Do we hear wedding bells?! Yes! The lovely Beck got engaged in 2018 and is in full swing planning her dream wedding. She’ll be sharing her story along with hints and tips along the way. Here’s Beck’s take on picking THE place.

Finding your dream wedding venue can seem a little daunting. If I am honest, I would say that I felt this part of planning a bit contrived and forced - maybe this is because we are both hopeless romantics at heart! But a lot of venues felt too commercial, where you show up at 10 am, get married by 2 pm and must be out by 8 am - not right for us. Also, there are not many places that accept dogs- even if they are as cute as Baloo!

Our place needed to be more than just a venue for us. Somewhere really special, that meant something to the both of us, and somewhere we could visit for years to come. That is why it took some five months to pick the perfect place- this is the journey of how we got there!

Venue searching takes a great deal of patience. Be organised, narrow down your search early, and start a spreadsheet to help compare what is actually on offer

You will need to email or call lots of venues for their brochure and prices as these are not generally on their website. I found most venues in the UK are booked 18-24months in advance and with the Coronavirus Pandemic, these times have gotten longer. That is not to say it is impossible to marry sooner, but you may need to be more flexible in terms of days of the week and the venue itself. A registry office is usually the fastest way to get married, but the reception may have to be elsewhere.

Time-Saving Tips:

1. Make an email template: Having an introductory email can work wonders for your planning-stress, time, and mood. The email should be brief, containing your names, engagement story (2 sentences max!), what the venue needs to offer, anticipated guest numbers, budget and date range. Remember to request their brochure and price list too!

2. Sign up to Bridebook: Sure, there are plenty of planning tools and apps out there, I found Bridebook to be the best. Not only is it free and accessible from mobile and desktop, but it has plenty of useful articles and budget tools. Despite this being a UK app, (so no overseas suppliers listed- for now…) I have still used it to track my budget and manually add the suppliers and their details.

3. Shortlist: Once you have seen plenty of beautiful venues out there, it is time to narrow down the search. I did this by creating a monster spreadsheet to compare the cost of accommodation, the price per head for food etc. If you are not as organised as I am, then a simple pro and con list can help separate the wheat from the chaff. I suggest not visiting any more than five venues, as not only will this cost time and money, but likely to be more confusing than helpful.

Cumbria Calling

The search began in Cumbria, in the Lake District as this is where we got engaged and is somewhere we return to time and time again for holidays. Keswick is very special for us and is super dog friendly - so always get our vote. There are lots of venues in the Lakes, but many felt too commercial. Sure, they’d be professional, like a well-oiled machine - they just weren’t ‘us’.

This exercise showed us what was imperative for the location. We want somewhere for at least the weekend, where we can have smaller events and accommodate all of our guests in the region of 100 at this point. Pop-up tent hotels with tipis along the lakeside looked promising, but the logistics and costs just got in the way.

Cast a Wider Net

With Cumbria not working out, we began to look further across the UK for farms, entire country estates, even just plots of land to host a wedding festival company event to tick all these boxes. Despite finding a few that looked promising, the UK wedding market is developed with prices to match. When it came down to it, we felt we were not getting much for our money. 

The UK weather is very un-reliable, and having something so focussed on the outdoors could be problematic, if not disastrous!

It’s at this point we started looking abroad. Neither of us would have said we wanted an overseas wedding you had asked us before starting this journey- but things change and for a good reason! Having seen that a smaller, more intimate wedding outdoors was right for us, and this made perfect sense. The only downside is, a whole load more to organise!

Most of the time, you can get much more for your money abroad, but be sure to know what you are paying for as it may cost more for your guests to attend.

The international search kicked off with Santorini and Italy. Both were recent holiday destinations and places we enjoyed visiting. The next item that came to bear is where you can become legally married. Italy welcomes most nationalities with open arms for weddings. Greece, Spain and France require you to own property or be a resident, so not possible for us. 

Scott was adamant that he wanted to be fully married during the trip and not married beforehand in the UK, only to fly out for a symbolic ceremony. That narrowed the search down to Italy, which is the most expensive!

