Congratulations on your engagement! This is a really exciting time in your life. It’s also probably going to be a bit stressful.
During this next year, I want to walk through this process with you. I’ll give you a 12 Month Guide to planning your wedding and explain things along the way. You can start from the beginning here (click). Come back to this blog each week for the next installment.
Week Three – Venues and Style
Hope your budget is in place and that you’re all prepared to plan. Get that Wedding Planning Binder out because we’re about to make big decisions. This week we’ll concentrate on selecting the venues for the ceremony and reception.
Having a place to hold the wedding needs to be one of the first things you decide on. Without this in place, it’ll be difficult to put all the other details in order. The florist, baker and other vendors need to know where you want them and on what date. You’ve selected a few dates and you know how much you can spend. Now is the time to think about what you want for the wedding venue. Is it important to have the ceremony and reception in the same place? That makes it easy for everyone to shift from the vows to the celebration. Do you want a church wedding with a different reception venue? This is a special option for many people, but you want to choose a reception venue close to the church.
Think about the style of your wedding. Do you want it to be relaxed or formal? Relaxed will be less expensive, but formal is very elegant. Early afternoon with a punch and cake reception or an evening wedding with a four-course dinner? Morning and afternoon weddings are less expensive because there is usually less cost with food and entertainment. Evening weddings allow for more variety and entertainment.
Okay, you have the dates, budget and you know the style. Start looking at nearby venues. You can find listings online, on wedding websites like The Knot or Wedding Wire, in the phone book or from married friends. Contact the venues to ask about prices and availability for the dates you’re looking at (sometimes these are listed on the venue’s website). If you really want to be super organized, create a spreadsheet of venues with their contact information, prices, availability and extra comments/thoughts.
Next step, limit the list of venues based on price. You don’t want to get your heart set on something you can’t afford – especially since you’re only at the beginning of the planning process. Now that the list is shorter, you can start setting up appointments with the rest. You don’t have to go to all of them. Just visit the places that interest you the most. Read reviews, check photos, etc.
[Tweet “You don’t want to get your heart set on something you can’t afford.”]
10 Questions to ask when visiting the venue:
1. What is included in the price for the venue?
2. Do you have photos from other weddings that we could see?
3. How early are you allowed into the venue to decorate?
4. Who takes care of set-up, clean-up and trash (I’ve seen dressed-up Mother-of-the-Brides take out the trash)?
5. How many weddings are booked the weekend of your wedding?
6. What is the payment schedule, hidden costs/gratuities or ?
7. How many people will the venue accommodate?
8. Can you bring in any vendors or are you limited to a select few?
9. Are there any limitations for photographers, decorations, food or drink?
10. Who will be the person of contact on the day of your wedding?
There are a lot of other questions you’ll think of and should ask, but this is a short list to get you started. When you walk around the venues take note of parking, restrooms and space available. Are there handicap limitations? Do you have enough room for a stage, tables and dance floor? I recommend going to 3-5 venues before signing any paperwork. You want to have enough venues to compare, but you also don’t want to be overwhelmed with too many options. Check all the small print and cancellation policies.
Last step, sign the papers and make a deposit on the venue. Congrats! you have a place to get married.
That’s going to be more than enough to keep you busy. If it takes more than a week, please don’t stress. This is a big task. Just try to finish this in the next three weeks. We’ll be looking at other vendors soon and will need the basic information of when and where.
What’s your dream venue? We love hearing everyone’s dreams and visions.
If you are planning on a destination wedding, please click here and look ahead to the post I wrote about them.
Next week we’ll discuss the wedding party (I’m sure your friends are starting to drop “subtle” hints).
Katelyn is a certified wedding planner. She is available for consultations.
She will even meet with you on Skype to help you work through part of your wedding planning.
Click here for more information.