Choosing your venue

CHOOSING YOUR VENUE:

Reflects everything you want to say about your wedding.

Do you want Grand? Intimate? Country? Beach? There are barns, boats, restaurants, houses, hotels, mills, clubhouses, and gardens!

Firstly work out how many guests you want for the day and evening and look for venues that will fit your numbers well. Don't go for a large venue if you only have a handful of guests or you will be lost in the space and the wedding may end up feeling lifeless and don't go for a venue too small or you will be cramped and uncomfortable. Ask your venue what numbers fit the space best. If there are split rooms, ask questions like how many fit on the dance floor? How many staff do they have on looking after you?

Be clear about hire costs the day you look around the venue. There is nothing worse than finding a dream venue then finding it's out of budget!

A lot of venues have extra charges; so make sure you know what is included. They can add strange things to your bill such as cake stands and cake knife's!! Other charges maybe for -

Staff, cutlery, plates, glassware, chair covers, kitchen equipment, clean up charges, service charge etc. and they will also charge extra to hold the ceremony at the venue. Another thing sneaky venues will do is make you order your evening buffet/food for every guest attending. You always end up with way too much food but if it’s in the contract you have to honor the venues rules!

Find out if the venue has an entertainment license and what time you can have the music playing until. Also if holding your wedding on a Sunday find out if the bar has to shut early?

I always think that there are two things that are most talked about after the wedding. The bride's dress and the food!

Make sure the catering company gives you a tasting session or you have a meal at the venue you are intending to hold your reception. If the food is not right it will spoil the day, as you will spend a lot of time eating during your special day.

Make sure that your venue doesn’t intend to change catering companies or menus before your big day too...

I know of a beautiful venue that can hold multiple weddings. The trouble is if you are sat in the back two rows of the ceremony room you can hear the other service taking place! This can make your wedding not seem as special, so it’s worth finding out if this could happen at your dream venue.

Other things worth considering is, is there enough accommodation for your guests either in the house or hotel and surrounding areas and parking for all your guests.

BUDGET TIPS:

If you can steer away from the conventional Saturday wedding you can get your dream wedding at a price that suits your pocket.

Holding weddings on a Monday may not be the norm but most people are happy to have a three-day weekend with advanced notice. Sundays and Fridays of course are cheaper too. Out of season dates or if you can handle the pressure of organizing things in a hurry, late availability is a good way of cutting costs.

Some venues have separate hire charges for day and evening hire, so why not marry at 4pm and just occur the evening charge and go straight on to the wedding meal followed by your party.

The National Trust have beautiful stately homes that they hire out cheaply and I always think that venues that work on a minimum spend are best value as you are only paying for food and drink not the space you are enjoying them in.

If looking for some of the west’s best venues, I suggest visiting Marry Me in Somerset as it has an exceptional selection.