How to Find the Best Venue

Say you want to plan a milestone birthday party, an anniversary, retirement party or some other special occasion. How do you begin the search for the best venue? First, you need to decide on a budget (at least a ballpark figure). I spoke to a lady not that long ago about possibly planning her milestone birthday. Her budget was $5000. She was thinking she could feed 100 people a nice dinner and have entertainment and a cake, too. I did a little research for her before putting together a proposal to see if it was even possible. I called a venue I thought might come close and they did (for the rental and catering) but if she wanted all the other things, I didn't see how it would be possible to meet her budget. I suggested she think about having the party at someone's house so she could spend more money on the extras. In the end, she told me she found a place that could do it all. I'd like to know what that place is.  The point is you need to be realistic. If you'd like to spend more on entertainment and food then think about having it at a less expensive venue like a community center, clubhouse or someone's house. My husband and I got married in the backyard of a good friend. My husband wanted a smallish wedding but we still had a caterer, flowers, other decorations and entertainment.  Ideally, the venue should be easily accessible with enough parking as well. In the end, you want to select a place you like but that also stays in your budget.  What you don't need is to be paying party bills for the next several years!