Checking out venues for the first time

Sorry to sound like such a newbie but I'm looking at venues for the first time this coming weekend. Can someone walk me briefly through the process? Anything I should know or be aware of? Any helpful tips?

TIA!

YAY! Looking at halls is fun (and can be stressful but what isn't stressful about wedding planning LOL). The person you meet with at the hall will probably walk you through the hall...show you different rooms (ceremony, cocktail, etc) and go over a sample menu with pricing. You should definitely have an idea of how many people you are expecting, how much you want to spend per person and what kind of food you are looking for (ie do you want seafood during cocktail, do you want pasta during reception, do you want a full vienesse hour, etc).

Here is a post with a list of helpful questions to keep in mind:
Reception Hall Questions

Hope that helps! Good Luck!

That list is AWESOME, I'm glad it was posted for you already!

I'd also suggest making a preliminary guest list if you haven't yet ...

This will be helpful because the halls will ask you how many guests you are expecting.

Most halls have a minimum number of people they require for each night of the weekend, Saturday evening being the highest price/minimum usually. Also, there are places that have a maximum # they can comfortably fit in the room .... that ruled out a couple of places for us right away.

Here's a tip though (use make-believe numbers/prices):

If the hall has a minimum of 200 people at a price of $100 per person, sometimes they will take a lower minimum # for a higher price per person. So you can sometimes get them to lower the minimum to 175 people by raising the price per person to $125. So if that's a concern for you, make sure to ask if something like that is an option. I hope that makes sense!