Booking your Perfect Wedding Venue

You are engaged and now the planning process starts. The venue for the wedding ceremony and reception will drive a lot of the other planning but there are many places to pick from. How do you narrow them down? Here is a small check list to help you with that decision.

The first consideration is the number of guests. A good rule of thumb is that eighty percent of your list will attend the wedding and reception. It is also common for people to just attend the reception so if you plan for 5 percent, you should be safe.

Most commonly, when the wedding ceremony and reception are held separately the wedding is usually held in a church. I do suggest keeping the venues in close proximity of each other. This makes it more enjoyable for the wedding party and guest.

There are many different kinds of venues. For example, gardens, churches with reception halls, hotels, parks, historical buildings, just to name a few. So how do you narrow these venues down? I would suggest not eliminating a venue until you have seen it. I know that often people do not get the real charm of Tennessee Gardens until they have visited.

Do a walk through of each venue you are considering and do the following:

1)      Take photos to document the things you really like

2)      Take notes both pro and con

3)      Jot down how you feel about the person and/or staff that you meet. This human element is very important

4)      Ask if the date and time of your wedding is available and if there are any other events scheduled at that time. (Tennessee Gardens only hosts one event at a time.)

Another consideration would be price. Make sure you know what is included at each venue. Many times a price can seem reasonable but they get you on upgrade cost (i.e. standard linen colors over special order colors).

Hope this gives you some direction when looking at venues. Make sure to come visit us at Tennessee Gardens if you are considering a Garden wedding and or reception. Also stop by our bridal show April 1st, click the banner above to pre-register at a 50% discount.