- avaleuer
- Oct 8, 2020
- 2 min read
Choosing a wedding venue is so much fun and it’s a great first item to book when planning a wedding! Last spring I booked my wedding venue and somehow I ended up being able to choose the venue of my dreams, but there were trade offs that I had to make.
The first step in choosing a venue is knowing your budget.
Refer to my post about wedding budgeting for more details.
After you know how much money you have in your total budget, and you’ve estimated how much each item will cost, you will be able to see how much you have in your budget specifically for your venue. Then once your have your budget for your venue set, it is a lot easier to slim down your list of potential venues.
I started by searching on google for venues closest to home then broadened my search to look at many different venues throughout the state. Each venue has a different location and vibe and there are so many cool options to choose from.
Pick out your top venues that you like online and schedule a tour to visit them in person. You can ask them questions about how they run their weddings, if they have hidden costs, and this is a great to where you can see and feel the actual vibe of the place. This is also a great time to see what dates they have available. I toured my venue over a year and a half before the wedding and their were only a couple Saturday’s left for the summer!
Write down any notes or information you want to remember so it is easier to choose between the venues after you’ve looked at more.
After you look at your favorite venues you can decide which one is the best fit for you and your fiance based on the vibe you like and the cost.
The venue is super smart to book first because:
They get booked out very early
It will most likely determine your wedding date and location
If you choose an expensive venue like I did, you can choose to spend less in other areas.
After choosing my venue I could then begin searching for a more affordable DJ, caterer, photo booth, florist, etc. This was a trade off I was more than willing to make because of how much I loved my venue, but some people love having a backyard wedding and splurging in other areas. Decide what’s most important for you and what things you want to splurge or save on BEFORE booking anything.
I’m so happy I got to have my wedding at the Hutton House and it was a total dream come true!
Sincerely, Ava Rains