Venue Search 7-Step Plan
Enjoy Finding Your Special Place
Finding the venue that’s right for you doesn’t have to be a chore. The key is to decide what you want, then look for it, rather than aimlessly viewing venue after venue hoping for inspiration. Enjoy your venue search with this 7-step plan:
- Decide the type of venue you’d like – That comes down to the style of wedding you want – vineyard, kiwi-style, hotel etc. If you want inspiration, have a look at wedding magazines, or websites such as AucklandWeddings.co.nz. Also think about other weddings you’ve been to and what you did, and didn’t like about them.
- Work out your spending range – You don’t have to come up with a fixed figure. Think ballpark. It’s important to be realistic, but not rigid. You may also have sources of money such as your parents – if so, sort out how that affects your spending rage before starting your venue search rather than after. Think of it like being a cash buyer when buying a house.
- Don’t waste time getting a pile of brochures – They’ll serve to confuse you, are often out of date and don’t tell the whole story. The old-fashioned way of finding a venue was to get a bunch of printed brochures, spread them out on the dining table and go from there. Today, looking on the web makes far more sense and elivers more up-to-date information.
- Let your keyboard do the walking – Most of your investigation can be done online, including basic pricing. Look at all the pages, not just the homepage. It’s very easy to miss curcial information such as pricing by doing a once over lightly.
- Make a short list before viewing – If you’re visiting more than a handful of venues (1-3 is better) you haven’t properly completed the earlier steps. As a general rule, the more venues you look at the more confused you get. The theory that “we’ll know it when we see it” rarely works out.
- Be ready to compromise – You’ll never find the perfect venue. Trying to, will only lead to heartache and stress. Even the things you think you thought were must-haves might not be able to be met by the venue that’s best for you. Striving for perfection also tends to make you visit a huge number of venues, being constantly disappointed – not great for stress levels.
- A venue is more than the building and grounds – Do you get a good feeling about the staff, and are the packages suitable? It’s easy to lapse into “house-buying” mode – focusing on the physical features, when the service, and professionalism of staff are just as important.
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