How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Venue
Getting engaged is an incredibly exciting time, and getting to plan your dream wedding can feel just like that–a dream. Wedding planning can also be extremely stressful, given how many decisions you and your partner have to make. Everything from the wedding venue to where your guests will sit for the reception needs to be decided at some point before your big day, but some decisions are more important than others. The wedding venue is one of them.
Set a Budget and Stick To It
For most weddings, the venue is by far the most expensive part of the wedding. However, that doesn’t mean that everything else isn’t going to add up down the line. Since it’s one of the first things that you commit to, couples often commit to an expensive venue without considering the price of everything else that goes into a traditional wedding.
It’s important that you keep everything in mind when setting a budget and to only view venues that you can afford. It’s very easy to tour a place, get swept up in the beauty of everything, and commit to paying something that you can’t reasonably afford. Don’t stress so much over your wedding that you can’t properly enjoy it.
Start the Search Earlier Than You Think You Need To
Your wedding venue is one of the first things you need to decide on, and for good reason. Many wedding venues book out over a year in advance. The last thing you want is to fall in love with a venue and find out that the date you had in mind isn’t available. Then you’re faced with the decision of either pushing your wedding or booking a venue you don’t completely love. Leave yourself plenty of time before your perfect date to make sure you don’t have to make that decision.
Keep Your Guest List in Mind
Before you make a list of venues to tour, you and your partner should have an idea of how big you want your wedding to be. You don’t have to have a finalized guest list at this stage, but there’s a big difference between a fifty-person wedding and a two-hundred-person wedding. You don’t want to choose a venue too small and have to make cuts that you don’t want to make. At the same time, you don’t want to spend more on a larger venue that you’re not going to fill. Having even a ballpark idea is key to choosing the best venue for your dream wedding.
Read the Reviews
Every business has reviews, and wedding venues are no different. Take a look at the online reviews to get a sense of how people enjoyed having their wedding at that venue. Your friends are great sources, but take their opinions with a grain of salt because their dream wedding might differ from your dream wedding. Ideally, you’ll look this up before you tour the venue, so you’ll be able to ask about any concerns or problems the reviews raise while you’re there.
Trust Your Gut
When you’re viewing several venues, often back to back, things may start running together. Maybe one venue had gorgeous flowers lining the path to the door, while the other had a beautiful stained glass window. How do you choose between the two? Talk it over with your partner and trust your gut. It’s your wedding day, and only you know what is best for you.