First step: the venue
April 11, 2008 · Posted in ceremony & reception, the planning process, venues by rachel
Welcome to the EAD Weddings blog! We are so excited to have you here. If you are a new visitor, we'd love for you to subscribe to our RSS feed and visit our sister site, EAD Living. Thanks for visiting and we hope you come back soon!
I have to say that I think this is absolutely one of THE MOST important decisions of your wedding and reception. There are so many different options (inside, outside, church, field of flowers), and depending on your budget, the sky’s the limit!
With us, budget does play an important part, so keeping that in mind I wanted to find our venue first before all other decisions. For one, when you’re on a limited budget, your list will be shorter because many places may be more than you can spend. Plus, where you will be getting married and having your reception will help set the tone for your wedding - and many of the other choices you will make! And don’t forget, the most desirable venues book up far in advance.
Since we are not extremely religious people and haven’t been to church in a while, a church wedding wasn’t important to us. We also wanted to find a place where we could have the ceremony as well as the reception (to make it easier on everyone involved). I have to give myself some kudos on this one - I researched and researched and looked at so many pictures on the internet!! I emailed and got pricing and information on several places, and we narrowed down our options pretty quickly. But once I saw the pictures (and prices!!) of the YWCA in downtown Fort Worth, I knew that this was my favorite!!
We met my parents there one weekend, and after seeing the place in person we were thrilled! It was even prettier in person than on their website, and it fit all our needs! We’re going to have our ceremony downstairs in front of the fireplace, and we’ll have our reception upstairs in the ballroom.
Another note: the original date we wanted was already booked! Luckily, the weekend after was not. If you’re willing to be a little flexible with your dates, you can usually get the venue you want if you start early.
How did you find your venue?? Was it the first big thing you booked, or did you decide on it later?
I totally agree that is the first big thing to take care of. First, make sure you know your approximate budget… then, venue search begin!
Great post!
I thought booking the venue first was the right thing to do. But I had to move my ceremony to a different church, and now there is a huge time gap between when my ceremony ends and when my reception is set to start. We can’t move the reception up because it is at a public Arboretum. What should we do for the 1 1/2 in between? We were going to host a cocktail hour. Should we get a whole new cite?
Hmmmm…. Hilary, I guess there’s no way to move the ceremony a little later??
If not, maybe inquire around at some restaurants or nice bars close by that have a room you could rent out or reserve where you could have a “cocktail hour” at. I know that’s more money, maybe somebody else has a great idea?!?! Maybe there’s a room at the church you could use as a “refreshments room” and you could serve tea/coffee/water/lemonade, if your church doesn’t allow alcohol.
Yeah, we are looking for a place like that. This is all complicated by the fact that the reception is far from the church. The church (Catholic) is not flexible about the time of the wedding.
I like the tea/coffee/water idea. I doubt the church will allow alcohol, but we could probably use that as a stop gap.
hilary, how many guests are you having? if it’s a small-ish to medium size wedding, what about trying to coordinate a “group picture” outside the church after the ceremony? that would take up some time. you could also do a receiving line that would buy you about 20 minutes.
When I have a client with a lag time between ceremony and reception, we suggest nearby restaurants to go and have a cold drink or a glass of wine or a snack. Most people, especially out- of- towners enjoy the time to poke around or rest up for the party! Picking the venue is so important. Make sure you know what is in the fine print before you sign. Sometimes there are limitations or added fees that bring the price up.
Hillary-How far away from your church is the reception? You could do what Mrs. Onion on Weddingbee did and have a little parade where all of the guests travel together from one location to the next. The pictures would be great, and it is just another chance to mix and mingle with your guests.
