Secure your dream Wedding Venue

Once you’ve got your fundamental requirements down, it’s time to do some research on the internet and find the venues. It’s also extremely useful if you research into wedding fairs near you or at the venues that you are interested in, as this will enhance your prospects of meeting suppliers along the way who already have good relationships with the venue. It’s also a great way of seeing your chosen venue or a prospective venue decorated which helps you to visualise your own ideas and décor. So, I’ve put together some useful tips below to help you get started, and also am also attaching a template spreadsheet I made for myself and Ronan to jot down the all-important details at each venue we went to visit.

1. Once you’ve done a bit of research on the internet with your requirements, liaise with your hubby or wifey to be on the best suitable dates for you to visit the venue

Now, I know a lot of brides are more excited than their partners and tend to take control and conduct all the visits, choose the colour scheme, book suppliers, etc. But it is so much more fun when you do it together! I understand a lot of grooms have little interest in attending, but booking these appointments together, visiting the places or suppliers together and building connections with them, becomes so much more than just planning the wedding. They’re like mini dates where you can both enjoy each other’s company and get out and work on a project of a lifetime together! Girls, it’s definitely worth trying to persuade your man to come with you on these all-important meetings. I was fortunate enough that Ronan was into the planning as much as I was and we both balanced one another out in so many different ways. It was also a great opportunity to discover if we could both work well together in a team as husband and wife!

2. Next, make those phone calls to each venue you’ve jotted down and find out what their availability is on the dates that you and your fiancé have chosen

Make sure you can be flexible as well because you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities; you never know which one will be the one! While you’re at it, why not ask them details about your fundamental requirements so that you’re more aware from the beginning and instilling any compromises you could make. Most wedding venues tend to tell you the approximate number of guests they can cater to on the website. My main concern was asking them about the prospects for self-catering, and all the other implications of this that follow.

3. Make an Excel spreadsheet

This will be your life saver for the next, however long you have until the wedding, and you will thank yourself later for all the tiny details that you ended up collating. I went the extra bit and opened up a folder on my desktop called “Wedding” (how original), and saved into it every single Excel, Word or Publisher document, including any images in relation to the wedding. Create yourself an Excel spreadsheet that will help you organise your wedding venues; you can add other bits to it later on. Feel free to name this spreadsheet whatever you want. I named ours “Planner” (again, very original, I know; but straight to the point).

Eventually, this is what the tabs on our Planner ended up looking like as we went along, but for now, you can start with the all important “Venues” tab. (See below)

4. Create a table to populate the information from all your prospective venues

It’s easy to forget things, so make sure you visit the venues with a small notepad and pen, and use this information to complete your table on the spreadsheet.

Take a look at the headings of the table that we created below. You can also follow the link at the bottom to your very own template. Feel free to make any amendments to cater to your own requirements and what’s important to you in a venue.

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun while you’re venue hunting! The first visit can be a little daunting in terms of approaching the person in charge, asking the relevant questions, and it can be a little overwhelming. But try to relax and not overthink your requirements too much – enjoy being there! You can always get back to the person later on or follow up on anything you are unsure of. You could possibly book another visit, although this can be tricky as they do tend to book up appointments fast, and will have weddings on most weekends when you are likely to be available yourself; the waiting list can be long. As long as you have a good feel of the place, that’s the main thing. You will get used to visiting the venues and the questions you ask will become standard procedure. Or, you may find the perfect venue on your first visit and not have to look at any more! You never know. Just enjoy the ride.

Finding the right venue is like finding the perfect dress. You will know it’s the one the moment you walk in. Our perfect venue turned out to be Heythrop Park Resort in Chipping Norton, out on the west side of Oxfordshire’s countryside neighbouring the Cotswolds. I mentioned above how important it is to attend Wedding Fairs along the way as you never know who you might just meet; this venue was not in fact found on the internet, but was recommended to us at one of these fairs, and it ticked all the boxes! It accommodated two hundred guests AND allowed external caterers. Surrounded by miles of green, this venue left us feeling as close to the Emerald Isle as possible, yet it was only thirty minutes away from the Church in the City of Oxford. Bingo.

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Photos by @snapsbymatts