venue availability
Venue price
Food and beverage
Venue styling
Easy to work with
Guest experience
Parking, transport, accessibility and potential accommodation
Wedding Venue Location
The best wedding venues have great surroundings, an inviting atmosphere and are conveniently located. The location of your wedding venue will ultimately come down to the style of wedding you are having. If you want a beach themed intimate wedding for your perfect day, you will most likely have the ceremony at the beach and the reception a short stone’s throw away. For a bride to be looking for something more traditional, a local church or chapel will tick the boxes for the ceremony and a nearby grand hall for the reception venue. Everyone’s tastes are different so embrace what you like and make sure the venue fits in with your vision.
Being in sunny Queensland, the outdoor wedding ceremony and reception is definitely the most popular choice to tie the knot. As mentioned above, on average it only rains 21% of the time in Hervey Bay which means the other 79% of the time you have a great chance of it being a beautiful day and having a perfect backdrop. We have also seen a huge increase in outdoor weddings due to covid restrictions around indoor functions, the number of people that can attend, the use of facemasks and the guests vaccination status.
What’s not to love about an outdoor venue? A stunning view in a perfect place that has less limitations with guest attendance. This a huge plus for the bride and groom to have a perfect day in 2023!
A few things to consider with your outdoor wedding venue well before you get to the rehearsal dinner:
Shade – It can get really hot in the sun particularly for Spring and Summer weddings. Find a location that either has some shady trees, some undercover areas or the space for marquees and bell tents
Wind – too much wind can be a nightmare for your wedding decorations, dress and hair but not enough wind makes it too still and hot with Hervey Bays humid climate. Find a location that has a windbreak on one or two sides but isn’t fully enclosed stopping any breeze from getting in
Ground – Level surfaces with some concrete areas are recommended. Wedding receptions can get a little wild and the last thing you want is someone twisting an ankle on a soft bit of grass while getting down to the nut bush
Amenities – easy access to toilets, power, parking
Venue Availability In Hervey Bay
The best wedding venues are often booked out well in advance, and for good reason, they provide what many brides want for their dream wedding day. If you can, get in early but make sure you are happy with the venues terms and conditions before signing the contract and paying the deposit. Being such a competitive space, some wedding venues can be ruthless with your deposit and booking when your circumstances change or the world around us changes.
Doing your due diligence is an important part of the wedding venue booking process. Check the T&Cs and get in writing what their backup plan is around pandemics, bad weather or natural disasters. Get a list of any planned building or upgrades from the venue wedding coordinator so they don’t redesign the perfect venue that you fell in love with or even worse have your big day in the middle of a construction site.
Another one that I didn’t consider when I got married was to check if the venue was for sale or if they were in a bad financial position. We were burnt from a reputable resort that went into liquidation to pay off their debts. This meant the resort could no longer host our wedding in their grand ballroom and they didn’t have the funds/responsibility to pay back our $2,500 deposit. So while this might be a rare occurrence, it doesn’t hurt to ask a few questions and do a bit of research which potentially will save you thousands of dollars.
For outdoor venues, there are dozens of commercial and public options across the Bay. Commercial wedding venues normally have set packages and will normally range between $100 – $200 per head which covers the venue, tables, chairs, amenities and food.
Public areas on the other hand can be booked through the Fraser Coast Council for a single fee of roughly $200 – $300. This gives you the permit to use the space, set up your marquees/tents and depending on the location will have council-run toilets and power. The Fraser Coast offers dozens of event spaces that range from having panoramic views all the way to more secluded locations for an intimate wedding.
As wedding specialists, we can help you organise the other hire items and logistics so you have everything you need for your dream Hervey Bay wedding in your unique wedding venue.
The other option for an outdoor wedding is a private one. Using a privately owned property is by far the cheapest and most flexible option when it comes to your wedding venue and can help you create an intimate ceremony if that is what you are after. You just need to have the space yourself, have a friend or family member with a bit of land, or chat to us and we can organise a prime spot with the contacts we have worked with in the past. There are a lot of variables and a lot of factors to consider with a private setup and this will be different for each space. We can take you through our recommendations on your private space if you go down this route.
Venue Price
According to an article by Easy Weddings, the average Queensland wedding costs $24,759 which is $8,000 below the national average. Another tick for living in Queensland! We personally have worked with couples who have a budget of less than $10,000 and others who are willing to spend $100,000 plus some! Whatever your budget, there are solutions to give you nearly everything you want without taking out a second mortgage.
The same Easy Weddings article states that the average couple in Queensland will spend $12,504 on just their wedding venue. This is just over half of the total wedding cost and the biggest area of opportunity to save some of your hard-earned dollars. As mentioned above, the public and private wedding venue options will save you thousands and thousands compared to the traditional commercial wedding venues. You can expect to pay up to half the price for your private wedding venue and that is already taking into account the costs of the event hire, decorations, styling, and portaloos and power generators if required.
When it comes down to cost per head, the current Queensland average is $129 with the average number of wedding guests being 97 people. The possibility of achieving an equally as beautiful wedding as a traditional venue (perhaps even better) for $60 – $70 per head is 100% doable but just requires some creative thinking. That’s where your wedding planner or even us comes into it to make sure each dollar you spend goes the furthest.
