You likely landed on this page because you’re opening a wedding venue and aren’t 100% confident you’ve crossed your I’s and dotted your T’s to operate legally as a wedding venue.
My friend, it’s critical not only for your business, but the industry for you to make sure you’re able to legally open and operate a wedding venue. The last thing you want to do is book weddings, and find out you shouldn’t have, and have to cancel a couples (or multiple couples) wedding day.
If you’re not sure if you’re legal, it’s likely because you haven’t completed the due diligence needed in your market.
Unfortunately, markets in the US vary wildly in regards to the requirements to operate legally.
Below are a few general points, but *please* don’t take for granted the need to do your own local research.
Wedding venues operating legally are often required to have specific zoning for the property.
It’s generally very hard to legally operate a wedding venue on a property that is zoned residential. Other types of zoning also often prohibit wedding venues and to operate legally it’s possible/likely the property would need to be rezoned. This can be an expensive, multi-step, multi-year process with NO promise that you’ll be able to successfully change the zoning.
If a property is zoned to allow for a wedding venue, in many cases it will still require what is often called a “Conditional Use Permit” or “Special Use Permit”. These permits often specify specific requirements to operate legally. (Ie: total number of events allowed, music shut off time, the requirements to meet fire code /etc.)
Speaking of fire code, it is very common that wedding venues are required to install a fire suppression system based on your local requirements and size of your space. Keep in mind it’s beneficial to have a fire suppression system, but also costly. Our fire suppression system (even though we were a simple outdoor pavilion in a more rural county to start) was over $100,000.
If you are applying for rezoning or a conditional use permit, the neighbors are often notified and have the opportunity to speak against your business in a public hearing. Here is a quick article with a few more details regarding neighbors.
Your city or county planning and zoning department is a good place to start when trying to determine what it takes to operate legally in your area. Unfortunately I’ve heard several stories of the person who answered the phone at this department sharing inaccurate information about what is required to host events legally, so I urge you to make sure you get the details shared in writing. It only takes one neighbor with deep pockets to find a technicality in the rulebook to pick a fight.
All of this to say I hope it’s not an uphill battle, but it might be, so please don’t take for granted this critical step in your business.
P.s. If you feel you’ve reached this page in error and you are 100% confident you are legally allowed to host weddings, you are welcome to book a call with our team here or email us at hello@kristinbinford.com.
