Venues!!!
Soooo onto venues....
I think this is the most undecided and lengthy part of the wedding planning I have undergone. I think we have probably exhausted all areas, I am the most indecisive person going and also have trouble committing to something as I am always thinking what if something better comes up after.
So first stop was a marquee on my uncles lawn, this was what I always said I wanted...until I started looking into costs and practicality. I do love a marquee but I think you have to have a really good one just in case that typical British weather decides to rear it's ugly head on your big day! With a good marquee comes the continuous costs aswell and if you are on a budget, you really need to look at all areas such as heating depending on time of year, furniture and fixings such as flooring, tables and chairs and also don't forget TOILETS!!! Nobody wants one of those portaloos like you find on a building site with the fear of someone tipping it over!! (I get this fear everytime I enter one)
So after much deliberation my final thought on a marquee was it's quite a pricey tent.
In November, we went on holiday to Cape Verde and we both absolutely loved it there. The weather, the vibes and the culture was just incredible and I remember turning round to Kelvin in the lobby as we were sipping on our cocktails and for him a beer (of course! Can't lose man points by saying he had a cocktail :p) I turned to him and said 'I wonder if they do weddings here' and we asked. Unfortunately when looking into weddings abroad, Cape Verde have long residency for a legal marriage, so we would have to be there for 30 days before we could be married there. That or it was just a blessing, I would love to spend 30 days in Cape Verde but in reality I don't think it would be possible. From then on we went into full on abroad wedding mode, we trailed everywhere looking but finding that perfect place was such a mission. I didn't want the world but I really wanted a sand between your toes wedding on the beach. It's surprising how few places actually offer this in a nice quiet private setting. We were on this venture for quite a while and then we started getting costs, now let me tell you abroad weddings can be quite reasonable in price if you only want a small wedding with a few guests however, everywhere we looked had so many hidden costs. The reception was never included in the price meaning a nice chunk of extra money just for all of that. We had our hearts set on going abroad and when the costs started coming back, it was beginning to look more and more out of our reach. It wasn't just the abroad wedding, we wanted a big celebration back here with a blessing in the church for everyone to join who couldn't come away with us for the wedding as we have quite a large guest list. By this point I had gone into wedding meltdown!!! Every time we got more information, I came out more confused. So one night I sat down, worked everything out and had a breakdown, I'm not even lying, I sat there on my bed in tears having a breakdown looking at my wedding plans go to shambles. I actually was no longer enjoying the planning and had the irrational thought of maybe we just don't get married if its this stressful. But then I pulled myself together and said why the f*** am i crying over this, surely the most important part of a wedding is that you are married. Who needs an amazing extravagant wedding, be realistic! It's one day but surely its the rest of your lives together that matters! So after calming down and Kelvin returning from fishing, the next morning I said to Kelvin, let's bring it back to basics! We don't need all this, and then we decided let's keep it simple, just do what my parents did....church and the local village hall.
Village Hall! Simple yet effective if you style it right! However, the date was free but the more and more my maid of honor pestered me to book it, I still couldn't bring myself to do it! I kept putting it off....here comes the commitment issue! I just couldn't set in stone booking there when the possibility something else may come up that was better. It has everything though, toilets, heating, kitchen and bar area but that next step just would not happen. And then....another venue came up, it was alot more expensive but it was only down the road so we thought, why not?!
It was a barn, a rustic barn with fields and the thought of having it here was perfect. I could imagine my wedding happening in a barn, everyone dancing in such a cool and relaxed setting. We booked to go view it and a week prior to having a look, I had seen a wedding happening there which looked lovely. We turned up and were welcomed by a lovely trendy lady. It was lovely but my first thought on walking inside was RUSTIC!!! And i know I said it was a barn but honestly I couldn't help but think about the what if's! I think about the weirdest scenarios....
When me and my best friend/maid of honor attended a wedding show, we looked at this beautiful cool catering van and the first thing that came out my mouth, which could have been anything,ANYTHING! It just so happened to be 'What happens if it's windy?!' As all i could picture was the watercress flying everywhere. Luckily my bestie was there to ask all the normal questions :p this is one problem with me, sometimes I forget people aren't hearing whats in my head so I say things leading on from my thoughts with no trail for people to even get where I'm coming from!
