plan a wedding Archives - Have Sippy Will Travel

How to Choose Your Ideal Wedding Location

Your wedding venue is like the backdrop to your very own fairy tale. It needs to be planned according to your comfort as well as your guests. Here are some guidelines in choosing your wedding location.

Choose a country or a city

Some brides marry in their local church or parish. Some prefer it at a hotel or at an outdoor park. There are brides who prefer destination weddings. The first step in finding the best location for your wedding is choosing the country or city of your wedding venue. Choosing the geographical location of your wedding is important because this is where the rest of the decisions are based from such as accommodations, transport and legal requirements.

What type of venue do you need?

Do you want an indoor wedding or a beach ceremony? Do you prefer an outdoor garden? How many guests have you invited? These are just some of the questions you need to ask when looking for the ambience and environment that you want for your wedding. Make sure that the venue is not only gorgeous, it can also accommodate the other details you want for your wedding.

Is your venue available?

Most wedding venues get tons of booking in the summer. It is always important to book as early as possible. If you have a set date for your wedding, search for other venues. If you are set on a location, be flexible on the date of the wedding. Venues generally have more open schedules for winter weddings. Evaluate what is the most important thing to you and consult with your wedding or venue coordinator to work around it.
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Frugal is Beautiful:Tips for Weddings on a Budget

Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life – but it certainly doesn’t have to be the most expensive. These days, the average cost of a wedding in the United States is $25,656. If that number induces more stress than the thought of holidays with your future in-laws, don’t fret: you don’t have to pay anywhere near that amount to have a beautiful ceremony and reception. If you budget wisely, you can make a frugal wedding a truly memorable event. Here are 7 tips for weddings on a budget.

Start comparison shopping. Create a chart to make comparing features and prices offered by the various venues easier. For example, one company might not include the cake while another may skip the linens. Keep track of all the candidates and choose the one who offers your favorite amenities for a price that most closely matches your budget. (Of course, there’s something to be said for choosing a company or person who makes you comfortable and understands your needs – even if they’re not the least expensive option, they’ll save you stress and time in the long run!)

“Most places will offer different levels of packages for your event,” explains Brandon Walker, the event manager at of Oklahoma event center Credit Union House. “The trick is to ask a representative to show you all of the available packages – then weigh those against other companies’ offerings.”

Travel to an inexpensive but scenic location. Weddings are generally less expensive in rural areas as compared to urban ones. And while you might think of a destination wedding as a huge economic burden, you’ll probably end up with a smaller guest list – so the overall cost will be lower than if you held the ceremony in your hometown. Go far enough away that only the most devoted loved ones (and your most well-off friends!) will attend. You may want to invite everyone from your co-workers to the mailman, but paying for a small wedding party is infinitely cheaper – even if you have to invest in travel arrangements.

Go public. Many beautiful parks and other public spaces allow weddings and other events for a small fee. Look into aquariums, zoos, galleries and historic sites, as these locations come already equipped with a distinctive ambiance and theme. Most will not include tables, chairs or other necessities, so you will need to make room in the budget for rentals. Contact your local school, church, or community organizations to find out if you can rent tables and chairs – or even borrow them free of charge.
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