Starting to plan - venues

[katica]

Hello Ladies!
I hope I can join you all here - just over from the LIW board. I got engaged V-day and have started planning the wedding for September/October 2009. It seems like I''m already going insane and have almost no idea how to do this..
We''re starting to look at venues tomorrow in the Toronto area. Does anyone have any opinions on any of the venues around here?

And quick question to all the brides who have already booked their venue - how many places did you visit before you booked?

Thanks!!

 

[sugarjo]

Congratulations on your engagement and welcome to bww!!! I am not in Toronto (or even in the same time zone) but wanted to wish you luck on your search!
I''ve been to Toronto (when I was a little one) and know what a beautiful city it is and I have no doubt that you will find a perfect place for your wedding!
My FI and I went to about 5 venues before booking!! We choose a modern art gallery!!
Keep us updated!!!
SJ

 

[taovandel]

Can''t help you out about Toronto.

We looked online and narrowed it down that way. We finally visited our local aquarium and had booked it and put a deposit down and everything. Then about 4 months later---we both completely changed our minds and decided to change our venue and our entire idea of our wedding.

I think it upset some people---we went from something local to a destination wedding--but it''s what we wanted. Keep that in mind when looking. Don''t settle for something just because it''s something everyone else wants you to have.

 

[lliang_chi]

I can''t help much with Toronto venues, but I called/emailed/surfed about 75 locations online. Then narrowed down by costs etc to 5. I''m planning my wedding long distance, but my parents are in the location. So my mom visited the 5 places and immediately threw out one for not being right. It was a little far too, so I was okay with that. My FI and I flew down one weekend and visited 4 places in one day and we made our decision from that.

I''d say the best way to narrow down your search is have a good idea how much is too much, and figure out what''s important to you. I wanted something that was close to my parents house that still looked nice. You might want an outdoor wedding so you''ll need a good outdoor space. Just an example.

 

[Inanna]

Congratulations on your engagement! I'd imagine that in Toronto you'll have a wealth of venue choices.

For me, the first major step for finding venues was choosing the "vibe" that fit both of us. Which of these theme's fits you and your FI best?

Luxury - Look at upscale hotels, private clubs, and restaurants. These may be pricier but often a wedding coordinator is included and, if you choose a hotel, out of town guests can stay at the venue.

Cultural - Look at museums (art, natural history, science), art galleries, and historical centers.

Natural - Look at botanical gardens, parks, aquariums, and even zoos. Some private residences/estates might fit the bill as well.

Most venues will list wedding/event rates and terms on their websites. Several hours of internet research should give you some major contenders and rule out venues that are too pricey. So far I have planned everything long distance since I'm having a destination wedding. I've relied on the internet A LOT! After choosing the Florida Keys as my destination and deciding I wanted a private vacation rental, it was extremely easy for me to narrow my choices to 3 or 4 large residences. Reviews and the recommendations of local vendors helped me to make my final decision.

 

[tropiqalkiwi]

I visited about 20-25 different venues before I found one that was right. I am planning long distance for a wedding in my childhood hometown area so I came up with a list of places based on internet research. But of course there were always things they don''t/can''t show you online about the layout or general feel of a place. That''s why I needed to see so many!

As others have suggested, I would really nail down the feel you want your wedding to have. Think about the level of formality, any themes you many want, and time of day. You also probably want to figure out which aspects are the most important and which you can be more flexible on.

Think about how much control you want over the event as well. Some people like having control over every detail and bringing in their own planners, caterers, linens, etc. Others prefer to have more of an all inclusive style space where there is an in house caterer and a coordinator to take care of all the extras.

Have fun finding a space!

 

[katica]

Tropiqal - you visited 25 places? WOW!! What endurance. I visited two places today and found it pretty tiring! Thanks for the input.

We visited two places and definitely had a favourite - the second place was a bit bigger, nice square sized room (the first one was elongated and I didn''t really like that because it looked small). Plus the menu seemed more flexible AND it was 24$ cheaper per person! We really liked the place but I feel weird signing with a place when it''s only my second one. They said they''ll hold it for a few days for us even without a deposit but isn''t that rushing it? So we told them give us a week. I hope we can visit more places this week.

Thanks for the input ladies.

 

[JR320]

Congratulations Katica!

I also got engaged recently (Jan. 30) and we''re planning a wedding for October as well. At first I felt like we had a million things to do all at once with only 8 months to plan, but the big things started to happen pretty quickly and it was a lot easier than what I thought it would be.

We''re from a small town, so there weren''t a lot of options to start with. We narrowed down from about 6 options to 2 based on word of mouth and a few phone calls and looking at their websites. So we only visited those 2 options and made a decision 2 weeks later. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with that its a place/date you love and within your budget!

Good luck!

 

[elrohwen]

I only visited two places, but I did research on a ton more. We wanted a small wedding and were able to eliminate a ton of places because their minimum head count was too high. I eliminated another place because they had numerous horrible reviews online.

I would have looked at more, but I loved the second place we saw so we just booked it!

 

[StarbuttsKoffee]

hi from Toronto!

I didn''t look at too many venues but I did check them out online from their website and looked at the venues from photographers'' portfolio (to see their set-up and rooms). there are so many choices out there, you should visit them all in person to have a better look, if I can redo everything I would go visit them one by one until the last minute! Good luck and welcome to the BWW!!

-SK