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  1.  
    • Lauz&Stu
      CommentAuthorLauz&Stu
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    We have looked at 2 venues so far - one I love and one we both hated.
    I wanted to look at 2 more. The first of these two only takes 175 in the evening and our provisional guest list is already on 200! So that one is a no go and on the face of it I thought I would prefer it so I'm a bit gutted. The 2nd of these two I have just found out that one of our close friends sisters got married there and lots of our close friends went to her wedding - including my h2b. It may sound silly but I want a venue unique to us where none of my family/close friends have been.
    Venue 1 ticks all these boxes but h2b has reservations over venue 1, as the conservatory is beautiful for a wedding - but if it rains it'll be noisy and the 2nd room for weddings isn't either of our cups of tea.
    Also h2b would like to find a venue where we hire it for the day but can hire our own hog roast (we aren't having a sit down meal - just a late wedding & then evening reception). He thinks this will save money, which it will, but I don't think we will get anywhere 'nice' that offers that service. Plus we would then have to source other things ourselves like tables.
    Aaaaaaaaargh - I never knew it could be such a pain. It would be much easier if I just did it all myslef :-D
    How many venues did you all look at? Did you choose toghther or did one of you take the lead?

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    Mother to 4
    Engaged to my soul mate
    Loving life
    Mrs Tomlinson to be
  2.  
    • LauraM9144
      CommentAuthorLauraM9144
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    its one of th ebiggest decisions if not the biggest it sets the scene for your entire day so its quite normal you are finding it stressful! me and my o/h visited 4 venues and also got quotes from 5 more which we have been to in the past so didnt really need to go see unless we were really interested i.e we expected them to be very expensive for the most part we were right. The venue we have chosen is the one i wanted from the start but initially they didnt do weddings! (it changed hands and the new owners decided to start doing ceremonies and sit down meals our reception is in the local football club which i get 2 days to totally transform and the best part is there seats are the blue in my colour scheme lol). We spent a good few months making our decision though wroting lists about the pros and cons of each venue seperately ,considering price ,location, and of course wow factor. then we discarded each one and saw what we both ended up with me and o/h both came up with the same one so it was perfect!! (altough my lists were more detailed and he was a little more does it cost the earth does it have beer and a pool lol) but by doing it this way we both had taken part in the choice and if we hadnt chosen the same one then we would have had to worked out which of the final 2 by re-visiting etc

    One BIG day will lead to lots of little happy days !!


  3.  
    • MrsWright290912
      CommentAuthorMrsWright290912
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
      edited
     
    We considered about 6 venues on paper and whittled it down to 2. Because places werent very nice/too remote etc etc

    We ended up visiting and viewing 2. One was in a village but like a manor style hotel with a golf course and beautiful grounds but a bit of a trek from where we live. The other hotel was 1200 above sea level and had wonderful panoramic views and is about 10 mins from us and has good connections to the motorway.

    Effectively both hotels were doing a package of 50 daytime guests and 100 night time guests (obviously with other things!) for the same price.

    When we asked the manor hotel if the numbers were flexible, ie could we add more if needed to the daytime, we were flatly told no. The limit was 50 and no more. When we asked the other hotel, we were told yes, of course, it wasnt a problem and we would only pay so and so per head. That formed our decision then and there for us as we couldnt believe how inflexible the other hotel was, considering we were spending thousands with them.

    We went with the high up hotel to get married and yes there were some issues but nothing I couldnt sort. Ironically, a friend booked her wedding at the manor hotel for the Aug before ours and when she called in the July about her rooms she had booked for her and her bridesmaids etc, she was told that there was no record of the rooms being booked and the hotel was fully booked. This ended in a massive complaint and someone being sacked! Glad we didnt book there!

    So the moral of the story, trust your instincts and other people's reviews. Look on Tr!padvisor. The place we got married had some fab reviews for weddings and fabulous reviews for one staff member in particular so we asked could he run our day and it went seamlessly.

    Members signature icon
    I really did marry my Mr Wright and we had a nice day for a
    Wright wedding!
    Mexico for our first anniversary
  4.  
    • kittyh
      CommentAuthorkittyh
      Just marriedBadgeBadge
     
    I looked at LOADS of venues and h2b looked at my shortlist (that way anything I hated he never got to see)...it was defo the most stressful, least fun part of planning for me...
    we originally didn't want a sit down meal and were going to have a hog roast, some venues didn't advertise this but when we investigated it further it turned out that they did accommodate alternatives to the traditional wedding breakfast so its worth investigating with them. Some venues do allow outside suppliers as well so thats defo worth asking too...
    we ended up going for a new venue that hasn't even had a wedding there yet and it ticks ALL out boxes and we both love it...its defo worth doing your research as our place didn't even have a website at the time just a facebook page...xx
  5.  
    • ValentinaK
      CommentAuthorValentinaK
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    I went for the cheapest... it was free!

