Help for a newbie - please!!

Hadley1

Hi Jane81

I'm really curious (or nosey - take your pick). Did you go for the venue......?????

Jane81

Hadley1 wrote: »

Hi Jane81

I'm really curious (or nosey - take your pick). Did you go for the venue......?????

LOL! We're all nosey on this board

We haven't made a decision yet as we haven't had a chance to visit any other venues. We're getting married in August/September 2012 so have given ourselves until New Year to decide. I spent yesterday evening going through all the bookmarked websites and downloads I've built up over the last few months and have narrowed it down to 13 venues, not including the one we have already visited. Just waiting for H2B to have a look so that we can narrow them down to a shortlist of around six or seven to visit. I'm hoping that we can visit all of them by the end of November and can then either make a decision or revisit a couple of them. I'm kind of hoping that we'll walk into a venue and both just go 'yep, this is it', AND it will have all our requirements AND be in budget, but we'll see!

I'm still not sure about the one in Malmesbury that we've seen - it's gorgeous but we are a little put off by the early chucking out time. It also might be a little above budget once food's taken into account (we've only been given the menus from one of their four preferred caterers and obviously they don't have 2012 menus and prices yet).

How about you? Have you decided to go with heart or head yet or are you still thinking?

I hope your Dad's OK too.

x

Cotton_wool_katie

Hadley1 - Hi congrats on your forthcoming wedding

Im going totally off subject - but how about doing a pint of socks for your favours - pint glass - pair of brown or black socks and a white flannel for the top - maybe halfpints for the ladies.

sorry to go off subject but i couldent resist

Hadley1

Am loving the sock favours - they look really great. Other half would love them!!

Jane 81 - you sound so organised. Dad is ok now thanks. Well he is suffering from cancer, but is was in hospital for an additional complication. Not what he needs but hey - he is on teh mend now. Maybe I need to take a leaf out of your book and have a look at some more venues. But I think Other half loves the brewery. and me, perhaps the castle/stately home.

With the brewery - there is a restriction on live music after 11pm, but you can have background music till 12. I am slightly concerned though (abit like you Jane81) that we might fancy carrying on partying after that. The venue itself couldn't lend us anywhere to go (well don't think so - anyway - will have to ask). and there are no real venues I can think of in the town. Its fairly small and historic. Trouble is I have a feeling that you wouldn't know until the night whether people were in the mood to carry on or not.

Jane81

Hi Hadley1,

I'm sorry about your Dad, and I hope he's doing OK x

I agree with you about not knowing what finishing time you and your guests will be happy with - I personally can't imagine that I will be ready to leave my own party at 11pm, but loads of people (including my former party animal married friend!) have said that we will be exhausted by then. Knowing the guests in H2B's family they will want to carry on way past then - at a family wedding earlier this year there were coaches laid on to take people back to the town we were all staying in, booked for 11pm and 1am. Pretty much everyone (including 60-something aunts and uncles) who stayed till 1am missed the coach cos we were all too busy partying! :rotfl:

Re looking at other venues, I personally think it depends on whether you and your H2B can make a decision between the brewery and the castle that you are both genuinely happy with. If there are major sticking points then maybe see if there are other places nearby that you might both love. All I've really done so far are a good few google searches and going through lists of licensed venues on here: http://www.civilvenuesuk.com/ (very useful but not the most user-friendly site ever)

I've then narrowed down the ones in our area by discounting anything that obviously will not meet our requirements (eg too small a capacity, hire costs aimed at those with a bottomless pit of dosh), so now we need to look more closely at the surviving venues and try to narrow it down to a number that we're happy to take the time to visit. Annoyingly, H2B is on a stag do this weekend (not his ) so nothing more will be done until at least Monday - aaarrrggghhh!!! I wanna do stuff!!!! :mad:

Hadley1

Hi Jane81.

Your family sounds like ours!!! He he!! Party animals. At my OH sister's wedding in August loads of people were still going strong at 3am/4am!! Alcoholics the lots of us eh???!! :rotfl:

As OH pointed out last night, the castle is stunning, but very isolated and would also end at 12. There is a pub down the road, but surrounded by houses - so not sure if they would be willing to accommodate us at that hour. You can tell he wants the brewery can't you???

Am going to scare myself later and do a rough estimate of the cost of the castle.... think that might put paid to my dreams. Hate to admit it, but its such a lovely venue that everything else would also have to be very grand as well. And grand as you know normally equals expensive.

You sound just as excited as me.... I want to do things!!! Wedding planning is so much fun -well at the minute anyway.

I do have details for some other places - maybe I should dig them out and have a play over the weekend. maybe I can convince him to visit a couple more with me.
I hate making decisions - but guess I'll have a lot more to make yet.

jtr2803

Hi Hadley it's me again!

I just wondered what sort of area you were looking at? I've done a fair bit of looking over the past year for various reasons so I might have some venues you wont have thought of! Feel free to PM me if you would prefer.

Hadley1

Hi

I have pm'd you. mainly because I wanted to learn how to do it. He he!!!

But yes - ideas gratefully received.

Hadley1

Hi Jtr2803 and everyone.

Jtr 2803 was very helpful and forwarded me lots of ideas for venues in the Kent area.

Unfortunately, with one thing and another i have not had chance to look at all of them, but i have had a quick flick through some. they are all gorgeous.

But hey, not sure its helped - but has thrown even more venues into the ring for consideration - he he!!! Not a bad thing I know, as want to be sure that we go for the right one. Decisions decisions.

I am going back, however, to revisit the brewery with my mum over the next couple of weeks.

Part of me is enjoying researching venues, whilst the other part wants to get something booked up and set in stone. No patience!!

But thanks for all your help. XX:)

clearing_out_my_pockets

Hi from another Kent bride!

Out of interest, which was the castle / stately home?