I recently helped a very dear friend of mine to plan her wedding, and I have to say that while the wedding itself was glorious, planning the wedding wasn’t a fairytale, dream come true kind of affair. Yes, while we all have fun at weddings, what with all the booze and food floating around, and the love that’s in the air, the planning itself is sometimes a bit less fun. I found this out the hard way after spending two weeks planning for a particular date, only to see my dear friend collapsing in sobs after being told that the venue of her dreams wasn’t going to be available on the day that she had chosen. I had to placate her and cajole her to choose a different day, and as it went, she ended up opting for a Thursday wedding, which turned out to be very unconventional and very fun indeed. All the guests ended up taking a day off work on the Friday and having a super fun long weekend of celebrations at a farm nearby. It ended up being fun, but it doesn’t matter if you’re going through the list of waterfront venues in Melbourne or searching for the perfect castle in Tuscany, there are some hard and fast things you need to do in order to ensure
that you keep your sanity.
Step One: Know your guest list
If you know how many people are going to be showing up on your big day, it will make planning your wedding venue a whole lot easier. Some places will only hold around 50 people, while others won’t even break a sweat with 500. Make sure you know who’s coming along, and then narrow down your shortlist of venues based on that number.
Step Two: Know what season your wedding will take place in
If you know when you’re holding your wedding, it will make it a lot easier to know if you’re needing to plan for summer, autumn, winter or spring. Accordingly, you’ll also need to know whether you’re going to need to plan for rain, heat or snow. That kind of thing can either enhance or destroy your big day (though it can make for interesting pictures) and knowing ahead of time, at least some indication of what the weather will be like, will help a lot.
Step Three: Have a wet weather plan
If you are going for a cute waterfront wedding, it’s helpful to have a wet weather plan in place just in case the heavens open up just as you’re saying ‘I do’ – because you’ll look less drowned rat and more babe. Think about sourcing a marquee or something from a hire company, or see if the venue you’re going for has something in place.
Step Four: Consider transport to the venue
If you have anyone who is ailing or old in your family, they might need to be dropped directly to the front of the venue, and this is something that you need to consider as part of the venue choice as well. It’s no good having a beautiful wedding on a beach somewhere a kilometre up the beach if you can’t get everyone there. A good compromise might be to have beach buggies to take people up the beach (and they’re fun too!), while other venues might have a golf cart or two.
Step Five: Consider yourself!
Think about what you have been dreaming of since you first began planning your wedding. You need to be happy with your choice and to feel happy saying your vows at the venue that you want, so make sure that you keep checking in with yourself – Is this what I want? – and if it is, then you’re on the right track!
Good luck planning your wedding!