For those less worried about legally marrying abroad, we saw some fantastic venues throughout France which put the UK venue offer to shame. Check out Oliver's Travels wedding section for a taster. Below is a selection of some of our favourites, including a whole village to yourself. (Manoir de la Ferme and the Exclusive Village were very close to being picked!)

Money-Saving Tips:

1. The Devil is in the Detail: Check what is included in the price, down to the chairs. For example, it is common for chairs to require covers and these are extra. Moving chairs for use in the ceremony and then for the meal can be another unforeseen cost! 

2. Alternative Accommodation: Occasionally, it is cheaper (and better) to stay elsewhere. Venues think they have a captive audience with weddings, but hiring a bus to transfer your guests elsewhere at the end of the night could save a small fortune. 

3. Ceremony Costs: Remember to account for the ceremony charge. This cost may be extra, especially if this is to be somewhere separate from the reception.

Italy

Home to the Romans and a country born from distinct 20 regions (previously separate kingdoms), each with a unique flavour and style. We began looking at Borgos (Italian villages/hamlets) and villas along Lake Como. The properties can be fully taken over for weddings, providing accommodation for, in some cases, over 200 guests, in the most stunning locations. The weddings are bespoke to your wishes, with some featuring a spa for guests and chapel for the ceremony.

You may be thinking wow sign me up! However, many of these Borgos come with a hefty price tag! After many hours researching online, we found a beautiful spa hotel just outside Bologna, set on a private estate where they grow their own produce. The buildings are set-out like a Borgo, connected with underground tunnels so you can still wander to the spa in your robe from your room. Tick!

Within the estate is a private Villa, surrounded by its own landscaped gardens called Villa Amagioia. For us, it was the perfect mix of 5-star facilities, spa, pools, excellent service at your disposal, full accommodation for all our guests and very private.

We visited the hotel this May and knew it was perfect- it was the only venue we visited! We are super excited to have finally found the right place for us and somewhere we can look forward to revisiting for years to come. The images above show off some of the Palazzo di Varignana’s facilities, with the video below really showing off the setting.

I went back along with my mum in December. Despite it being mid-winter, it still looked beautiful. We had a great weekend with a vineyard visit, time at the Palazzo’s spa and food tour around the city. A must for a weekend break!

Psst Please note that the hotel is no longer holding weddings at the Villa instead, they have a banqueting suite at the main Palazzo to offer!

Quick Questions For Your Venue:

1. Will you be hosting any other weddings at the same time as ours?

   If you are planning on having your wedding in a hotel, there might be other weddings happening at the same time. While there isn’t much you can do, it is better knowing ahead of time!

2. Are the tablecloths, chairs, cutlery and glasses provided or do we need to rent our own? Can we have a look at the available choices?

   A lot of venues will have a decoration and furniture package included in the total price. If you choose tablecloths, napkins, etc. supplied by your venue, make sure to get this in writing. It is just in case they decide to change their colour scheme and the final results clash with your wedding colours!

3. Do you have the option of a paid bar? Is there be a specific amount to meet before the end of the reception? 

   You may want your guests to pay for their drinks on your Wedding Day. (and why not after all of your generous hospitality?!) If that is the case, make sure you ask the venue whether or not there is a minimum spend. It will save you from unexpected costs at the end of the day!

4. When do we need to pay our holding deposit? Are there any other fees we should know about? (Corkage, taxes, service charge)

   Paying your deposit is very important as it secures your venue for the wedding date agreed. Make sure you inquire when this is due, to avoid any disappointment! Here are more hidden wedding costs all couples should know about.

I hope this has been useful. Check back in soon for Part 2- 10 Ways To Get Your Guest List Going

Sources, From Top to Bottom: 

Title Image by Foto Pettine via Unsplash

Main and Italy images and video: via Palazzo di Varignana

Second image: via FForest Farm Weddings

French Venues: including Chateau Des Truffles, Manoir de Ferme and The Exclusive Village via Oliver’s Travels