Anyway back to the venue....it was very rustic, i mean it was beautiful, absolutely stunning with an amazing location and surrounding grounds, but all I could think about was what if it's windy (there it is again, maybe i worry about the wind because I have a bit of a fear of it :/) but yeah the wind and rain. The barn was not completely sealed and had gaps in the frame and cladding so all I could think about was if the weather was bad or even cold!
As much as I loved it and it could look beautiful, I didn't love it enough to call it our venue! However, that morning after seeing the barn, me and Kelvin went to the gym as we normally do on a Saturday (remember from my proposal blog) if you ever need us on a Saturday you will find us there! Whilst I was there, I had a call saying we could go and look at a potential venue the next day! This particular place, I had been thinking about ever since I had found out that it is used for weddings as I had previously seen a few piccies and it looked lovely. The following morning, we went to look at this venue....it was BEAUTIFUL!! I could picture everything, the setup was amazing and was ready to go for a wedding, the interior was so simple yet so pretty. Knowing me the weather on our day will end up being typically British!! Rain and wind galore! But all I could picture was a beautiful sunny day with the big doors open. I also liked the idea of this venue as nobody has seen it, only close family. I think it is true what they say, it's like your dress, when you know you know and maybe that's why I couldn't bring myself to originally book the hall because I just didn't feel it. We both loved this venue and we are now currently waiting to see if we can go ahead and book.....(Watch this space!!)
Top tips to consider with venues!!!
I think this is the most undecided and lengthy part of the wedding planning I have undergone. I think we have probably exhausted all areas, I am the most indecisive person going and also have trouble committing to something as I am always thinking what if something better comes up after.
So first stop was a marquee on my uncles lawn, this was what I always said I wanted...until I started looking into costs and practicality. I do love a marquee but I think you have to have a really good one just in case that typical British weather decides to rear it's ugly head on your big day! With a good marquee comes the continuous costs aswell and if you are on a budget, you really need to look at all areas such as heating depending on time of year, furniture and fixings such as flooring, tables and chairs and also don't forget TOILETS!!! Nobody wants one of those portaloos like you find on a building site with the fear of someone tipping it over!! (I get this fear everytime I enter one)
So after much deliberation my final thought on a marquee was it's quite a pricey tent.
In November, we went on holiday to Cape Verde and we both absolutely loved it there. The weather, the vibes and the culture was just incredible and I remember turning round to Kelvin in the lobby as we were sipping on our cocktails and for him a beer (of course! Can't lose man points by saying he had a cocktail :p) I turned to him and said 'I wonder if they do weddings here' and we asked. Unfortunately when looking into weddings abroad, Cape Verde have long residency for a legal marriage, so we would have to be there for 30 days before we could be married there. That or it was just a blessing, I would love to spend 30 days in Cape Verde but in reality I don't think it would be possible. From then on we went into full on abroad wedding mode, we trailed everywhere looking but finding that perfect place was such a mission. I didn't want the world but I really wanted a sand between your toes wedding on the beach. It's surprising how few places actually offer this in a nice quiet private setting. We were on this venture for quite a while and then we started getting costs, now let me tell you abroad weddings can be quite reasonable in price if you only want a small wedding with a few guests however, everywhere we looked had so many hidden costs. The reception was never included in the price meaning a nice chunk of extra money just for all of that. We had our hearts set on going abroad and when the costs started coming back, it was beginning to look more and more out of our reach. It wasn't just the abroad wedding, we wanted a big celebration back here with a blessing in the church for everyone to join who couldn't come away with us for the wedding as we have quite a large guest list. By this point I had gone into wedding meltdown!!! Every time we got more information, I came out more confused. So one night I sat down, worked everything out and had a breakdown, I'm not even lying, I sat there on my bed in tears having a breakdown looking at my wedding plans go to shambles. I actually was no longer enjoying the planning and had the irrational thought of maybe we just don't get married if its this stressful. But then I pulled myself together and said why the f*** am i crying over this, surely the most important part of a wedding is that you are married. Who needs an amazing extravagant wedding, be realistic! It's one day but surely its the rest of your lives together that matters! So after calming down and Kelvin returning from fishing, the next morning I said to Kelvin, let's bring it back to basics! We don't need all this, and then we decided let's keep it simple, just do what my parents did....church and the local village hall.
