[singlepic id=253 w=420 h=340 float=left]Congratulations on your engagement! This is an exciting time and we hope you enjoy every minute of your wedding planning.
In this next series of posts we are going to look to different wedding event locations. We have had the opportunity to film many events at these locations, and are honored to present them to you. But first, a few helpful tips.
Finding the perfect wedding venue for your special day is not an easy task. In fact, this part of the wedding planning is the most difficult part to finalize because there are tons of beautiful wedding venues, and you can get overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. But you will be happy to know that after you find the ideal setting for your special day, everything else will fall into place. Many venues have preferred vendors lists. This is a list complied by the wedding event location, of vendors that they work well together with, and that they trust their work. From florists to your culinary delight.
We have narrowed down and made a list of the most important things you have to consider when choosing your perfect wedding venue and we hope you find it useful.
1. Wedding Budget – make sure that you and your husband-to-be have set a clear budget before searching for your dream wedding venue. This will save you time and help you focus on the type of venue to look out for since wedding venue fees can vary considerably.
2. Availability – confirm and finalize your wedding date before contacting the wedding venue, or other vendors. This will help them check availability more effectively. We also suggest having 2-3 alternative dates just in case the first choice is already taken. Also remember that most wedding venues and vendors require a minimum of 6 months advance booking.
3. Wedding Style – We highly suggest that you have a clear idea of what you want. For example, decide whether you want to have a mansion style wedding, church wedding, ballroom wedding or a destination wedding, etc. The other alternative is to perhaps look in to it based on the season like winter wedding, spring wedding, summer wedding or autumn wedding. Figuring this out will help you find the perfect wedding venue and see if they can offer this kind of experience for your special day.
4. Number of Guests – intimate wedding of 20 or a big wedding of 300 – this factor will greatly influence the choice of your wedding venue and it is advisable to have a good indication of the number of guests you are expecting to have so that you can find wedding venues that can cater for this important requirement.
5. Civil or Church Ceremony – check with the wedding venue if they are licensed to hold civil ceremony or a religious ceremony. This will help you figure out whether or not you have to include this task of visiting local churches on your wedding venue search. Distance between marriage ceremony venue and the wedding reception venue will be important to take in to account. In-house wedding coordinators are usually very helpful and they can give you a list of churches or list of other vendors within close proximity to their venue. You may be thinking of having the ceremony in your own church, but do consider the distance that the guests, and other vendors will have to travel between locations.
6. Vendors – Some wedding venues can only offer the ceremony venue and reception venue but not the accommodation, catering and other wedding extras. This means that you have to look for your own wedding vendors or you will have to contact the venue’s recommended vendors. All these issues will affect your wedding planning and wedding budget so always know all the important facts when you start liaising with the venue so you get all information as early as possible and plan accordingly.
7. Child Friendly – If you are expecting to have lots of children present on your wedding day, it is also good to find out from the wedding venue whether they can accommodate children. Some venues, like stately homes can be quite strict about this and can also impose age restrictions due to some of their fine arts and antique collections.
8. Do’s and Dont’s– check with the venue if they have will impose certain limitations or do’s and dont’s on your wedding day. Some venues have rules like no loud music after midnight, no confetti, no candles, no high-heels due to floor damage, no red-wine and more. This might not affect you if you are head-over-heels in love with the wedding venue, but it is still good to set everything clear from the beginning to avoid any surprises.
9. Accommodation – not all wedding venues have accommodation for you and your guests. But make sure to ask if they can give you a list of recommended hotels and B&B around the area so that you do not have to do your research about this. Ask if they can also give you a map to show the location of each hotel in relation to the wedding venue. For everyone’s convenience and ease of transport, you certainly would want your family and friends to be within close proximity to the beautiful wedding venue where you will be getting married.
10. Wedding Photography Considerations – I place great emphasis on wedding photography and video. I think that this is an important consideration when you are looking for your perfect wedding venue. An ideal venue will also provide breathtaking spots at the venue for both indoor and outdoor photography. One golden rule is to have ample natural light, with shaded areas, picturesque gardens, or beautiful backdrops such a Victorian mansion. A good wedding photographer can find beauty in every wedding, and every bride, but a nice setting helps. You only get married once, so you want to ensure that you will have great wedding photographs. So we feel that this is an important factor to also add on the list.
Happy wedding planning!!
