FINDING THE RIGHT WEDDING VENUE TO FIT YOUR BUDGET


If it’s summer it must be wedding season. And if you’ve been around your town on any given Saturday recently, you’ve probably heard the car horns and the tin cans being dragged as the bride and groom celebrate their special day. There are also many bride and grooms that are trying to find the right venue that fits their budget. Certainly no small task as many couples want their special day to be extraordinary. But many are finding out that extraordinary can sometimes mean out of reach as far as budgets are concerned.

Finding the Right Wedding Venue for You

Of course who wouldn’t want their wedding at The Plaza. The Plaza, of course, is a fancy-schmancy venue in one of the greatest cities on the planet, New York City. But a quick call to that hotels catering department may put the brakes on. Many of us simply cannot afford that type of a wedding reception venue. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a fantastic day without offering your firstborn as collateral.

Over the course of my event planning career there’s one thing that I’ve come to realize. Many of us have champagne taste but we’re on a beer budget. What I quickly realized was that there are venues that are perfect for your special day. You just have to know that there are certain factors that can make renting venues more expensive.

Here are a couple of ideas, for you, when considering wedding venues in and around your city:

Hotel ballrooms. If you’re going to be utilizing a hotel for out-of-town guest then you may want to consider looking at the hotel’s ballroom. Quite often, many hotels (including the Plaza I’m happy to say) will offer you special deals on venue rental fees if you are having food and beverage. By waving the ballroom rental fee you could be saving yourself thousands off of your budget.

Reception venues with an in-house caterer. Stand alone venues, as I like to call them, often come with an in-house caterer in addition to a list of outside preferred caterers. And, quite often, the in-house caterer is less expensive than utilizing an outside caterer (due to related service and equipment charges that of side caterers sometimes have to charge). I have advised many clients to consider using the in-house caterer and many have been very pleased with the quality. Not to mention the price difference.

Wedding halls that have their own kitchen facilities. Quite often stand alone venues do not have full kitchen facilities. This can increase your per person cost by about as much as the food menu cost itself. Talk about blowing the budget. On the plus side, there are many wedding halls and venues that have full kitchen facilities. You’ll notice the difference in price when you’re talking to the caterer. If they’re using a venue that has kitchen facilities, your service and equipment cost is greatly reduced.

Many Couples Are Combining the Ceremony and Wedding Reception in One

I’ve also noticed today that many couples are having the ceremony and reception in the same venue. I have to say that as a guest I have really appreciated this. I attended had a a wedding recently where the ceremony literally was less than 10 min. And the reception was about 50 feet away from where the ceremony took place. For the person paying the bill, not only will you save an abundance of time, you’ll also save on the cost of having to locations.

Wedding season is now in full swing. And for those bride and groom’s that are still in the planning stages of their wedding, where to host is a big part of your decision. Wedding venues are crucial part of your big day. They can also be a crucial part of your wedding budget. But with a little insight and a little investigation on your part, there are venues that will satisfy your needs and not blow your budget.

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