Village Hall! Simple yet effective if you style it right! However, the date was free but the more and more my maid of honor pestered me to book it, I still couldn't bring myself to do it! I kept putting it off....here comes the commitment issue! I just couldn't set in stone booking there when the possibility something else may come up that was better. It has everything though, toilets, heating, kitchen and bar area but that next step just would not happen. And then....another venue came up, it was alot more expensive but it was only down the road so we thought, why not?!
It was a barn, a rustic barn with fields and the thought of having it here was perfect. I could imagine my wedding happening in a barn, everyone dancing in such a cool and relaxed setting. We booked to go view it and a week prior to having a look, I had seen a wedding happening there which looked lovely. We turned up and were welcomed by a lovely trendy lady. It was lovely but my first thought on walking inside was RUSTIC!!! And i know I said it was a barn but honestly I couldn't help but think about the what if's! I think about the weirdest scenarios....
When me and my best friend/maid of honor attended a wedding show, we looked at this beautiful cool catering van and the first thing that came out my mouth, which could have been anything,ANYTHING! It just so happened to be 'What happens if it's windy?!' As all i could picture was the watercress flying everywhere. Luckily my bestie was there to ask all the normal questions :p this is one problem with me, sometimes I forget people aren't hearing whats in my head so I say things leading on from my thoughts with no trail for people to even get where I'm coming from!
Anyway back to the venue....it was very rustic, i mean it was beautiful, absolutely stunning with an amazing location and surrounding grounds, but all I could think about was what if it's windy (there it is again, maybe i worry about the wind because I have a bit of a fear of it :/) but yeah the wind and rain. The barn was not completely sealed and had gaps in the frame and cladding so all I could think about was if the weather was bad or even cold!
As much as I loved it and it could look beautiful, I didn't love it enough to call it our venue! However, that morning after seeing the barn, me and Kelvin went to the gym as we normally do on a Saturday (remember from my proposal blog) if you ever need us on a Saturday you will find us there! Whilst I was there, I had a call saying we could go and look at a potential venue the next day! This particular place, I had been thinking about ever since I had found out that it is used for weddings as I had previously seen a few piccies and it looked lovely. The following morning, we went to look at this venue....it was BEAUTIFUL!! I could picture everything, the setup was amazing and was ready to go for a wedding, the interior was so simple yet so pretty. Knowing me the weather on our day will end up being typically British!! Rain and wind galore! But all I could picture was a beautiful sunny day with the big doors open. I also liked the idea of this venue as nobody has seen it, only close family. I think it is true what they say, it's like your dress, when you know you know and maybe that's why I couldn't bring myself to originally book the hall because I just didn't feel it. We both loved this venue and we are now currently waiting to see if we can go ahead and book.....(Watch this space!!)
Top tips to consider with venues!!!
- If on a tight budget, consider what you are actually getting for your money. I looked at a lot of venues and some of the most popular in our area were just £6000 for hire of the venue, that's without food or anything!!! For some people that's not a lot, but for me, that's £6000 that could be spent on something more worthwhile.
- Weather proof it! Always have the idea that the weather could be at it's worst. The last thing you want is people getting cold and wet.
- Don't feel rushed to make a decision! You don't want to regret your choice so if it doesn't fit the bill, keep looking!
- Book what you want! Don't let others influence your choice. It's your day and at the end of the day, it should be what you want. And don't worry about people having to travel, that shouldn't be an issue if people really want to join you on your big day! Also coaches are always an option for your guests if they would rather not drive.
- Ask questions! Food, drink, heating, decor, furniture. What's included and whats not? What are you allowed and what are you not? One of the more popular venues in my area only allows you to use their caterers which is just another money grabber for them.
- Measure up and get a feel for the place. Know the space you have, to plan for added furniture, amount of people and also what decor you think would work!
- My final tip would be to choose something you feel comfortable in. Me and Kelvin are not the most formal people going and don't want a massive formal do so a big manor house is definitely not us. Pick something that sums you up as a couple, don't put on a show because it's a wedding!! We are going quite against the norm already with our choices ;)
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