Selecting your wedding venue
There are many decisions to be made in the wedding planning process, and it can be hard to know where to start. Usually, the first step is to select the venue. That decision will have significant impact on your budget, the available dates, guest count, other vendors, and the overall style of your wedding. I recommend that you and your fiancee take the time to talk through your preferences on those points before you get your heart set on a location.
Before you begin shopping for anything wedding related, be wise and make a budget. Then, plan to stick to it! That dreamy fairytale wedding is likely to cost more than a downpayment on your first home. While the sticker shock can be very disappointing, it is manageable and much more favorable than the unnecessary and stressful accumulation of debt. One website referenced wedding statistics in Virginia for 2019 show an average cost of just over $28,000 dollars. You can find several wedding budget calculators online, and most will advise you to plan 10% - 15% of the whole wedding budget for the venue only.
If a venue has been popular for a number of years, it is likely that their available dates are very limited. You may need to book your preferred date a year or more out. Some venues provide full service packages, while others simply offer the raw space. At one end of this spectrum, you may have very little choice of vendors. At the other, you may be overwhelmed with options. The overall style of the venue should compliment (not contradict) your vision for your wedding! Select a space that you think is beautiful just the way it is - before any decorations are added. That way, you don’t have to hide anything ugly.
Every venue will have a maximum legal occupancy limit; ours is 86. This simple number can be quite misleading if you are depending on it to determine your guest count. How you want your guests seated will be a huge factor. Tables and chairs set for formal dining take up space differently than casual seating, bistro tables, and gala style food stations. You will also want to consider the space necessary for other activities to be incorporated into your wedding day such as a dance floor, food truck parking, and the corn hole game.
Venue 1848 exists to invest in the integrity of the family and celebrate its milestones. We encourage couples to not just plan a big wedding day party but to spend their engagement season preparing for a lifetime of marriage that is designed to follow. Our objective is simple. We want to create a comfortable and uncomplicated space for your intimate wedding and help you plan your marriage celebration with true grace and honorable style. Shopping for a venue will be a lot like shopping for the dress. You might see what you like (and it can look great on the rack) but you have to try it on to be sure it fits!
If you would like to consider Venue 1848 for your wedding celebration, I would be happy to hear from you!
~ Nancy
“They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”