2. Researching and Refining: Choosing Your Venue and Key Vendors
THE WEDDING PLANNING SERIES
Welcome back to our three part Wedding Planning Blog Series. In Part One ( Getting Started: How to Figure Out What Actually Matters When Planning Your Wedding) we looked at getting your head around getting started and prioritising what’s important to you as a couple, as well as the big picture factors like general vibe, budget, numbers etc. In this post we are exploring taking the next step and making your initial decisions on key vendors.
Once you’ve worked through your priorities and values for the day as a couple, the next step is to start narrowing your options and making a few key decisions. This stage is about clarity, not volume, and will help make the rest of the process more straightforward.
Start With the Venue
Your venue is the foundation of your wedding. It influences the atmosphere, the logistics, and the overall experience for both you and your guests. It can also determine things like numbers, the flow of the day, and whether you are going to need to hire certain equipment or not.
When comparing options, it helps to look beyond just aesthetics and consider:
Capacity (will it comfortably fit your guest list?)
Weather flexibility
Whether ceremony and reception can be held in one place
How well the space is set up for events
Proximity to accommodation and transport
A well-designed, well-resourced venue can remove a lot of complexity from planning, as they often are fully equipped with everything from kitchens, refrigerators, toilets, lighting and sound systems, flooring, through to tables, chairs, decorations, coordination staff and pack in and pack out processes. If you are opting for a Marquee wedding that last sentence poses a pretty good list of additional things you will likely need to organise to ensure comfort of your guests and vendors.
Keep Your Options Focused
It’s easy to save dozens of venues or vendors and end up overwhelmed, as there are an abundance of beautiful options!
Instead, we recommend:
Shortlist a small number to visit first (3–5)
Compare them against your priorities (capacity, atmosphere, location)
Visit this short or have detailed conversations with the hosts to determine exactly what they offer and pricing
Clarity comes from comparison, not quantity, and so figuring out what’s on offer at each venue will help highlight what is important to you as a couple. We believe that most people know a venue is for them by the time they drive off from a viewing - it can be quite an instinctive choice, so pick your top few and go scout them out in person to help be sure of your decision.
Lock in Your Key Vendors Early
The vendors to prioritise early are:
Venue
Caterer (if separate)
Photographer / videographer
Hair and Make Up if this is important to you
These key players tend to book out well in advance, particularly for popular dates, so even if you think it’s too early, it can never hurt to reach out.
Know When to Decide
There’s a point where more research doesn’t add value, it simply adds to the overwhelm.
If an option aligns with your priorities, feels well-run, and gives you confidence — that’s usually a good indicator and enough of a sign to say yes.
Once your venue and key vendors are secured, the rest of the planning becomes far more straightforward, which we will explore in our final blog post Bringing It Together: Planning the Details That Shape the Day.