Picking the perfect place..

So, you've sorted out your priorities and you're ready to look at venues. Yay!

If you're anything like me, you're already researching and signing up for every brochure that you can lay your hands on. You've got your local bridal magazine at the ready and the Internet is loaded. But wait, trust me. Let's not jump into anything too soon.

This is possibly the most important piece of advice I can give you. Do the research. But maybe i'm not being concise enough, Do the correct research. But what the hell are you on about? I hear you yelling at me through the screen of your computer/phone/tablet/whocareswhatdeviceyouareon? Hear me out. Venues are amazing but they are expensive bastards. I'm going to let you into a secret, here's how to get what you want for the cheapest price possible.

Step 1: Work out your priorities as a couple. Sure, you've agreed them for the vision of the wedding but you need to be clear about what you both want or need. For example, our priorities were simple:

Within our budget

Disabled friendly

Ceremony and Reception in the same location

There were others, but these were the main three. To be quite honest, the third point wouldn't have put us off the perfect place but it was handy.

Step 2: Work out a very rough guide for the amount of guests you want for both day and evening. They will ask you this when you look around and if you don't know, prepare to get sucked into spending far more of your budget than you want. We weren't sure so we said a rough guide of 50 people for the day and 100 more for the evening. (When unsure, go up rather than down. That way, when you have a more realistic number, the price will go down. We planned for this number and ended up with 30 day guests and 70 evening. Happy couple? I think so!)

Step 3: Prepare a list of bullet points for everything you want to ask when you look around. Here's some to choose from, you may want to add your own:

Available Dates

Venue hire fee

Catering options

Alcohol options (is there a bar, do they charge you for bringing your own, do they have a license, etc.)

Entertainment restrictions  or requirements (if any)

Package price per head

Are tables, chairs, linens, cutlery etc. all included in this price? (Some aren't, believe it or not)

Do they provide an evening service e.g. buffet?

Are there any other events held on the same day?

Overnight accommodation

Is there a changing room for the bridal party?

Do guests get discounts on the overnight accommodation if provided?

Is there adequate parking?

Use of gardens, what's the protocol if it rains?

What time will the reception end?

When will the bar close?

Do they have any  noise restrictions?

How many people can they accommodate?

Cheaper times to get married, which days are less popular?

Are children welcome?

Is there disabled access? (we found that there was access to the lower levels but as there was no lift, no functions could take place upstairs.)

Are there any restrictions when decorating?

What time can we set up? (some let you set up the night before, others from a certain time on the day) Do we get help from you when setting up?

Can we bring our own cake?

How many restrooms are there? (again, look for disabled access)

Is confetti allowed? Does it need to be biodegradable?

Can we host the ceremony outside? (In England, you cannot legally get married unless you are under a roof of some kind so if they say yes, ensure that there is some form of structure that they have licensed to do so. One venue we asked said yes and then when we probed a little further, they said that the guests would sit outside but we'd need to be in the doorway of the room so we were 'technically' under a roof. Not the romantic scene I had pictured!)

What is the cancellation policy?

How much is the cost with VAT?*

What do you get included with this price?*

When is the final deposit due?*

*Just a note when getting prices from any place, ensure that you get this in writing from them. Not just your written notes. If it's not written, you can't fall back on it later if they overcharge you later on (don't be one of the horror stories!)

Phew! That's one long list! Put it all in a list and go visiting! If you do a new list for each place you visit (we visited well over ten before deciding on our perfect venue) then you will be able to compare price with what you are getting for your money. I know that we saved £5000 easily just by doing this.

I hope that this is helpful to you, remember to enjoy yourselves looking around these beautiful places! If you can think of any other tips when looking around venues, please do comment below! I will answer any questions that I can.

Happy hunting! 😃