    But I also wanted somewhere noone had got married or might get married at...

    The building's decor at the mo isn't currently in great shape... but is in the process of being entirely renovated and modernised... so I'm going to be one of the first users and as my Uncle is a Mason there...I got it for free with very heavily discounted bar rates!

    The caterer that is approved for the venue is amazing and wonderfully priced too. Capacity is fine for our guest list...

    You should choose what you can afford first, then look at capacity (whittle guest list down-plus not everyone will come in reality) and then what you like... if you can't fulfill the practical criteria then there's no point of bothering with them!

    Don't be put off by the fact "somebody else had their wedding there". Nearly every venue has had 1000s of weddings... but how you make your day work will change the entire wedding! The way you decorate, the way you have the wedding, the timings, the way you look, the entertainment, food etc! So don't worry about that!

    Members signature icon
    And we lived happily ever after!


  6.  
    • *KelBel*
      CommentAuthor*KelBel*
      Is poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadge
     
    We only looked at one venue and its the one we chose...my no1 point was tht it had to be somewhere no one I knew had got married! I think it looks more personal to you and ur friends can associate it tht way rather than reminiscing about their own wedding day at that venue! We weren't sure we could afford it but luckily got a little money off then asked if we could pay the £1000 deposit in 3 instalments as we didn't have that amount saved up at the time but we didn't wanna lose our date! Luckily they bent over backwards to accommodate us, and it's great that we could use any outside caterer we wanted so didn't have a huge bill for food x

    Members signature icon
    Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
    Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
    Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
    Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
  7.  
    • HappyBunny
      CommentAuthorHappyBunny
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    Me and hubby only ever looked at one venue and were sold. Its small as I dont have a lot of family and just wanting a small cosy romantic wedding. Go with your instinct I say xx




  8.  
    • JanineS11
      CommentAuthorJanineS11
     
    Great Fosters in Surrey..amazing place!!
    Money aside, i think you really have to go with what your heart says - you may find somewhere that ticks all the boxes, but it just doesn't feel special. xx
  9.  
    • MrsWade2B
      CommentAuthorMrsWade2B
      Just marriedBadgeBadge
     
    We only looked at 2 and picked the first one we saw. They are open to doing hog roasts etc. but dont advertise it particularly obviously so i would definitely just ask. Youre giving these places a lot of money so they should be willing to help you!
  10.  
    • nadia13
      CommentAuthornadia13
      Just marriedBadgeBadge
     
    We looked at loads, and I marked them out of 10 of why we liked and why we didn't. However when we saw the venue we did get married I knew that was the one... It was a bit more expensive but we waited out and got a nice deal :0) everyone loved it and it was our perfect day!!! X
  11.  
    • Mrs T. 2 Be
      CommentAuthorMrs T. 2 Be
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    We made the decision together, after all it is both of our days!

    We started by looking on the internet of venues in our county and made a list of about 12 that we liked purely based on location and facilities and ordered their brochures including price plans.

    When we received all brochures, we sat down together worked out prices for what we wanted from a venue as a minimum. Anything that was over budget we threw in the bin straight away. We were then left with around 6 to choose from so we then had a proper look through the brochure, looked at reviews priced up all of what we would like to do to give us a price to haggle with etc. We then based on everything so location, appearance, price and options available and chose 4 favourites we then visited those venues and had the 2 others as back ups in case the original 4 were not as they seemed.

    I had a favourite and that was obvious, H2b had a favourite (the same one) and was more diplomatic so we saw the favourite last to give the other places a chance as whatever we decided, we wanted to see all 4.

    Our favourite won and as soon as we walked in and were sitting in the Library waiting for the Wedding lady to show us around we both knew it was THE ONE! It also helped that it worked out to be the best value for money too and we could get EVERYTHING (and more) that we wanted and is still under budget for us. It also helped, that the lady that showed us round was very accommodating too and not overly pushy which we found some places to be.

    It's a pretty similar feeling to when you try on Wedding Dresses, you just know when you find THE ONE!

    Members signature icon
    Started Dating: 25th September 2005
    Engaged: 26th September 2012
    Getting Married: 25th May 2014
  12.  
    • Lauz&Stu
      CommentAuthorLauz&Stu
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    I think I have found 'The One' - but h2b is a self confessed picky so and so. I think if we can get married in the conservatory he'll be happy - but it will be noisy if it rains and you can't predict UK weather now can you!!!

