Now that you have set a date, the second step in planning your wedding is choosing your location. Here is about where 20% of your wedding budget comes in.There are generally two locations that you need to think about - where to have the ceremony, and where to have the reception. Having your wedding at a church can be expensive, especially if you are not a member. Usually there are location/space fees and pastor fees, not to mention a fee for a sound technician. One way to save some cash is to have both your ceremony and reception at the same place.
When deciding on a location for your nuptials, take time to consider hidden costs: if you are getting married in your parents' garden (a nice way to save some dough), you'll need a tent, a dance floor, electrical wiring for the music, and access to bathrooms (which might mean that you'll need portable toilets). If you choose a space without glitz and glamour, you'll probably want flowers and other decorations to spice it up. Sometimes it can be cheaper to marry at a hotel or country club since they are equipped to accommodate weddings. The dance floor may be free (which is what happened with our wedding). You don't have to worry about bathrooms, and they have great ambiance.
Once you have an idea of what type of reception site you would like, make a draft guest list and decide how much you would like to spend. Get online and google wedding spaces where you would like to tie the knot.
Then call the manager of each site that fits your criteria. The number one question to ask is whether the space will be available on your date. Then the bigger question: what's the cost? What's included? Go see the space! Take a friend with you and check it out. Find out whether food can be catered by an outside vendor and whether you have to buy liquor from them (if you are having an open bar). How long can you have the space? Is gratuity included?
If the site is outside, ask about what happens in case of rain. Is it possible to put up a tent on the lawn?
Whenever you try to find a space, remember that no space is going to have everything that you want, and eventually you'll have to determine what is most important to you.
When you are ready to decide on a spot, make sure you get everything in writing.
Good luck!
1 comment:
I'm wondering why you mentioned that location is where 20% of your budget comes in. I say, if you can get a locale for 5% of your overall wedding budget, do it! I think mentioning the 20% thing brings up an interesting issue you might want to blog about and that is how one should set up the budget. Should you decide that you can spend X ammount of dollars on your wedding and then split it up according to a formula (i.e. like the one you mentioned, 20% for location) or should you look at each item individually and decide how much you're willing to pay for it (i.e. we set a cap on our church/reception rental costs, called around until we found one that fit and ended up paying $350 which included chairs/tables/use of kitchen). It'd be fun to see what you think are the pros/cons of each approach :)
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