Oh hun, dont worry at all!
(congrats on the first post :P )

£11,000 does sound very steep - I had to change my city to cut costs as it was about this up North where my parents are. There will be the perfect place, this one was obviously not nice enough anyway to merit paying that cost!

The service they provide might be good, but if you are going to feel disappointed or underwhelmed when you arrive on the day it will put a dampner on it.

Don't panic, and don't worry - go and view loads more places and get an idea of what other ones and like and the costs etc. then sit down and make up your mind.

Keep chin up!! :)

That does sound steep although obviously i don't know what that includes but you don't want to pay that much for something that isn't perfect.We have a package for 50 day and 100 evening guests and it is £3000 all in with no hidden extras.the only extra thing we have paid for is a dj for the evening.This is for a beautiful edwardian country house hotel with complete exclusivity.Shop around there you will find somewhere that fits all of your requirements xxx

Wow that sounds a lot, not everywhere will be so expensive. I found so many venues to be expensive, but started going and looking at places that are not really advertised on websites. The venue we have choosen is gorgeous and it's really reasonable. Keep looking you will find it x x

Oh I know how this feels! It's horrible when you end up feeling dissappointed! But honestly, put it out of your mind, this was just not the venue for you!

I went through the same thing, we went from venue to venue and I hated the first 6! I then went to one my friend really recommended and despately tried to convince myself I liked it but secretly didn't really. I let it all build up until one afternoon just sad and sobbed about it all! I was determined that we would just call it all off and go to the registry office on our own!

Then , out of the blue my mom recommended somewhere that I had looked at on the internet and totally dismissed. She had actually been there and persuaded me just to give it a chance with the offer of a lunch out! Boy am I glad I went as i loved it! And genuinely loved it! And! It was the right price for our budget.

If I were you i'd make a firm decission about what the max you want to spend is before you look at anymore. I went through a period of desparately wanting somewhere I knew we couldn't really afford and my fiance sensibly pointed out that if you go for somewhere cheaper you can afford to get all the nice extras that really make a wedding sepcial and enjoyable. That really put it into perspective for me.

Keep looking around, most places do packages for certain times of year or a much cheaper deal for a Thursday rather than a Fri or Sat. I know it's tough when you first start out as you're not sure quite what you want and everything feels more expensive than you'd like! Most people I know have said that there is always one thing about a venue that is not quite right but you just have to work out which bit do don't mind compromising on.

Relax! Oh, and i found it helped to keep a little table in Word of what i'd looked out,where it was, what it offered, how much it was, any issues - that way I didn't keep looking at the same place on line. Don't worry - you'll get there. And don't feel you can't stressed, it's totally normal!

I think that alot of the stress was that reality slap of "oh god what the hell am I doing?" I just dont know where to start I think! thanks for all the tips though! I really appreciate it! xx

I think we can all say this has happened to us. My OH and i were ready to put the deposit down on one venue, from the brochure and what people had said, but we went on an open day and it was truley dirty and grubby!

All i can say like the others is just keep looking, i asked alot of friends who got married in the area where they got married, i found by asking alot of people you could get a feel of most of the venues avaliable, then if any sounded nice just drive out and have a little nosy without an appointment. If you think you like it, make a proper appointment.

Looking at venues is half the fun (for me anyway!)

you'll get there hon, i know its disappointing when you start realising how much money you have to get together, but shop around, see as many venues as you can that are varied prices to put things into perspective! yeah and budgeting is essential!

wow big expense there! Like all the other ladies, work out a budget and take it from there. i know its disappointing but it just means it wasnt meant to be, not the 'one' for you and i bet youll find something much more amazing and that youll fall in love with, at a much more reasonable price!!
we are at a beautiful location, from the front doesn't look worth the pennies but once you've walked through those doors, its an entirely different story! its where the ryder cup lives in west midlands - so we thought was way off our budget! It was the first venue we physically looked around despite being the 5th or 6th we enquired about, but because we are having a small ceremony / wedding breakfast and not having transport etc we have been able to spend the money on the venue, at moment its just over £4k for 45people in day, 80 on night, but at most itll be £5-6k once final numbers (max 55 for day and 150 for night) but because we've budgetted, saved on certain things, not had certain things etc its worked out justifiable.

Some places charge ridiculous amounts just for the sake of the W word! set the budget, do your research, it may take time but im sure youll find the venue of your dreams! and defo deals/packages/certain times of year or weekday/sunday etc will also help with cost cutting!!
Good luck and keep smiling, the right one is out there for you! xx