Many women and men experience a lot of confusion and frustration when it comes to planning a wedding. One of the most difficult choices you will be faced with is where you will get married. It is important to seriously consider every option you have and factor in things such as the amount of guests, your budget, the type of wedding you want and how much work you want to do for the wedding venue, just to name a few.
Does Religion Factor In?
Before considering a venue, food, flowers, and a guest list, you need to determine the type of wedding you want to have; religious or non-religious.
About half of all couples who get married decide to have a traditional religious wedding in a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple. Regardless of if you decide to have a religious wedding or not, you need to consider the venues available to you for the dates that you want.
If your partner does not share the same religion as you do or if you are both secular, you may want to consider a reception hall, family home, beach, park, countryside, etc…
Wedding Venue Location and Capacity
Before you can decide on a venue for your dream wedding, you will need to come up with a guest list and then decide who will be invited to the ceremony. It is important to consider the physical location of the event, how accessible it is to the guests you will invite and how many people can attend. It is also important to consider how guests will get to the wedding and if there will be enough parking for everyone.
If you decide to get married in an unconventional location, you need to consider how accessible it is for grandparents and elderly guests. It is also important to remember that every venue has limits on how many people can attend. If you want to have a 500+ person wedding, you need a reception hall, not a small family home and vice-versa.
Do You Want To Work?
When you are choosing a wedding venue, you need to determine how much time and work you want to put into the location. It is important to consider the limitations of your event management company and whether they will charge additional fees for exotic or unique venues.
Traditional locations such as churches, reception halls, hotels, wineries, and banquet halls will often have the necessary equipment and teams to set up the wedding. This ensures that your effort to get the wedding venue prepared is minimal.
If, however, you decide to have your wedding at unique locations such as a beach, park, family home, or in the countryside, you need to consider the prep work involved. These types of locations will need a team of people who will set up your tables, chairs, decorations, caterers, bathroom facilities, and entertainment stages. These venues tend to make your wedding extra special, but can involve a lot more effort.
Budget
As with every aspect of your wedding plan, you need to consider the cost of the venues.
You need to remember that the unique venues will often require you to budget for equipment rentals. It is important to choose a venue that fits within your budget without detracting from the other aspects such as entertainment food and refreshments.
Traditional locations will often have a fixed price, which includes most of the equipment but can often be overpriced based on the date and time that you want to rent them. If you do decide to splurge on the venue for sentimental reasons, size, location, or beauty, you need to keep the factors mentioned earlier in mind.