    He still wants to find somewhere that'll let us do our own catering - my jury is out on that for now . . .

    Members signature icon
    Mother to 4
    Engaged to my soul mate
    Loving life
    Mrs Tomlinson to be
  13.  
    • BrigitteB
      CommentAuthorBrigitteB
     
    Ilooked a a number of venues in our area and was dissapointed with how they all expect you to want a typical wedding, which was not what we wanted. I narrowed it down to one venue that was beautiful but it still didn't feel right and i kept delaying and extending our provisional booking. Boy am I glad I did. We found a great quirky venue for our afternoon/evening but they were not registered for civil weddings so we've now booked the town hall for our ceremony (which is beautiful) and planning to transport our guests by vintage coaches.
    What i'm trying to say is you could always look outside the box of typical wedding venues and consider having your ceremony in one location and your reception somewhere that will offer you exactly what you want :-)
  14.  
    • Lauz&Stu
      CommentAuthorLauz&Stu
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    Looked at the last venue on my list yesterday. It was gorgeous inside, but the grounds weren't great and the building looked rather drab from the outside. It's £1000 cheaper than my current favourite. A few pitfalls though. You can walk right up to the lake and there is a pond which my 18mth old decided to prove was dangerous by jumping in while he was being shown the fish!
    H2b isn't sold on any of them yet. He finds faults with them all. I don't think we'll ever find something he likes *sigh*.

    Members signature icon
    Mother to 4
    Engaged to my soul mate
    Loving life
    Mrs Tomlinson to be
  15.  
    • SherylJ
      CommentAuthorSherylJ
      Just marriedBadgeBadge
     
    Its such a hard decision isn't it?! xx
  16.  
    • *The NewMrsMalin*
      CommentAuthor*The NewMrsMalin*
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    We haven't really been to any venues yet; we are booked into some tours round venues later in the year but just looking at the moment and trying to find a venue that we both like and has a great package, price wise. I think you just need to look around them or maybe look round the ones you like again and try and persuade him :)

    Members signature icon
    Met in 2009
    Got together on12th May 2011, proposed on the 12th May 2013
    When you get knocked down; smile and pick yourself up again!
    Fight for what you believe in!
  17.  
    • Lauz&Stu
      CommentAuthorLauz&Stu
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    Going to have to search again I think and maybe not be so picky with my search criteria. A lot of places are a no go right away though as they aren't big enough :-(

    Members signature icon
    Mother to 4
    Engaged to my soul mate
    Loving life
    Mrs Tomlinson to be
  18.  
    • *The NewMrsMalin*
      CommentAuthor*The NewMrsMalin*
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    Maybe trying searching on g****e for venues with for the number of guests you want. Type in something like 'wedding venue for 200 guests'? Not sure if it would work but worth a try :)

    Members signature icon
    Met in 2009
    Got together on12th May 2011, proposed on the 12th May 2013
    When you get knocked down; smile and pick yourself up again!
    Fight for what you believe in!
  19.  
    • BevS87
      CommentAuthorBevS87
     
    We've only looked at one venue and we're going back next weekend to book! It's a lovely place and you get married outside. The whole hotel is yours for the weekend and so much stuff is thrown in its unbelievable. They do a bbq and garden games the night before the wedding, and get everyone back over for breakfast morning after the wedding :) they have their own fleet of wedding cars etc. Just sounds perfect and the price is unbelievable. Way under our budget. He's quoted us an initial price though so there still might be abit of wriggle room!

    We're not going to go and see any other venues as the first place we've seen is just perfect for what we want. It's so casual and relaxed. My fiance wasnt too excited before we started looking at venues (think its a man thing-out weddings quite far away!), but when we went to visit this place he literally hasnt shut up about it since!xxx
  20.  
    • HappyBunny
      CommentAuthorHappyBunny
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    that sounds brill bev where are you? ours is much the same for us, perfect for what we want, if you do have a larger wedding though it may be worth a phone call to either your local registrary office to see what civil venues can hold your numbers or the council may be able to help you with this xc




  21.  
    • Lauz&Stu
      CommentAuthorLauz&Stu
      Ticker backgroundIs poweruserJust marriedBadgeBadgeTicker foreground
     
    Wow Bev I want your venue :-)
    That sounds amazing - adding in all that the night before. I need to find a venue like that!!!

    Members signature icon
    Mother to 4
    Engaged to my soul mate
    Loving life
    Mrs Tomlinson to be
 

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