How long did it take for you to find a venue?

[goldenstar]

I am getting frustrated with the venue hunt because I''m so picky! I feel like I need to relax my criteria.

FI and I have visited 5 venues so far and we do have some contenders but they are on the border of being out of our budget. I wanted to find something a little less expensive so we don''t have to cut back too much on other areas. All the places I loved were pricey and the more affordable places don''t have the look I was going for. I''m not looking for something extravagant, just something clean and modern. A lot of venue spaces have ornate details and busy patterned carpets. The more simple ones I''ve seen are the most expensive. Since we are in CA, the prices are insane.

The wedding won''t be until Spring 09 but we are hunting early because our schedules are busy and we don''t want to feel rushed. The goal is to book a place in March or April 08. We have time but I''m getting worried because I''m not liking anything. FI puts in his .02 but he''s a lot more flexible. A lot of the decision is up to me.

How many places did you look at before you found THE ONE?

 

[bee*]

I found the one I wanted on the internet a couple of years ago and we went to see it in person a few weeks ago and it was definitely the one! It ticked every box for us. I''ll keep my fingers crossed that you find your one soon!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We got engaged in Feb. of this year, but were living about 1,500 miles apart so I took a trip in early March to see a couple of venues on Martha''s Vineyard. I really thought one of them would be "IT", but it just wasn''t. The venues were great, just not quite "us". The day after I flew back to the midwest I found a listing for a private residence we could rent that was on the mainland (easier to get to for OOT guests) and seemed perfect for what we wanted. My FI met with the owner a few days later, took some pictures in the snow and we booked it immediately. We literally looked for less than a week and that was it. The venue could not have been more perfect.

Since you didn''t plan on booking a place until March or April of next year, you have PLENTY of time. I know it''s frustrating since the venue is the most essential thing to book (determines the kind of wedding, what dress to get, etc.), but I do think it''s important to find a venue that represents the kind of wedding you want to have. Just narrowing down the TYPE of venue you want (traditional vs. untraditional, small, laid-back vs. something in a castle, etc.) helps. It sounds like you guys are getting closer and I''m sure you''ll find something you love soon!

 

[labbielove]

We lucked out- I had priced out a bunch of typical venues in my area, nothing was really striking our fancy- overpriced, or not available on our date, etc.

Then we went to a local festival where I picked up a bridal bag of freebies (mostly ads) and saw a flier for our favorite museum, they said they did weddings (we had no idea) AND we could hold a Catholic ceremony there (very fortunate)

We picked one of the 3 dates they had left and voila- that was the only venue we actually visited. it worked out perfectly for us.

 

[hopefulheidi]

I can sympathize about the struggle. I found a couple of "perfect" places before I actually locked one in.

The place that I really had my heart set on books up ridiculously far in advance...by at least 1.5 years most times. It was a couple of years ago now that I began panicking about missing out on my venue for a potential fall 2007 wedding. Unfortunately since we weren''t engaged I couldn''t put down a deposit and reserve the place and it ended up booking up quickly. (Luckily that worked out ok since we''re ending up with a fall 2008 wedding but I digress)

Since I knew my first choice wasn''t an option, I found another great place that ended up not being so perfect once I visited and really thought it through. The view was great but there were no hotel rooms nearby and the coordinator who was once sweet and compassionate, did a complete 180 on me.

And then eventually I found a location that knocked my socks off. The wedding coordinating there was willing to pencil me in for my desired Fall 2008 wedding date with no money down but the understanding that she would contact me when someone else inquired about that date at which point I would need to put some money down or lose my spot. Luckily although we weren''t yet engaged when I received that call, Nate was wonderful enough to let me put the deposit down and grab that venue as our own.

There are so many things about our venue that I just love and it feels right for what I have always wanted in a wedding.

