You’ve named the day, picked the rings and booked the honeymoon – but you’ve still got to decide where the wedding nuptials are going to take place. With so many venues promising you the perfect wedding day you’re probably feeling spoilt for choice and totally confused – how nice it would be if you could just wave a magic wand and make your fairytale wedding day appear.
In reality it does take a little time and effort to find the perfect wedding venue for that dream day. Many hotels will try and seduce you with the romance and glamour of it all, but beneath the soft music and pink roses they leave you feeling a little underwhelmed. So you owe it to yourselves to look beneath the veneer and find one that’s really going to tick all the boxes for you and all your guests.
Shortlist your preferred venues and that way you’ll find it easier to compare all they have to offer. Arrange to visit all your favourite hotels in turn and soak up the atmosphere yourselves. You can get a good feel for a wedding venue in the first few minutes. How do you feel when you walk into the foyer? Could you imagine yourself greeting your guests there? Do the hotel staff appear genuinely pleased to see you?
It’s definitely worth booking a meal at the wedding venue to enable you to sample the food first hand and also to gauge the service. If the staff appear friendly and attentive you may be more inclined to make further enquiries and even ask to look around. If you plan your visit to coincide with an actual wedding being held at the hotel, even better, as you’ll really get a feel of the standard of service and the quality of the occasion.
If you know people who have held their wedding celebration at the hotel do ask them if they would recommend it. A personal testimony is usually reliable and can help you make your final choice.
Chances are you’ll be organising flowers, cakes and photographers and arranging all sorts of extras to make your wedding day just perfect. Many hotels offer these services as extras and using them can really take the strain out of organising a wedding. But if you’re using your own local suppliers it’s a good idea to pick their brains and ask their personal opinion of your shortlisted hotels. They may be able to enlighten you and help you make your mind up – perhaps one of the hotels has a great reputation for attention to detail or whose chef’s culinary skills are second to none.
If you’ve something quirky or unusual that you’d like to incorporate into your big day, make sure your chosen hotel can accommodate your request. To be honest, if a hotel has a proven track record for hosting celebratory functions they should pull out all the stops to ensure you get what you want – and it should seem to you like nothing is too much trouble for them.
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