Good morning! Again, it's been a while, but I'm back! I hope you missed me. I've got a great topic for you today. So, you've just gotten engaged and the next thing most brides generally do is start shopping for venues and a dress even before consulting or booking a wedding planner, which by the way I think is the first thing you should do right after deciding on your wedding day budget.
Well, before you step one foot in a single venue here are a few questions you should ask yourself!
Searching For The Perfect Venue | 4 Questions To Ask Yourself
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1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Ask yourself or ponder the idea of where you want to host your wedding. Do you want to host your ceremony at a separate location other than your reception? Will guests have to travel far to get there? If so, then you'll definitely need to send Save-the-Dates sooner rather than later to guests who are traveling in from out-of-town or if you're planning to have a destination wedding.
2. INVESTMENT: How much am I willing to spend on the perfect venue? Keep in mind that most venues, hotels especially add the cost of catering for the number of guests that you intend on having to the cost of the rental, which brings me to the next thing you should ask yourself before starting your search.
3. GUESTS: How many guests do I intend on inviting? The number of guests is another major determining factor in selecting the right venue. Of course you cannot have a guest count of 100 and expect a venue which holds 70 people to be able to accommodate you. It's not going to work. So knowing your number can save you time in your search.
4. STYLE: What's my style? What do I want the venue to look like aesthetically? What's the vibe? Now if you're the "glitz and glam" type of couple, you know all about the bling then I don't think a rustic barn look is the "look" you’re probably going for unless you want a mix of the two, rustic and bling. If so, then you're probably seeking a shabby chic style, but even so an elegant downtown or uptown depending on where you live 5-star hotel probably wouldn't work either. You should definitely search for something that's going to suite your concept. Your wedding day "vibe" should be cohesive from start to finish!
These might not be at the top of your list of questions to ponder, but they should definitely be on the list somewhere. Once you ask and answer these questions for yourself as a couple then I think you can start the search. It will help with the elimination process and save you time looking at so many venues. With our full service couples, we generally will look at 3, but no more than 4 venues max! Knowing what you like, if not what you want can be a huge time saver for all involved in the process!
Good luck on your search! So, what do you think? Leave us a comment below. We want to hear from you! Also, join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!