After “Will you marry me?” comes the question “Where and when?”. This is often how the wedding planning starts. Choosing your venue can be difficult so here are some different options that you may want to think about before choosing the perfect place for your wedding.
Home
There is no place like home! Having your wedding at home or at your summer house allows you to share a place that is meaningful to you with your guests. It creates an intimate atmosphere and will put your guests at ease. More importantly you’ll have all the comforts of your home on your big day when things can get a bit hectic. Some downsides of a home wedding are: You will probably need to rent a tent and portable bathrooms (depending on the number on guests) and often these costs add up. Also, the biggest issue is parking. Your options are to have valet parking or get your guests to park somewhere else.
Church/Synagogue
The most traditional weddings are held at churches or synagogues. More and more houses of worship are starting to offer beautiful reception halls for the reception. It is often much easier for you and your guests to have the ceremony and the reception at the same place, and also it gives you a chance to cut down on the transportation costs. However, most of these places don’t offer catering, which can be both good and bad. On one hand it gives you the freedom to choose your own caterers and the food that you like, but on the other hand it means that you’ll have to spend more time finding the perfect caterers. Also, they may or may not offer linens and tableware, which again means that you would have to do extra work. Finally, keep in mind that most houses of worship have strict limitations on the noise level, and the length of the parties.
Country Club
If you are going for the elegant, fancy, black tie affair then a country club is a perfect place for you. Country clubs are usually surrounded by beautiful landscape grounds, classic furnishing and space for both your ceremony and reception. Also you will have in house catering and experienced staff who will make sure that everything is flowing smoothly. However, you will have to go with their caterers, which are often more expensive. Also, beware of hidden charges. Make sure you cover everything from A to Z when discussing the details with the person in charge.
