Congratulations! You’re engaged… now what?

Planning your wedding is a hugely exciting, and can also be overwhelming time. Once the engagement celebrations have eased, and you’ve spent lots of time daydreaming about your day, there are some important steps to follow to find the dream place to marry.

1. The Venue Type

What sort of location would suit the two of you best. Is it a beach wedding? A city wedding? Or is it a countryside wedding that you are most drawn towards?

Then dig deeper. What type of venue at that location suits you, a stately manor house? A luxury, but rustic barn? A weekend hotel retreat?

2. Your Preferred Season

Knowing what time of year you get married will influence your venue choice. Some places are suited to cosy, inside winter weddings. Where others are firmly about the gorgeous grounds and being outside on a summer terrace.

3. Guest numbers

I invited top London Wedding Planner, Andri Benson (Always Andri Wedding Design), onto the podcast to chat previously and she had some expert tips for this stage:

“Make a provisional guest list as soon as you can, there’s no point looking for venues if you’ve no idea who’s coming.

Split your list into groups, family, friends- school, university, work, and within each group list in importance. 

Ultimately you want to share your day with people that mean the most to you both so don’t feel like you need to invite everyone you’ve ever met. (Grouping at this stage will also help if you eventually decide to do a seating plan.)

This is also a good time to decide who you want to play key roles such the best man and chief bridesmaid; your bridal party will play an important role not only on the day of the wedding but also in the planning so consider how supportive they can be when choosing them.”

4. Your Budget

Expect to spend over half of your budget on your venue. This includes all the hire fees, the food, the drinks. knowing this magic number will help direct your venue search.

5. Search Tools

Once you have an idea of your budget, the type of venue, the season you’d like and the number of guests you’ll be in a position to start looking at venues.

If you are local to Berkshire I have suggestions to get you started of venue lists here:

• Countryside Manor Houses
• Rustic, Luxe Barns
• By the river

And even more ideas on our Instagram account to scroll through- check out the highlights. See which you’re most drawn to.

Once you have your shortlist you need to visit to check that ‘feeling’. If something inside clicks into place and it feel just right. As you explore the venue you’ll soon know if it is the perfect place to celebrate your marriage.

Listen to our podcast chat with Andri for more advice, playing on iTunes and Spotify.