If you’re recently engaged and you’re beginning to plan your big day, then you know just how stressful it can be to find a high-quality wedding venue. Wedding venues are often booked years in advance, and there are many other hurdles that come with this part of the wedding planning process.
We’ve luckily partnered up with the Ainsworth House & Gardens, a highly regarded Oregon City wedding venue, to support us in creating this list of tips targeted towards engaged couples and wedding planners. By going through the below tips, you’ll put you and your wedding day in a much better place literally and figuratively!
Be Sure To Start Your Wedding Venue Search As Early As Possible
Plenty of couples have fallen in love with wedding venues, only to find out that they’ll have to wait years in order to celebrate there. Wedding venues get booked up at an astronomically fast rate, which is why engaged couples should start looking for a venue as one of the very first stages of their wedding planning process.
By starting your search as early as possible and giving yourself plenty of planning time, you can be more flexible with your dates and accommodate a highly-coveted wedding venue’s busy schedule.
And always be sure to plan around the weather no matter what time of year it is. As much as we all love outdoor parties, it’s important to have a backup plan just in case it rains!
Location Is EVERYTHING For Wedding Venues
There’s so much to keep in mind when it comes to the actual location of your wedding venue, because you’ll want it to be a special place that isn’t a pain for your guests to get to. Consider the following location factors when choosing a wedding venue:
- Proximity to nearest airport
- Proximity to overnight accommodations/hotels
- Relative ease (or difficulty) to navigate to the venue
- Disability access
- Parking
And if you’re planning on getting married in a city, then you’ll need to keep commuter hours in mind as well. Adventure and destination weddings are all the rage these days, but be sure that you’re still keeping things easy on your guests.
Keep Your Guest Count In Mind
Certain wedding venues can only accommodate a specific number of people, so you’ll want to have at least a good guess on your guest count prior to booking anything. This is particularly important because a lot of wedding venues require pretty large deposits that are based upon estimated guest counts.
And size certainly matters for wedding venue choices, because you won’t want to cram your guests together. Make sure you’re providing plenty of space for your guests to move around and have a good time, but also keep intimacy in mind if that’s what you’re going for!
Understanding Your Wedding’s Budget
A lot of couples actually end up spending a significant portion of their entire wedding budget on venue costs! This can sometimes get confusing because wedding venue prices have all sorts of additional fees and taxes that can add up pretty quickly.
This is why couples need to know the precise pricing of their wedding venue investment prior to booking. Be sure to ask your venue questions about how much everything will cost, and if additional fees will apply to their pricing plans.
Figuring Out Your Wedding Venue’s Must-Haves
Every wedding has specific needs, and it’s important for couples to understand what they value most in these types of venues. You may want a rooftop ceremony, in-house catering, bring your own alcohol, late curfews, or many other perks for your big day.
Creating a shortlist of venue features that speak to you will ultimately put you in the right direction towards narrowing down your top options.
Reach Out To Oregon City Wedding Venue Specialists To Learn More Wedding Planning Tips!
There’s so much that engaged couples need to keep in mind while they’re choosing their wedding venue, and your venue really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that goes with wedding planning.
You can learn more wedding planning tips by going through the link at the top of the page to the Ainsworth House’s website, where experienced wedding venue managers will be more than happy to answer your questions and concerns that you have for your special day!