You finally announce to your friends and family you’re engaged! Not only do you get bombarded with well-wishes and congratulations, but you also get hit with the inevitable question- “Where are you going to have your wedding?!” While you may think you have all the time in the world to figure it out, booking a venue requires a lot more timing and planning than you may think.
According to the nation’s largest source for wedding news and inspiration, The Knot, people begin looking into wedding venues as early as one year to 9 months before the wedding date. So, although we just entered 2018, it’s not too soon to start looking at venues for your 2019 wedding!
Not sure where to even start? No worries! We’ve put together a quick and easy guide to booking a wedding venue.
How to Book a Wedding Venue
Start With the Basics
Before you begin your search, you’ll want to figure out a few basic things, including: your budget, your wedding date, and your wedding location. These pieces of information are among the most important and will help narrow your search, as you can rule-out the venues that aren’t available on your desired date or aren’t within your budget.
Be Aware of Popular Dates
It’s important to note that the more flexible you are with your dates, the easier it may be to find a venue. If you are planning to have your wedding around a major holiday, you’ll need to start making arrangements as soon as possible, as you’ll find yourself competing with company holiday parties and other events for those desired dates. Typically, the least popular time to get married is during the winter months, January-March. Whereas the most popular time to get married is during the summer months, June-September, which is often considered “wedding season”. So, if you have your heart set on having a romantic summer wedding, be sure to start looking early and book in advance!
Do Plenty of Research
There are many different ways to go about researching venues. Websites like WeddingWire allow you to search for spaces based on your location. People also rely on word of mouth or recommendations from friends and family. Before the research even begins, you may already have an idea of what type of wedding venue you’re looking for. For example, if you know you want an outdoor wedding, that already narrows down your search. However, you may fall in love with a venue you’ve never even heard of before during your research and decide on the spot you just have to get married there. Since you’ll come across many different venues with many different styles, accommodations, and perks, it’s important you narrow it down to your favorites. Browse their websites, read their reviews, and check them out on social media to get a better sense of their personality. Hint: Our social media sites are linked below, in case you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look!
Reach Out and Ask Questions
Once you have a few venues in mind, it’s time to reach out to the venue personally! Reaching out will allow you to ask all the additional questions you need to figure out if this is the perfect wedding venue for you. There are many questions to ask your event venue before you book. Is the space available for your desired date? What furniture/equipment comes with the venue? How much is the deposit? Do they have a liquor license? The list goes on! Don’t be afraid to dig deep. After all, it’s your big day!
If you already know you’d like to book The Murphy Auditorium for your Chicago wedding, now is the time! Our staff at The Murphy wants to ensure your wedding day goes off without a hitch. Our historic Chicago wedding venue offers the perfect, romantic setting for your 2019 wedding. However, we book up fast, so don’t wait until last minute to get the ball rolling! We’re here to answer any questions and offer assistance to make the process easier.
To figure out if The Murphy is the perfect spot to host your 2019 wedding, check out our user’s guide and feel free to contact us directly with any and all questions! And feel free to check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to see some of our recent weddings!
As it says in the title of the post, it's a great time to start your wedding planning. There are a lot of tools to help you with your wedding planning. But, it's hard to find a free tool that lets you collaborate with your whole team efficiently. I suggest using an all in one event planning software. This will help your vendors, caterers, host and photographer see any change on your wedding plan and act accordingly. Another important criteria when picking an event planning tool is a drag and drop style seating chart maker. This will help you handle your guest management without completely loosing your mind.
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