The Big Question - “Where do I see myself getting married?” You’ve been asking yourself this question ever since you were just a little girl dreaming of your true love and that special day when you will be joined together. Well? Where do you see yourself getting married?
Choosing the right venue for your wedding is a very important part of planning your special day. There are many beautiful venues and locations in Vancouver. From five star hotels to venues with gorgeous views and backdrops, we have them all and it can be all too easy to fall in love with the beauty and awe of a venue. But there are a few questions that you must ask before selecting your dream wedding location and CountDown Events wanted to give you some tips on choosing the right venue.
Wedding Ceremony:
• Most traditional wedding ceremonies are usually held at a place which holds significant value to your culture, religion or family traditions (keeping your family in mind)
• If you are choosing a more traditional site for your wedding ceremony such as a Church then consider choosing a nearby site for your reception to make the traveling from your ceremony to reception easier on you and on your guests.
• If you do not have a preference on your ceremony site then consider having both ceremony and reception at the same location. It will cut costs and time spent on decorations and transportation. As most flower arrangements and decorations are reusable for both ceremony and reception.
Wedding Receptions:
Off-site location or a self-contained venue?
• Off-site Locations: Private homes, historical halls, outdoor locations. Usually these locations do not have many amenities and have very few or no services at all. If choosing one of these locations then you must look at hiring wedding companies such as catering companies, and renting materials needed for your reception such as: chairs, tables, table settings….
• Self-contained Locations: Hotels, ballrooms, restaurants. These venues are usually full service and they will provide you with almost all of the materials and services required to host a reception. However you will most certainly have to hire a design, flower and décor company to transform the reception to your vision.
Things to consider before choosing a venue:
• Budget: It is always a good idea to know what your budget will be before looking at different venues. This way you may begin your search with venues that are in your price range. Be sure to speak with your Wedding Planner before choosing, a good planner will have a great relationship with most of the wedding venues in the city, and a they will know which venues will be more suited for your price range.
• Guest List and capacity: Working on your guest list is also very important as it will be one of the determining factors on your budget and choice of venues. If the number of your guests is higher than the capacity of the venue then you must look at other locations. Unless you have completely fallen in love with a particular venue than you will have to look into cutting down the number of guests you’ll be inviting.
• Give yourself plenty of time: If you prefer a specific date then you’ll want to begin looking for potential locations as soon as possible. Many venues book their weddings a year in advance and sometimes even two years in advance for the more popular venues. But if you do not have a specific date then ask the venue what dates are available and place a hold or reservation on that date.
Important questions to ask the venue representative, your planner, and yourself.
To ask the venue representative:
• Do they have an in-house caterer, and can you use an off-site caterer if you do not like their food?
• What is their cancellation policy? Nobody wants to cancel a wedding, but on the offhand that you might have to cancel or change venues will you be penalized for it.
• What is their payment schedule? What kind of deposit is required?
• Do they have a liquor license? If yes will they allow you to bring your own liquor? If no then you will have to apply for a license for your wedding date.
• Are there any hidden costs? Be sure to read the contract very carefully before you sign.
• Who will be the manager on hand on the day of your wedding and can you meet with them?
• Does the wedding venue already own a sound system with adequate speakers or will that need to be rented?
• Is your wedding the only wedding/event on that day?
Again it is a good idea to speak to your planner before you make your decision. A good Wedding Planner will be asking these questions for you before they recommend the venue to you.
To ask your Wedding Planner:
• Have they planned a wedding/event at this particular venue? And do they recommend the venue? What is the reputation of the venue?
• Do they have any reservations re planning your wedding at this venue?
• What do they think of the decor? Will it accentuate your wedding colours and decorations? Are there many limitations on the amount of decorating? Many venues such as Churches or historical halls place limitations on the amount and type of decorations done.
• Will you have to spend a lot of money on flowers and decorations to make it beautiful?
To ask yourself:
There really is only one question that you must ask yourself and it is the most important question to ask: “Do I see myself being married here?” After all said and done this your wedding, you have been dreaming of this your whole life and at the end of the day only you can say "This is where I see myself getting married."
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @CountDownEvents to see other Engagement and Wedding Tutorials to help you plan your wedding.
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