With the Christmas & New Year summer vacation over, it seems like all of those couples that plucked up the courage to pop the question and get engaged over the holiday period are on the hunt for a wedding venue. Choosing a wedding venue can be a daunting experience. Where do you start? What kind of venue do you choose? How do you know you have chosen the right one?
Choosing your wedding venue should come first on your to do list after getting engaged. Well, apart from your engagement ring. Because it is usually a large portion of your budget, it is good to book your venue first so you know how much is left in your budget for everything else. Also, once you have your venue booked you can look around for other service providers in the same area as your wedding venue. That way you won’t be paying for all of those extra kilometers they charge to drive to your venue – these are the costs that add up.
Before you sit down and search on google for that perfect venue, write down a few keywords for the type of wedding you and your fiancé envision. Do you want a rustic wedding? A beach wedding? Something more chic and modern or city and industrial? Or a farm, vineyard or forest wedding? Do you want an outdoor ceremony? Or do you want something more traditional and say ‘I do’ in a church? Once you have your list of keywords, use them to search for venues that fit.
Talk to your friends and family. Your friends have probably been to a lot of weddings in the last couple of years and word of mouth is the best way to hear about a venue as they have had first hand experience of the service and food that venue is providing.
Once you have your list of venues from Google and suggestions from friends or family, look at where all of these venues are situated. How far are you wanting your guests to travel for your wedding? Do you want a destination wedding were the festivities go all weekend, or do you want something closer to home so people can get back to their kids, jobs or family easily. Because family and friends tend to be spread around the globe now, weekend weddings are becoming more and more popular. This way you can spend some quality time with them and have a great catch-up with all of your guests. Not all venues offer this, so it is something to think about.
Ok, you should now have a short list of possible venues to contact. Make sure you have a date or at least an idea of the time of year that you want to get married in so you can ask for their availability. This could shorten the number of venues on your list if a venue is completely booked over summer and you want a summer wedding. It is always good to ask them if they have any out of season specials as you can save some money by booking out of peak wedding season or midweek.
After looking through all the wedding packages, see what fits your budget and book viewings with them. When going to your viewing, come armed with questions and a checklist of what you want. Take your time, take photos and try to take as much in as possible. You can even take some video clips with your phone that you can revert back to.
Booking a wedding venue is personal. It needs to feel right for both you and your fiancé. You need to click with the venue’s coordinator, because you will be having a wedding relationship with them over the next few months. Don’t stress, there are so many venues out there, you will find that perfect one. You will walk onto that property and you will be able to imagine yourself walking down that aisle to your man, or watching your sweetheart walk towards you. You will see your friends and family dancing the night away or catching up around the fire. It will just feel right.
Good luck and enjoy the journey…
