Starting Your Wedding Planning Journey

I’m hoping that you are now obsessed with wedding blogs and are enjoying your daily fix of wedding prettiness.

I am also hoping that you have confirmed your budget. Which means one thing, your wedding planning can commence…..

Venue

A large portion of your budget will have been allocated to your venue, so securing this should be first on your planning to do list. It’s tempting to get caught up in the excitement of planning your wedding and rush out to view any wedding venue that appears to tick all the right boxes, which is completely understandable. However, whilst it is important to view a selection of venues to allow you to compare the advantages and dis-advantages of each. It is equally important that you have a clear idea of what you require from a venue before you dedicate your foreseeable weekends to viewing your selected shortlist.  

 

Draft guest list

Creating a draft guest list is a good place to start when in the early stages of planning your wedding. Of course, this doesn’t have to be exact and no doubt this list will change before your invitations are actually sent out. But, this will give you a good idea of who you are likely to invite to your wedding, which will highlight two very important factors that will no doubt influence your final venue choice.

The first being minimum and maximum guests numbers and the second being whether or not they welcome children.

 

Once you have an idea of your guest list, take time to research the venues that initially appear perfect, paying particular attention to their guest number requirements and limitations as well as their policy on allowing children to attend weddings.

It goes without saying, if you intend on hosting an intimate wedding there is little point viewing a venue whose minimum guest requirements are considerably larger than that of your guest list. Similarly, if you have your heart set on hosting a family friendly wedding celebration, viewing a venue who politely request that your nuptials are an adult-only affair would not only be a waste of your time, but also heartbreaking should the venue be perfect in every other way.

Co-ordinating your big day

I would also recommend calling potential venues to speak to a member of their wedding team. Establish who will be on hand to answer any questions that you may have throughout the planning of your wedding. Another important point to address is who will be co-ordinating your wedding. Some venues operate with two teams of staff, one team that plan weddings and another team that co-ordinate weddings, which can cause problems for a bride if they are not aware of this prior to booking their venue.  

Planning your wedding is a huge investment of your time, which is usually slotted in amongst your existing work and family commitments. So, taking a little time at the beginning of your wedding planning journey to establish what you actually require from a wedding venue will help you to create a suitable shortlist of venues that are most likely to meet the requirements you have for your wedding day.

Image Credits: Terri & Lori Fine Art Photography & Film

Choosing the perfect venue for your wedding is key to ensuring that your wedding day is everything that you are hoping it will be and is just one of many decisions you will need to make. If you feel that you may benefit from the assistance of a wedding planner  and are planning your wedding within Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Hertfordshire or Cambridge please do get in touch, I would love to hear the plans you have made so far.

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