Congrats, you are engaged!! Now what do you do? One of the first things to do once you get engaged is to book a venue for your ceremony and reception. Here are some great tips to keep in mind when booking your venue for your big day.
Location
Where would you like to get married? Most couples choose to get married in the bride’s home town or where the two of them currently live. You also want to consider location if you are having multiple venues during your wedding day. If you are getting married at a church it is pretty smart to find a reception site within a reasonable walking or driving distance. You don’t want your guests getting lost between the two sites because they are 45-60 minutes away from each other.
Size
How many guests do you plan on inviting to your wedding? You can either find a location you love and then base your guest list off of their venue capacity or you can create your tentative guest list and find a location that will hold that many. One of the biggest problems people encounter when it comes to venues is size. So be prepared when visiting venues in knowing how much space you will approximately need. A great tool that I use is the event space calculator. You can pick your desired room setup and number of guests and it will generate a number of approximate square footage you will need.
Where would you like to get married? Most couples choose to get married in the bride’s home town or where the two of them currently live. You also want to consider location if you are having multiple venues during your wedding day. If you are getting married at a church it is pretty smart to find a reception site within a reasonable walking or driving distance. You don’t want your guests getting lost between the two sites because they are 45-60 minutes away from each other.
Size
How many guests do you plan on inviting to your wedding? You can either find a location you love and then base your guest list off of their venue capacity or you can create your tentative guest list and find a location that will hold that many. One of the biggest problems people encounter when it comes to venues is size. So be prepared when visiting venues in knowing how much space you will approximately need. A great tool that I use is the event space calculator. You can pick your desired room setup and number of guests and it will generate a number of approximate square footage you will need.
Budget
What is your wedding budget? Besides the venue size, this is the biggest limiting factor when it comes to choosing your venue location. If you fall in love with a location but the price is out of the questions ask about their discounts for having the wedding on a Friday or Sunday instead. There is also the “off-season” pricing that many venues offer during the winter months. Depending on how you distribute your wedding budget you will probably be looking to spend between 10-20% of your total wedding budget on the venue. Most wedding budgets will have you reserve 40-50% for the entire reception which includes site, catering, bar, cake, and rentals. So budget accordingly!!
Theme/Style
This is one small detail to consider when looking at different venues. Some venues limit the amount of decorations that you are allowed at the venue. Don’t choose a museum or historical venue if you want a more modern wedding theme or style. Choose a venue that is similar to your style and will complement your wedding theme. If the site is similar to the theme you want then you don’t have to spend as much on decorations.
What is your wedding budget? Besides the venue size, this is the biggest limiting factor when it comes to choosing your venue location. If you fall in love with a location but the price is out of the questions ask about their discounts for having the wedding on a Friday or Sunday instead. There is also the “off-season” pricing that many venues offer during the winter months. Depending on how you distribute your wedding budget you will probably be looking to spend between 10-20% of your total wedding budget on the venue. Most wedding budgets will have you reserve 40-50% for the entire reception which includes site, catering, bar, cake, and rentals. So budget accordingly!!
Theme/Style
This is one small detail to consider when looking at different venues. Some venues limit the amount of decorations that you are allowed at the venue. Don’t choose a museum or historical venue if you want a more modern wedding theme or style. Choose a venue that is similar to your style and will complement your wedding theme. If the site is similar to the theme you want then you don’t have to spend as much on decorations.
Of course there are other factors to consider when choosing a venue, but I could probably write a short novel covering all of them. No matter where you choose to have your wedding, just make sure that you are 100% happy with your decision. You want to be able to enjoy your wedding day without worrying about anything else.
What other tips or suggestions do you have when it comes to choosing a venue?
xoxo
Megan
You might also like…
What other tips or suggestions do you have when it comes to choosing a venue?
xoxo
Megan
You might also like…
RSS Feed