A wedding day is a special moment in one’s life. Plenty of people wait for a long time to finally put on the perfect fitting dress, admire the golden ring on their finger, and say “yes” at the altar. However, the wedding preparation process can take months and cause stress.
You can be flexible when it comes to your catering, types of flowers at the reception, the dress code, or the number of guests you want to invite.
But one thing that can make or break your wedding is your venue. It’s not something that you can book at the last minute. So before you start looking for the perfect place, here is what you need to know:
- Talk to a Wedding Planner
If you don’t want to go crazy while planning your wedding, consider reaching out for help. It would be best if you find reliable wedding experts. They will take care of everything and let you relax and enjoy the happiest day of your life.
Plus, experienced wedding planners know what can go wrong and they can help you avoid any disasters. A wedding planner can also give you suggestions that you’d never think about when choosing a wedding venue on your own.
- Create Your Vision
Remember that your wedding day is your day, and nobody’s else’s (except for your fiancee of course). If you’re a fan of modern places, organize your wedding reception in a luxurious hotel with high-fashion details. If you want to feel like a princess (at least once in your life), consider booking an elegant ballroom.
Maybe you’ve always wanted to combine spectacular natural landscapes with the elegant indoors—then you can reach out to the wedding coordinators from Fairbanks Ranch Events and organize your wedding with the picturesque lakes in the background. Remember that the variety of venues is enormous, and you can choose any location you like.
- Think About the Weather
Not every wedding location would fit the date of your ceremony. If you’ve been dreaming about a wedding at Christmas time, it would be best to find a cozy restaurant with white elements. And if you want to organize your wedding in the summertime, take advantage of the sunny weather and plan an outdoor wedding.
Remember to take into account the possible weather conditions. If you’ve decided to say “yes” in the open air, make sure to have a plan B in case it rains.
If you plan a winter wedding, choose a venue with cozy areas. You will have to forget about big open spaces and high ceilings as it will be difficult to keep your guests warm in there.
- Prepare Your Guest List Beforehand
Some people book wedding venues impulsively. “It looks great and it’s within our budget, give me my credit card!”. Did you almost do the same?
It would be everyone’s dream to find the perfect place without much effort, but reality looks different. Some places should be booked at least one year in advance.
If you book the place before you finish your guest list, you might end up with nothing. For instance, you might want to invite more guests and it will turn out you don’t have enough space.
To avoid that, always prepare the guestlist before picking your venue. Other than that, make sure there is all necessary furniture. You can rent tables and chairs for your wedding days, but why make it so difficult for yourself? You will have to take care of so many other things, so eliminate unnecessary tasks. If stress free is what you’re going for, picking a venue that includes everything for your big day will minimize your wedding stress.
- Calculate All the Costs
Last but not least, always think about the total budget before booking your wedding venue. As you can understand, your budget is the main factor that determines your future wedding venue. This includes research—many people don’t know the cost of catering or flowers. Hint: both are more expensive than you would think. If you spend a good chunk of your budget on your venue and then find other wedding must-haves are pricey than you originally thought, you may go over budget.
The last thing you want is having no money left over for a DJ or your dream wedding dress.
Planning a ceremony and reception is not a piece of cake, especially if you want each detail to be perfect. You need to pay attention to all the little things such as the type of lighting, the venue’s style, catering options, and most importantly, growing costs.
But don’t panic! Take one step at a time, ask your partner for help with wedding planning, and remember Murphy’s law– anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If you prepare and budget accordingly, your wedding day will be smooth sailing.
*Photos by Avonne Stalling