I can definitely relate to the struggle of finding the "perfect" place and for me it has really been the biggest planning decision I''ve made since so many other decisions are effected by that one. What I did find in my search though, was that I had to kind of reign myself in with my criticisms as my wish list was becoming a bit too specific and demanding. I even ended up making a pro and con list to kind of weigh which traits were most important (view, hotel rooms onsite/nearby etc) to keep things in perspective.

You certainly have to really love the venue you choose but also, and not to put the pressure on, if your area is anything like mine, things book up fast and the sooner you can get a venue locked in, the better. Once you know where you''re getting married, you can really start getting down to the details...the fun part

In a way I think picking a venue is like picking "the" dress...you just know it when you find it.

Best of luck!

~Heidi

 

[CrownJewel]

About two months (but we didn''t seriously look for a place until 1 year after we got engaged). We browsed through a magazine called Wedding Sites and Services (they have a CA version: http://www.weddingsitesandservices.com/). There is also a similar one called Locations magazine for NY and NJ.

I looked at their sample menus, prices and capacity. Based on those 3 criteria, I started calling every single one to verify prices and capacity for possible dates. That helped to narrow our choices down. We visited 5 venues over the course of two months. The last one was perfect so we booked it!

 

[musey]

3 months of casual browsing online. I didn't put as much effort into it as I probably should have

I looked through a TON online, and only visited one. It fit our budget, the feel we wanted, and we liked it. I didn't have a "moment" with it, though.

We picked our venue sort of like I pick a meal at a restaurant. Once we found something good, we closed the menu... instead of adding it to a "list" then perusing the other options. We probably would have found something more "perfect" if we'd kept looking--but we've had it booked since May, and I don't have any buyers remorse over it!

 

[E B]

One trip. I'd grown up near to my venue and always dreamt of getting married there. The area and the venue means a lot to me and my family, so we knew it was THE ONE right away.

 

[scarlet16]

Date: 12/5/2007 3:55:12 PM
Author:goldenstar
I am getting frustrated with the venue hunt because I''m so picky! I feel like I need to relax my criteria.


FI and I have visited 5 venues so far and we do have some contenders but they are on the border of being out of our budget. I wanted to find something a little less expensive so we don''t have to cut back too much on other areas. All the places I loved were pricey and the more affordable places don''t have the look I was going for. I''m not looking for something extravagant, just something clean and modern. A lot of venue spaces have ornate details and busy patterned carpets. The more simple ones I''ve seen are the most expensive. Since we are in CA, the prices are insane.


The wedding won''t be until Spring 09 but we are hunting early because our schedules are busy and we don''t want to feel rushed. The goal is to book a place in March or April 08. We have time but I''m getting worried because I''m not liking anything. FI puts in his .02 but he''s a lot more flexible. A lot of the decision is up to me.


How many places did you look at before you found THE ONE?

We looked at 7 places before we booked our location. You said that some places are "on the border of being outside your budget." Have you tried negotiating with these places? With the location we ended up booking, I sat down and had a very frank conversation with the sales person and told her we had X amount to spend per person to see what she could do for us. We went back and forth for maybe a week. We ended up with a modified menu but STILL very full, and ended up w/ a fantastic deal for NYC. These places ALWAYS will come down in price.

 

[Sabine]

We went to look at about 5 places, and it took about 3 weeks. Even though we''re getting married in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and I was looking slightly over a year in advance, by the end of 3 weeks our 3 possible dates were all booked at the places we tried. We ended up having to decide between some not so nice places within our budget and 2 nicer places that were slightly over budget. We decided to up our budget, and then deciding between the last 2 places was hard. The Hilton we were considering had a great all-inclusive package with everything I wanted included, but had one big ballroom broken up with divider walls to make 3 areas. The place for the cocktail hour was communal, and there were 2 other weddings booked, so 3 weddings would be in the cocktail area at the same time, which I didn''t like. I even heard that some weddings do a conga line to mingle through the other sections of the ballroom, and although it was cute, it just wasn''t what I wanted. The golf club we ended up going with didn''t have as nice of a package for the price, but the location was better, and I thought space was prettier. That ended up being the deciding factor. I don''t think I ever though "yes, this is the one" like with my dress, but it definitely had the most pros.

