Wedding Planning; The Initial Stages

I have decide to focus are starting wedding planning for the start of this year for the following reasons;

1. Venues can get booked up fast
2. It will cost a lot of money
3. We can't buy a house yet due to scedualling at the moment
4. There are lots of weddings shows and fayres on at the start and the end of the year when it isn't main wedding season

This means that I have now been to 4 wedding shows/fayres during January at 4 different venues in my area.  I will be going to many more so that I can see most of the venues close to me to consider for the big day.

I have made a checklist criteria to score the venues out of 10 on each aspect so that I can compare them in a similar way.  My important points to mark, are as follows;

• First Impressions (so how great I first think it is)
• Size of Venue (how many people can they accommodate)
• Size of Car Park (or if there is anywhere else to park)
• Rooms to Sleep (are their bedrooms and are they decent)
• Gardens & Grounds (is the outside grounds nice, photographic and big enough for all guests)
• Decoration/Character (does it need decorating, is anything included and does it have character)
• Access for the Elderly (are there lifts, ramps or no steps to make things easier)
• Exclusivity (will anyone else be there, general public and how many)

With all the marks out of 10, each venue racks up a total score out of 80 to give an overall picture of the suitability.  I also have a section for whether the venue is availblie on the date and also the price.  The price is difficult to get without going for a full quote from the event co coordinators at the venue.  Most serious wedding venues have a PDF or hard copy brochure that has guide prices on for most aspects of the day so that you make make up a rough price.  Most venues also have packages with a ceremony included for a certain number of guests and a price per extra guest.  Things can change often so I will get proper quotes once I have narrowed down the best contenders.

I am also looking at themes and what the stationary should look like to reflect the themes.  Pinterest is really helping with ideas and visualising what everything can look like so I recommend to go there first.  

I have also completed my guest list so that I know how many people for quotes and space. So I have 80 people in the day and about 100 for the evening.  My main tool for this has been www.bridebook.co.uk which I found through a Facebook advert.  It is great because it allows you to set a budget for each item, shortlist suppliers, venues and create your guest list including a wait list.  It also has a task list that shows small steps that you can do each month closer to your wedding.

My other guide for planning and finding wedding shows and information is www.guidesforbrides.co.uk Where you can look at local information and events.