Food Costs : One of the most jarring costs is food. Most of the venues will tell you that you have to go with their food package. Generally the cost of these packages is rather large. This automatically pushes up the cost of your venue. This can triple or even quadruple the price. Often the cost of the food does not necessarily translate into higher quality. Another thing that you may or may not know is that often the food costs are calculated by plate. So the initial cost looks small but when you multiply it by the number of people, you will find that the cost skyrockets. In retrospect you begin to realise that the cost was not something you signed up for. The question that generally plagues a couple is – Is the cost worth it? Not always. I get it. The answer is subjective but if your answer is no or maybe then it’s something that you may not want to get into.

Unfortunately if you’ve made a deal, there is very little wiggle room because you’ll have funds tied up in. Funds that you could lose if you canceled. Worse still, you could lose the wedding venue and we all know how hard it is to find a venue as the date inches closer. The only recourse that is available to you at this point is skimping on other things that you want. That’s not a place that you want to reach because you lose out on your ideal vision of what you truly want your wedding to be.

As I mentioned before, the wedding venue often includes the wedding decor as part of the packages. It seems really handy because that’s one less thing that you have to worry about. Which is true BUT there’s a downside to this. Wedding venues generally have one or two decorators. In the best scenarios you could have three decorators to choose from. While these decorators may be good (which may be why they have a running contract with the venue), they may not always have the same kind of decorations that you want. If you’ve committed to the package beforehand, you may find yourself disappointed because it does not fit your vision. That’s when you start wondering whether you want to change the venue which can be difficult if you have already put down a deposit. Another factor that you do need to consider when it comes to the decorations at your wedding venue is the type of decor that you are looking for. Generally the decorators that are hired by the venue reuse the decorations so they may not be truly unique.

The Wedding Venue - Balancing Between Cost And Vision

Location aka Distance From Your Community : How far is the wedding venue from the community you live in? Is it an urban or rural setting? Is it easily accessible? Choosing a location that is a bit away could be both good or bad. Being far away means that you can go on with the wedding for longer because you may not have to worry about noise or time constraints. On the flipside, it also means that the costs of vendors and decorations start going up because of the travel fee. Sometimes you will find that the concerned parties directly refuse the contract because in their opinion it just isn’t feasible. So figuring out those logistics does get a bit harder.

People Love The Beach : Let’s talk about the beach themed wedding venues. I’ve been a part of these on countless occasions and I can say that not everyone this true. Don’t get me wrong. Beach weddings are fun and laid back but they do require a bit of extra prep. Just one example that you should consider when it’s a beach wedding. Mention it on the invite. Why? Because beach weddings are not very conducive to heels and heels are pretty much the standard when it comes to wedding attire. So make a small note in your invite and mention that sandals are preferable or to bring a pair to swap out after the initial nuptials. The same advice holds true when it comes to your own wedding shoes.

The thing is that every kind of venue has its pros and cons. A wedding venue may look beautiful on the surface. Especially when it’s all decked up according to your wedding vision. It’s the finer points that you need to tweak.. End 🙂

Finding a wedding location that matches your vision can be rather overwhelming. A number of wedding venues are theme based which can help narrow down the search a bit but that does not necessarily work for everyone. Some people have their heart set on a beach wedding. Others prefer more sculpted landscapes with trees or maybe just a lawn. Weddings can also be held at iconic monuments, palaces, hotels, ballrooms, farms, barns… The list is pretty endless. Luckily most people have a broad idea of what they want so that does help narrow things down. If you aren’t most people, don’t worry. There are still ways to make a wedding venue selection so it’s not something that you need to panic about.

Picking The Right Wedding Venue : Irrespective where your own personal preference may lie, you will find that settling on a wedding venue can be a task. If not done right, it can snowball into rather large costs. Sometimes after you sort out your venue, you realize that there are many terms and conditions that you had not considered in your original estimate.

I’m here to tell you how these drive up the price and can even double, triple or quadripple the expense of the wedding as a whole. Let’s take a look at the details around the wedding venue that you should pay attention to

The Fine Print : Quite a few wedding venues don’t make money on the actual cost of the venue. In fact, when you compare it to many of the other costs of a wedding, this cost often appears to be insignificant. That’s at the first glance at least. Where you begin to start to shell out major bucks is when you start looking at the packages that the venues offer. These packages are variable and can include food, drinks and even the wedding decor. At first glance these look rather good but refrain from committing to them immediately because there are a couple of disadvantages to this system of working (it works well for the wedding venue but may not for you!) One of the biggest disadvantages is that you might lose your ability to customize. When you dream of your own wedding there are often a couple of key details that make it truly your wedding. Compromising on these details may feel like it’s taking the magic out of the moment. I do understand that costs can add up which is why you should try some of the workarounds before taking up one of the standard packages that the wedding venue offers. I would also like to add that this is a generalization and not all wedding venues function this way.