In the world of business there is an old adage saying that location is everything. That may be true, but your wedding is not all about business. It’s about making a memory and celebrating the lifelong commitment of two people to one another. So unless you are one who has to go wherever people go in your area to be seen, consider these five factors as you choose your wedding location.
First a note to those who do feel a need to have their wedding celebration at the hottest wedding location in town: Plan ahead. Wedding locations like those fill up early, and I mean really early. In my corner of the country I’m told that the top wedding locations fill their prime wedding dates upwards of eighteen months ahead! And unless your family has a lot of money, you might want to start saving your pennies now. Those most prestigious wedding dj in nashville tennessee locations are not cheap, commanding a price that is in direct relation to their level of prestige.
For the rest of us choosing a wedding location might seem simple, and it is, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t important considerations to be weighed prior to putting deposit money on the line:
First, talk with your spouse to be.
That’s right, the first thing you need to do when choosing a wedding location is to talk to your future spouse.
“Why? He doesn’t care about that stuff! As a matter of fact he’s practiced in his disinterest, so why should I bother?”
Exactly.
“What?”
Exactly. In my experience boys have been told all of their lives that the wedding celebration is for the bride, that he doesn’t get a say. As a result guys tend to take a practiced disinterest in wedding preparations. It makes having no say in the event easier to deal with. The problem is that this is a day that you want to be able to look back on as a couple with fond memories. To do that you need to talk to him and convince him that you really do care about designing a wedding that fits both of you and that starts with the wedding location. It might take some time for you to convince him that you are serious and not just being polite, but it could go a long way toward opening up the communication lines between the two of you and that is worth it’s weight in gold even if it doesn’t end up affecting your wedding plans.
Second, consider the needs of the support people who will be doing the work that goes into creating your special day. That includes Aunt Gladys who volunteered to decorate the reception hall. Make sure you arrange to gain access to the reception hall with plenty of time for her complete her decorations without killing Uncle George in the process.
Likewise, consider the needs of the professionals who provide your photography, set up the cake, or flowers. Each business has its own realities that make it difficult, if not impossible to provide you the service that you’re paying for if the schedule that you arrange with the managers of the wedding location doesn’t allow enough time.
A good practice is to make a quick survey of wedding professionals that you are considering using about the time constraints they anticipate around your particular wedding date before you book your wedding location. Most professionals will appreciate the effort and be more likely to do what they can to accommodate your constraints when you get to their stage in your wedding planning.
Thirdly, consider the type of wedding location that best reflects the wedding celebration you and your spouse want. For people who are active members of a local community of faith this might be as simple as a trip down to your place of worship. For outdoor enthusiasts, a park or ranch might be a more appropriate wedding location. For those that want to celebrate into the wee hours of the morning, a hotel ballroom might be appropriate for the reception, if not for the wedding location itself.
For more wedding location options try contacting your local tourism board. They can provide you with a list of wedding locations and reception facilities in your area. Likewise an internet search might provide some ideas for wedding locations that you hadn’t thought of or weren’t aware of, as would a local wedding coordinator.
Fourth, consider the calendar when booking the wedding location. This sounds obvious, but it has deeper implications than merely finding a date that works for everyone in the party. The calendar dictates what kind of flowers will grace your wedding celebration (unless you are rich enough to import flowers from the other side of the globe), but it can also save you or cost you a lot of money. If you plan a wedding in a church or other public building during the Christmas season, for example, you might not have to worry about decorating. Just remember that this can backfire on you too because you won’t be in control of the decorations.
