The moment has come: your partner kneeled down on one knee and finally proposed! Now what? Well, this signs the beginning of one of the most beautiful and exciting times of a couple’s life: organising your dream wedding! In this moment of elation and emotion, make way for your dreams and imagination, starting from the uncontrollable desire to get married at a magical and unique wedding Venue.
One of the first – and most important – decisions that you will have to tackle is finding the Venue for your wedding. You will have to carefully evaluate the choice of what will become the scenario of one of the most important days of your lives. To determine the ideal Venue will also, in turn, define the context on which many other choices tied to the event will be based upon.
It is usually a good place to start from your dreams and desires, constantly keeping in mind that anything is possible. The next step, however, will be to try and turn your dreams into a more practical reality. It is crucial to have a clear idea of the style that reflects you the most, as the experience that you will give to your guests will widely depend on the choice of the Venue, as well as the overarching silver thread of the event. The countless decisions you will have to make will appear all as possible due to enthusiasm, but you must maintain a rational approach and avoid wasting time, resources and energy, while examining with great attention every single detail.
Once the style of the event has been established, you must start to choose the ideal Venue, which will act as the scenario of your wedding day, starting from those places that best allow you to realise your dreams. Do you wish to get married close to home, or did you always dream of a Destination Wedding? Do you want a religious ceremony as well, or not? Will you pick a more intimate Venue, or did you always dream to get married in a non-traditional place?
A bit of advice… Begin by outlining a list of the selected Venues! In fact, having an organised list will allow you to quickly and accurately compare all the structures you have selected. Do not forget to evaluate and account for all the main characteristics of each Venue, for example: the capacity (both internal and external), the on-site logistics (kitchens, private parking, lavatories, heating, etc.), the budget estimates, the availability during the desired date, and the presence of potential restrictions or constraints (time limitations, on-site catering, etc.).
Once the Venues have been shortlisted, it’s time to fix the first site visits! Finding the ideal Venue for your wedding is definitely a personal moment. Hence, avoiding to be accompanied by family and/or friends will allow you to fall in love with the place and the people that manage it, without being influenced by other opinions. However, do not stop at the first Venue you visit, even if you were to be starstruck by it! In fact, to have several solutions will allow you to compare all of the pros and cons of each Venue and evaluate more budget estimates. Do not forget that the layout of the Venue that you will choose will affect all of the decisions that you will have to carry out with regard to projects and design. Moreover, it’s a good rule of thumb to always keep in mind a potential “Plan B“, since, if not present on site, you will have to resort to a marquee (which will represent an additional cost).
Before choosing the Venue, always ask for the definitive budget estimates and, above all, for the availability of the structures on the date you have chosen, and analyse all of the main aspects of the different contract proposals for each Venue. This will allow you to understand, with great precision, what is included and what is not. Only this way will you be able to avoid potential additional, unexpected expenses.
Finding the ideal Venue for your wedding is not an easy task, and it can often turn out to be a tiring and strenuous process. In order to help you in your search and to reduce the dispersion of energy, it may be useful to resort to the help of experts in the field offering Location Scouting services, especially if you are thinking of organising a Destination Wedding.
