wedding wednesdays-the venue

The first item you need to scratch off your to-do list while planning is book your venue. Why? Because nearly all your other wedding planning decisions will be based on it.You can plan all other aspects; the photographer, the DJ, the decorations, etc. but if you don't have a venue, you don't have a wedding. It can be as simple as your parents' backyard or as elaborate as a famous hotel. It doesn't matter what you prefer or what your budget will allow, you just need SOMEWHERE for the wedding to happen!

When you start researching venues, think about what you want your wedding to be. Do you want an indoor or outdoor ceremony? Indoor or outdoor reception? Do you want the ceremony and reception to be in the same location? This will help to narrow down the venues in your area and begin making visits to check each one out. If you want an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception, a location like a park or someone's property won't work for you since they are usually don't have an indoor space for a reception. When you make visits to each possible venue, there are some questions you need to ask. If it's an outdoor location, you'll want to know if there is a "plan b" in case the weather doesn't cooperate. How long do you have the space? Is it set hours only for the day of, or can you come out the night before to set up and back the day after to clean up? Do they have staff on hand that will do all the set up and clean up for you? What is included or not included and what are their price breakdowns? And most importantly, is your wedding day available?? If it's somewhere you like and think might work out, take pictures while you're there! It'll help you later on when you have to make a decision on which venue to book. 

I mentioned asking the venue about what's included when you book with them. To me, this is a really important question. George and I looked at several venues and each one differed in what they included. We looked at one venue that was $3,000 just for the location. If we had booked with them, we would have needed to rent chairs, tables, linens, silverware, glasses, plates, a dance floor (it was outside in grass), find catering, buy alcohol and other drinks in addition to all our other vendors and decor. This can really add up! Other places will include all those items, but will nickel and dime you by charging for each little piece. A dollar for each linen, extra for plates and silverware, $1.50 per person for cake cutting, etc etc. It may seem like a great deal, but once you start adding on the items you need, it can get pricey. Other venues will include everything for a flat per person rate. They may seem more expensive at first, but considering they provide almost everything in that fee, you aren't left with many other expenses. 

 So what did we do? After dragging George to several venues we settled on Peach Tree Golf & Country Club. The club itself is very nice and clean so it automatically came off as out of our budget. However, once we sat down and analyzed all our options, because Peach Tree was all inclusive, it was the best price. We paid a flat rate per person which included: outdoor ceremony site, indoor reception site, full use of the bar area and patio, use of the bridal suite the morning of, chairs for the ceremony, tables, chairs, linens, plates, silverware, glassware, dinner buffet with several options, staff to work the reception, a bartender, the champagne and service for the champagne toast, tax and gratuity. All for one flat rate per person. It made it so easy on us to budget because the only thing that would change the price is the number of guests. We basically had to bring in a photographer, a DJ, the cake, flowers and any decorations we wanted. That's it. Everything else was taken care of. The one thing that was not included was alcohol. They have several different options for how to handle the bar. Full bar, no host, set limits or a customized option. We chose to do a customized option and provided beer, red & white wine and a signature cocktail. We were able to offer our guests alcohol, but set a limit on it so that we didn't end up with an unmanageable tab. If they wanted beer, wine or our signature drink, then it was free. But if they wanted something else, it was on them. We also did a special bar tab for just the bride and groom so that we didn't drink any of the alcohol set aside for our guests. Everyone had fun and the night went off without a hitch!

ceremony location

 

reception set up before flowers arrived

from the other side of the room

buffet line with TONS of food and a tri-tip carving station

reception area after dark, during the cake cutting

So once you book your venue, you have a firm date and location for your wedding. Now you can start booking your other vendors and planning all the details of your big day!