 

[ringster]

i'm in sf bay area. we started looking about 2 mos ago and saw two places -- the second one was the one that we ended up deciding on - i really liked it when i first saw it. however we did not put a deposit down until recently. i ended up getting sidetracked looking for my ering and FI did not want to look for a place until we were officially engaged. so after we got engaged ( on thanksgiving ) i looked up some more places to look at. i went to see one and it was not so great and i started to realize what a good value and location the other place was.

we have budget and short time frame ( looking to have a may 2008 wedding ) as limiting factors so that helps rule out ALOT of places.

we both really like the location we ended up with and since we want as few details to have manage and want good food and we aren't having a huge ceremony, a restaurant was the best option for us.

it all depends on how much time you have and how soon places book up near you and sounds like you have a budget, what fits in your budget? if you decided to go over budget will it effect other areas? that is something else to consider, what are the most important aspects for your wedding. we definitely want to get a good photographer but not interested in videographer - we'll just rely on family member to take video.

also depends on how much researching you want to do ... i just got to a point where i felt let's just put a deposit down so that i can get on with the rest of the planning. but i do like the place!

 

[basil]

I did a bunch of research on the internet and narrowed it down to two venues. I wanted to stay in a particular town, so that limited our options. We looked at the two (one nicer and pricier and one plainer and cheaper). I was pretty set already on nicer/pricier, but fiance wanted to check out more options. So we looked at 4 more places in a different town and decided pretty quickly that they weren''t any better than nicer/pricier from group 1. So we booked that soon afterwards.

 

[partyjewels]

We got engaged May of 07, (wedding date is 9-13- but didn''t really look look at venues for several months. I had been looking online for a long time, but nothing serious. We only actually checked out two places, the first was planned, the second was a spur of the moment, both on the same day The first was a fancy hotel, that while it was beautiful, for the amount of people we''re having and the specific room I would''ve wanted, it was just too costly for us to swing. The second was a restaurant, that I''d been to a couple of times and FI had never been. I suggested we stop there for lunch, and while at it, why not check out what they''ve got for weddings? We went in, asked for a table and a list of prices for events, ate our lunch, and the longer we sat there, eating, talking, looking at the pricing/options for events, my FI said, I really think this may be it, it''s just so us. It was very sweet the way he got so excited, and it went from there. After our tasting and talking with the event planner there we had no doubts and put down the deposit on our date ASAP. Our place is far from fancy, however we know we''ll be able to make it beautiful.

 

[goldenstar]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I will try negotiating lower rates for our top two choices. I''m having issues with Choice #1 though. The venue does not have pricing for 2009 finalized yet and the onsite coordinator said that since that''s the case I''d have to pay 5-10% more than the 2008 published rates. She said its because they don''t know how much the price will go up or some nonsense like that. So then I asked her when they will know the 2009 rates so maybe I can wait until then. She said she wasn''t sure, they just finalized the 2008 rates. What kind of place sets their rates so late like that?

I want to negotiate with them, but how can I possibly get a lower rate than the current one if they already want me to pay more for 2009? I would consider a Friday or Sunday wedding but the rates are the same as Saturdays. I love the place but it doesn''t seem like they are willing to work with me. Its a resort/inn and its exactly the look we want. The only barrier is the price. If we were to book there, everything else would have to be scaled back significantly. Maybe its truly beyond our budget and I''m just being stubborn.

I''d even think about having a luncheon reception just so I can afford that place. But that would be a huge compromise because I really like the party vibe that can happen at night time receptions. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Pandora II]

I knew where I wanted to get married about 2 years before I even met FI.

I had my parents put the deposit on 2 weeks after we got engaged - first day it was open after Christmas, and I went to see it properly for the first time about 6 months later!

Where my parents are from there are very few options and I knew that this one ticked most of my initial boxes and hoped the rest would to.

I suppose I ticked 90% in the end which wasn''t bad.