Choosing a wedding venue can be a daunting task, especially if you have your heart set on the perfect fairytale wedding. When planning your big day, the venue is one of the most important decisions that you’ll need to make, so research is crucial.
Here are our top tips for choosing that perfectly romantic, yet practical wedding venue – in short, the one you’ve always dreamed of.
Guest list
You may have your eye on a particular fairytale wedding venue, such as a castle or château, but you need to ensure it can accommodate your guest list.
Before you become sentimentally attached to a particular venue, you should work out what size or capacity you’ll require. To this end, you should make a list of who you wish or need to invite, and decide whether you want them to be there for the full day. It may be possible to have some evening-only guests, which will save you money and space.
Budget
Weddings can be pricey, and money worries can hinder the enjoyment of planning your big day – particularly if you have a certain venue in mind that later proves to be unaffordable.
You should therefore be certain of your budget before you go venue-hunting. Most venues will give you a quote for their per-guest cost, so that once you have your guest list finalised, you can calculate how much you can afford per person.
The date
Wedding venues, particularly ones in high demand as fairytale venues usually are, can become unavailable for further bookings way in advance of a given date.
You may find that your dream venue doesn’t have the slot you fancy, especially if it’s a sought-after date, like a summer Saturday. You should therefore be prepared to start your preparations well in advance, as well as to potentially compromise on the date of your nuptials to maximise your chances of securing an especially popular venue.
Location
Do you want your fairytale wedding to be near your home? Or do you desire somewhere abroad? Do you yearn for something especially unique? These questions can be overwhelming.
The best way to dramatically narrow down your search is to pick a general area or location, and then whittle down your options. If you fancy an idyllic Parisian wedding, for instance, you may wish to investigate Château Bouffémont in France. This prestigious stone-built residence offers no shortage of aristocratic charm in an enchanting setting encompassing spectacular manicured French gardens and more than 2,000 square metres of usable interior space.
Accessibility
Before confirming your venue, you need to consider the travel that will be involved for you and your guests. Is a wedding venue really a fairytale one if it takes days for guests to reach it, or if its location puts prospective attendees off entirely? So if you’re considering a venue a little further afield than the norm, you ought to think seriously about how its location will affect your guests.
Weather
You definitely can’t control the weather that you’ll face on your big day. However, you can see whether the venue you’re interested in offers a contingency plan in the event of poor weather. For example, is there adequate cover outside? Would there be enough room inside if for some reason, guests needed to rush indoors?
By covering all of the obvious bases, you really can almost guarantee that perfect fairytale on the day you tie the knot with your beloved.
