THE DREAM VENUE
Once upon a time, I was a beautiful bride! Planning my dream wedding was the only thing on my mind. I was so excited and could not wait to bring people and ideas together. As you can imagine I am already involved in the industry, I have been working in weddings and private events for 9 years. When it became my time to be a bride, most people thought, “Oh but being a planner you must know who to use and what to do!” Oh how they were very wrong.
Being a wedding planner and a bride made our choices so much harder, knowing just how much you can create and just how many amazing people that were around that I wanted to work with. A dream wedding really is summed up by the question, how long is a piece of string?
As all brides, I too had a set budget (that I really didn’t keep to if I am very honest!) So I am here as a past bride and planner to give you the inside story of how I created the wedding I always wanted and my reasons for choosing the all those involved that helped make it everything I imaged.
For us, our family and friends were all London based or abroad, it then made sense for us to have a London Wedding, it was a central point for all and every guest.
Here are just some questions below that helped us narrow down our venue:
#1 Where are the majority of your guests coming from?
Bare this in mind when planning and looking at venues, is it easy for everyone to get to? Are there close accommodations for people to stay in? The last thing you want is for your guests to disappear early as they want to get home and it’s a 2-hour drive!
#2 Will you have a child friendly wedding or Adult only?
If you have a few guests that have kids, consider how friendly the venue is to children, is there ample space for them to roam and play in? is there a quiet room for them to wind down in the evening and possibly sleep for naps? (if younger than 4) Are there good nanny agencies in the area or rooms for guests to hire within so they can put the kids to bed with a family member to watch them?
#3 Just how much do they offer in their wedding package?
And can they exchange slight details?
Always compare and contrast wedding packages, some venues offer 3 canapés per person whereas others offer 6! Can you switch the one glass of champagne in the reception for two glasses of prosecco or pimms? Just how much do you get within the wedding packages at similar rates?
#4 Does it have incredible areas for the perfect wedding shot?
Getting those couple shots are great, but knowing your venue may have some absolutely epic areas to create that memorable photo of your wedding day is huge, it will be that one image that all your family want a copy of.