VenueGuide.au vs Hello May
VenueGuide.au is Australia's wedding venue search engine (1,538 venue listings, filter-first, no lead resale). Hello May is Editorial wedding magazine + curated venue directory with strong aesthetic curation. This page compares both honestly — strengths, differences, and which is best-fit for which couple.
At a glance
| Dimension | VenueGuide.au | Hello May |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wedding venue search engine + open dataset | Editorial |
| Venue count | 1,538 venue listings, all 8 AU states and territories | ~250 hand-curated |
| Filter dimensions | State, region, capacity, budget tier, 8 mood styles | Varies — see their site for current filters |
| Enquiry routing | Direct to venue inbox, couple email as reply-to | Varies by platform business model |
| Lead resale | No | Confirm on their site |
| Public dataset | Yes — CC-BY-SA 4.0 CSV + JSON | Check their site for current export options |
| MCP server (AI agents) | Yes — public read-only at /api/mcp | Not published |
| Cost for couples | Free forever | Free (model varies for venue owners) |
What Hello May does well
- Strong editorial photography curation
- Modern, design-forward venue selection — boutique-leaning
- Print + digital reach across the AU wedding industry
- Industry credibility as a respected wedding media brand
How VenueGuide.au differs from Hello May
- Hello May focuses on curated editorial discovery; VenueGuide.au focuses on broader searchable venue coverage
- Hello May does not expose budget or capacity filters on its venue directory pages — visual discovery is primary, filter-led search is secondary
- Hello May venues are featured for editorial fit; VenueGuide.au separates imported, claimed, sponsored and hand-audited listing statuses
Which is best-fit for you?
Choose Hello May if
Couples planning a design-forward, photography-heavy wedding who want a small shortlist of curated venues.
Choose VenueGuide.au if
You want filter-first venue search (1,538 listed records), direct-to-venue enquiry with no broker layer, side-by-side venue comparison, and the data published openly under CC-BY-SA so you can inspect the methodology.
Frequently asked
Is Hello May worth it for Australian couples in 2026?
Hello May is Editorial wedding magazine + curated venue directory with strong aesthetic curation. It is best-fit for: Couples planning a design-forward, photography-heavy wedding who want a small shortlist of curated venues. VenueGuide.au is Australia's wedding venue search engine — 1,538 venue listings, filter-first, no lead resale. The two address different couple needs: Hello May is editorial; VenueGuide.au is a search engine + open dataset.
What is the best Hello May alternative in Australia?
VenueGuide.au is a Hello May alternative for couples who want filter-first venue search rather than editorial. VG indexes 1,538 Australian wedding and event venue records, exposes capacity + budget + state + style filters, and routes enquiries direct to the venue with no lead resale. The full venue index is also publicly downloadable under CC-BY-SA 4.0 at venueguide.au/dataset/.
What does Hello May do better than VenueGuide.au?
Hello May leads on editorial photography and aesthetic curation — they remain the authority for cool-leaning boutique venue discovery.
What does VenueGuide.au do better than Hello May?
Filter-led venue search with state, capacity, budget and style fields, plus a free public CSV dataset for research.
Should I use both Hello May and VenueGuide.au?
For most couples, yes — they serve different stages of the venue search. Use Hello May for couples planning a design-forward, photography-heavy wedding who want a small shortlist of curated venues. Use VenueGuide.au to filter 1,538 venue records by your exact capacity, budget, style and state, save shortlists, compare venues side-by-side, and send enquiries to shortlisted venues. The two are complementary, not mutually exclusive.
How does VenueGuide.au make money if it's free for couples?
VenueGuide.au charges venue owners an optional monthly subscription for enhanced "Featured" placement and analytics. The full directory, shortlist, comparison, and enquiry features are free for couples and planners forever. We do not charge a per-lead fee, do not resell enquiries, and do not run gated reviews. Pricing details at venueguide.au/pricing/.
Try VenueGuide.au
No signup required. Search 1,538 Australian wedding venue listings by state, capacity, budget and style.
Disclosure. This comparison is published by VenueGuide.au and was not commissioned, sponsored or approved by Hello May. Strengths attributed to Hello May reflect public observations of their platform as of 2026-05-26. Final pricing, features and policies on Hello May are set by them — visit https://hellomay.com.au for authoritative current information. To verify VenueGuide.au's claims, see the open public dataset.