Food & Beverage
Some commercial venues have set menus or packages and can be resistant to you getting your own catering. While others don’t offer any food options and require you to source all your food and drinks for the evening. Outdoor venues are the same as the latter and do require a bit of extra work to organise it, but again that’s where your wedding planner really shines.
Huge benefits to sourcing your own catering and beverages include:
The flexibility and endless options of the type of food you can serve
Not restricted to set times based on the venue kitchen. Good caterers will work in with what times you want
Cost savings especially on the alcohol. An $8 beer on the venue bar tab might cost you $4 including the ice by buying it yourself
A trend that is gaining popularity is wedding grazing boards, grazing tables and canapes. When we speak to our clients there reasons for going with grazing boards versus a traditional sit-down dinner are:
Grazing boards cost significantly less. $15-20 per head compared to $50-$75
They look amazing! I can guarantee more people will be uploading photos of your grazing table to insta compared to the chicken or fish alternate menu
It’s too hot. It’s hot and humid in Hervey Bay and it doesn’t really get cold in Winter. The last thing the wedding party and the guests in formal wear want is sweating more as they eat their hot dinner
Weddings are about celebration and connection. Having no set seating plan means more people are up and about and mingling with each other. After the last couple of years of COVID, more mingling and reconnecting is exactly what needs to be on the menu.
Venue Styling
Easy Weddings estimate on average Queensland couples spend an additional $3,314 on wedding hire items and wedding decorations and another $1,062 of flowers. That is on top of the venue.
From my experience, I see brides and grooms spend more on decorations for indoor venues which I think comes down to making the room look nicer. The extra flower arrangements, table decorations, backdrops, additional lighting, etc are put in place to overcompensate for a venue that is pretty vanilla. Plain carpet or timber flooring, white walls, standard banquet style tables and chairs need to be dressed up quite a bit to bring your wedding dream to life.
The beauty of an outdoor wedding, other than the natural beauty itself, is the lower need to have to dress up the venue with more styling. Being surrounded by tree’s or the beach immediately uplifts the atmosphere for any style of wedding, in turn taking the stress off you in having to try and dress it up.
Among the top wedding trends for 2023, The Knot have put Relaxed Luxury, Natural & Contemporary, Countryside, Natural Settings and Storytelling all at the top of the list. These wedding style trends can be achieved at any venue, but for simplicity and the sake of your budget, you will find them much more doable in your outdoor wedding venues.
Easy To Work With
When you are looking for a wedding photographer you typically have to love their work and also get along with them. It’s important to know that they are easy to be around and even easier to work with. They are playing a huge part in one of the biggest days of your life so you need that assurance. The same goes for your videographer, celebrant, driver, dressmakers, makeup artist, hairdresser, florist, cake maker and MC. One important contact that sometimes gets missed off this VIP list is the venue manager. We can fall in love with a venue, even if the manager/representative is a complete A-hole.
Again talking about due diligence, make sure the person/ people you are dealing with for your venue or event hire are solution focuses, good communicators and open to change if needed.
Guest Experience
Your wedding invite list might be 10, 50, or 100+ people, regardless of the number of people, one thing in common for all weddings is the memories we want to take away from it. You want a memorable day for you and your guests to experience because you hopefully only get married once! Your event should transport the guests to a place that emphasises the special bond between you and your partner.
Think about the last weddings you attended. What are the most memorable moments?
Chances are the things you took photos or videos of will be remembered the most; the beautiful bride, the first dance, the wedding ceremony setup, the reception styling, the great company. With the help of your wedding planner and your event team, map out the perfect photo opportunities at your wedding ceremony and reception. So no matter how wild the reception gets, you have increased the likelihood of your guests being blown away by an irresistible photo opportunity.
Parking, Transport, Accessibility & Potential Accommodation
One of the great benefits of a Hervey Bay wedding is the overall accessibility. Free parking is pretty much everywhere, minimal travel time even if you are coming from one side of the city and need to go to the other, and a vast range of accommodation choices. Another tick in the box for why a Hervey Bay wedding is a great option!
Verdict: The Best Hervey Bay Wedding Venue
The decision is obviously yours, so if you want to go with a traditional indoor wedding or a contemporary outdoor wedding in a natural setting then go for it!
In my opinion, based on the above 8 factors for a Hervey Bay wedding, the outdoor wedding wins hands down. Hervey Bay is a beautiful place with beautiful weather, so for me, it makes sense to immerse yourself and your wedding celebration in a natural setting. Outdoor Hervey Bay weddings not only look amazing but they also are versatile and flexible with your vision, significantly cheaper and give more opportunities for memorable moments for both you and guests.
At Boho Events & Styling, we specialise in small to medium-sized weddings from elopements to 100 guest events. We work with each individual couple to bring their dream wedding to life, no matter the location – at a venue, on the beach, in the bush or your own backyard. We can help transform any location into a luxe event that emphasises natural elegance, the connection amongst guests and the memorableness of the special day to celebrate the special couple.
With our team of recommended partners, we can take the stress off your wedding planning by referring our preferred wedding providers who have been tried and tested over many events. We only recommend providers like photographers, caterers, hairdressers, etc, that we have personally used or professionally worked with. Boho Events & Styling is a brand that values quality, premium offerings and consistency so to maintain our high standard, we only work with other providers that share the same values.
For more info on the perfect Hervey Bay wedding package or grand celebration, please message us and we will be more than happy to help plan your special day with you.
