How to Find a Venue?!

Sexy_Em

Hello!

My partner proposed to me in February, and we have now decided that we want to get married next year

Id like to have the ceremony and reception in the same place. Have about 30 guests for breakfast and up to 100 for reception.

How do I go about finding a venue?!!

deano23285

i would check local wedding websites that will allow the ceremony and reception in the same place, usually hotels will cater for that need if they can get something out of it ie decent money from the bar.

ive just noticed you're based in Leicestershire, i don't suppose you're near the Rutland area? if so then i know a great venue for you

RainbowDrops

www.google.com

search term: wedding venues in [insert area here]



Seriously though, I realise I sound patronising, but that's exactly what I did

catsy_2

Try your local council website and look at their listed venues where you can hold a civil ceremony

Lavendyr

Hi and congratulations!!

I started by thinking of the places that we liked locally, and we also asked around for word of mouth recommendations. We knew that we wanted to get married in our own church so that gave us a starting point for the area we were looking in - i.e. not too far from the church.

I also used Google for "wedding venue <my county>" and this website: http://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-venues/ to get a few more ideas. As it happens, we didn't go for any of the venues we thought we would, but that's why I'd suggest thinking of & looking at everywhere, even if you don't think it will be suitable initially, as you might find the perfect place completely by surprise

I'd recommend just making several appointments to view venues and see if they have what you like. For instance we saw one that we thought was perfect on paper, but it turned out that in the evening the buffet, bar and 'entertainment' room would be in three different places along a corridor, and we just felt that would be far too spread out and people wouldn't mingle very much. We couldn't have known that without seeing the venue.

If you visit the venues you get a good idea of the level of service you can expect to receive as well. If they're well organised, know who you are and what you want and show an interest in helping you get your day just right - within your budget - then those are all good signs. If on the other hand they seem disinterested, disorganised or generally unpleasant, steer clear - the last thing you want is to be stressing about venue organisation and service (see shellsuit and beks' threads on here for examples!) in the run-up to the big day, you need to be able to trust them to get everything right.

Another thing to consider is your budget, obviously! Wedding planner sites and budgets seem to suggest an average of 40% of your budget should go on the reception venue, food & drinks, but it totally depends on your priorities. Some places will be more flexible on price than others, especially if they are slightly unusual venues (e.g. a restaurant that doesn't necessarily specialise in events).

Think about what sort of food/drink you want too. Several places we visited restricted us to only one menu choice per course (with a vegetarian option as an alternative), whereas we, being quite foodie, were keen to be able to offer our guests a choice of menu options and also wanted to be sure of the quality of the food and wine.

If you're having the ceremony and the reception in one place, you'll probably want somewhere with pretty grounds/rooms for photographs. For us, our church is so picturesque that we will have most of the photos taken there, but our venue is still very pretty, if not grand and palatial, so it will do quite well for a few photos there as well.

Finally remember that a lot of popular places do get booked up well in advance, so if you see somewhere & like it, and they have a date free which you would be happy with, make sure they hold it for you with no obligation for a week or two while you see other places & make your decision.

Hope this helps to give you some ideas and congrats again Any thoughts on the date next year?

deano23285

i got lucky with my venue, i found a website that was 3 years out of date from a photographer who had done weddings in my area and rated them, and one i'm getting hitched at is the best he's been to

Sexy_Em

Im not far from Rutland... where are you thinking please?!

deano23285 wrote: »

i would check local wedding websites that will allow the ceremony and reception in the same place, usually hotels will cater for that need if they can get something out of it ie decent money from the bar.

ive just noticed you're based in Leicestershire, i don't suppose you're near the Rutland area? if so then i know a great venue for you

Roz_V

Have a look at your local council's website - somewhere on there will be a list of "Approved Premises" for wedding ceremonies. Then check out their websites and request Wedding Brochures etc.

deano23285

Sexy_Em wrote: »

Im not far from Rutland... where are you thinking please?!

The Whitwell Hotel in Whitwell Rutland

its a great place and the planners are brilliant, no harm in ringing them, plus they do BBQ wedding breakfasts if you're into that kinda thing