Contents
How to Announce Your Engagement
How to Envision Your Wedding
How to Pay for Your Wedding
How to Choose and Hire Vendors
How to Choose Wedding Venues
Food and Drink
Wedding Invitations and Stationery
How to Plan the Ceremony
How to Plan Your Wedding Reception
Wedding Photography
Wedding Attire
Other Wedding Events
Wedding Gifts
Wedding Logistics
Wedding Planning Checklist
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How to Choose Wedding Venues
Venues are the locations where the wedding ceremony, reception, and any other events will take place. Once you’ve decided on the date and size of your wedding, you should start researching and visiting venues. Some weddings have a single venue for both the ceremony and the reception, while others have a different venue for each.
- One-venue weddings: The venue must be large enough for both the wedding and the reception.
- Two-venue weddings: Couples typically choose different venues for the reception and ceremony if the ceremony takes place in a house of worship. Two-venue weddings often provide guests with transportation between venues, which adds expense.
Wedding Ceremony Venues
Your choice of a ceremony venue depends on several major factors:
- Personal connection: Do you have a special relationship with a particular location, such as a family member’s home or a house of worship?
- Availability: Is the space available on your desired wedding date, or on dates close to it?
- Capacity: Can the space fit all the guests you’re expecting?
- Personal taste: Do you enjoy being inside the space?
Wedding Reception Venues
In addition to factors such as availability, capacity, and personal taste, the reception venue you choose may depend on whether the venue is on-site or off-site.
On-Site Venues
In wedding lingo, on-site (or on-premise) means that the venue provides food, beverages, and full service. Examples include hotels, restaurants, banquet halls, and country clubs. Advantages of on-site venues include:
- Cost clarity: The venue’s location manager can give you a clear idea of your event’s total cost.
- Convenience: Dealing with just one vendor means fewer details to manage.
- Experience: The staff will likely be experienced at hosting weddings.
Off-Site Venues
Off-site (or off-premise) means you’ll have to hire an outside caterer to provide food, drinks, and service (see Food and Drink). Examples of off-site venues include private residences, museums, and barns. Advantages of off-site weddings include:
- Control: You control all of the details of your event.
- Liquor savings: On-site venues often charge a premium on liquor. You can save if you’re willing to supply your own alcohol.
- Uniqueness: Since you’re hiring caterers, your reception venue doesn’t need to have a kitchen, which frees you to choose from many more possible venues.
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