How to find the perfect wedding venue in Surrey

By Marine Kerivel-Brown, Wedding Planner, http://www.boutiquewedding.uk.com

Your wedding venue determines the style of your wedding or civil partnership so it’s no wonder that finding the perfect one for you can be both a daunting and very time-consuming task. Throughout the UK, there are thousands of wedding venues from castles to golf clubs, country houses, hotels, museums, stadiums and racecourses available for people to hold their wedding receptions. And that’s without considering venues abroad! So unless you intend to spend every spare time viewing wedding venues, how do you find the perfect wedding venue for you?

1.    Don’t start searching or viewing venues until you have finalized your wedding budget and guest list. Those two factors are critical in selecting wedding venues so resist the temptation of viewing venues until you know how much you can spend and how many guests will be coming. You could otherwise end up with a venue that is too big (costly mistake) or too small (very embarrassing mistake), or overspend and end up with a big wedding debt, which is definitely not a healthy way to start your married life.

2.    Establish right from the start your ceremony requirements: civil ceremony? Church blessing? Humanist ceremony? etc. It will partly determine if you need everything in one location or not.

3.    Write a vision of what your perfect wedding location should be and stick to it! So your mum wanted a fairytale venue but you want a barn in an organic farm? Just remember that this is your day. With your partner, write down a series of 5 to 8 key points the venue must meet (i.e in/ outside London; with or without onsite accommodation, with or without sound limit, etc). This list will help you rule out inappropriate venues straight from your searches on the internet, saving you time. Always revert back to your initial list when viewing venues to make sure they fit with what you’re looking for. And remind your mum: this is your day!

4.    Establish tight geographical parameters. 2 hours of London is way too vague. Instead, say Surrey and East Sussex for example. Focusing your searches will save you time and money. If you can’t find what you’re looking for (and trust me, I dare you not to find the right venue for you in Surrey!!), then move to another county.

5.    Think about the entertainment you want before viewing venues. Some venues have sound restrictions, others won’t allow fireworks, etc. knowing what you want from the start will help you eliminating unsuitable venues right from the start or avoid facing issues further down the line.

6.    Read the contract carefully and ask what’s included! Many venues will quote on a basic package so you must be sure of what is part of that package, and what will need to be paid extra. It will be too late to complain about it once a contract is signed so don’t get too excited about a place until you’ve checked all the details first!

7.    View venues with a rainy day in mind. This is England remember so rain in summer happens! Does the venue have a decent space for the drink reception if it rains? If not, hire a small marquee to host the drinks reception if it rains. The golden rule here is to never, ever gamble on the weather.

8.    Remember that a more impressive venue will save on flowers and furniture hire or props. A blank canvas might look cheaper but will be costly to furnish and decorate. So when you compare costs, keep this in mind or you’ll be in for a nasty shock at the end. Remember that if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is!

9.    Think about transport and car park for your guests when viewing venues. The last thing you want is guests showing up late or covered in mud because they couldn’t park their cars. Most venues will be able to help you find suitable solutions if their in-house car park is too small.

10.    If you’ve found the venue of your dream but can’t afford the price tag, ask what they could offer for a weekday or winter wedding. Many venues will offer serious discounts off peak. A bit of money is better than no money at all as far as they’re concerned. Or if you can get ready at short notice, ask if they have any late availabilities or last minute cancellations.

11.    Check if you’ll have exclusive use or not. And decide how you feel about it if you’re sharing a venue with one or more couples.

12.    No time to view venues? Get a wedding planner on board. He/ she will save you time and money! Remember that you can hire a planner to sort out the venue only since the vast majority of us offer a made to measure service.

13.    Follow your instinct. You will know when a wedding venue feels right for you or not.

Boutique Wedding Ltd are a professional wedding planning service, based in Reigate, South West London. For further information, please contact Marine at Boutique Wedding on 07766 246 845 or enquiries@boutiquewedding.uk.com

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Surrey Wedding Fair – Surrey Hills Hotel – 22nd May

Wedding fair at Surrey Hills Hotel

22nd May 2011

Surrey Hills Hotel
Horsham Road
Dorking
Surrey
RH5 4PG

Admission £5

Organised by Fusion Company London

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

How to Hire a Wedding Planner in Surrey

Weddings are becoming more elaborate, and at the same time, many brides have less time to dedicate to them. This is where a wedding planner can help you.

When Jennifer, a partner at a big accounting company in Surrey got engaged, she knew that she didn’t have time to plan the 300 person wedding that was expected by her friends, family, and business associates.  “One of the first decisions I made was to hire a wedding planner,” she says.  “And it was probably the best decision I made in the whole wedding process.”

Wedding planners can manage all of the administrative details that go into putting a wedding together while leaving the creative decisions to the bride.

Commonly, there are three types of payment arrangements for wedding planners.

Fee planner

Your wedding planner doesn’t charge you, but you know up front that he or she gets commission from the various wedding suppliers that she recommends. She may not send you to the best choice for you if someone else gives her a bigger cut, although most will.  But, if you don’t have a budget for a wedding planner, this may be the choice for you.

Fee based on a percentage of the whole wedding budget

A good wedding planner can charge up to 20 percent of the wedding budget.  If you are having a large, elaborate wedding where the total budget is over £30,000, this is the way to go.

Fixed fee for specific services

If you are prepared to handle some of the administrative headache, this may be the way to go as you can only pay for the services you require.

One of the advantages of working with a wedding planner is that she has a professionally developed time line and checklists for everything.  You know you won’t end up not purchasing the wedding flowers if you work with a wedding planner.

You want to look for a wedding planner who is experienced about weddings and the pre-wedding process.  They should also know the benefits and drawbacks of working with various bakeries or printers in your region.  You may want to ask whether the planner has any kind of certification.

Your wedding planner should listen to you.  She should help you produce your vision of the perfect day – not impose hers on you.  Your wedding planner should pose a lot of questions up front.  She also needs to be hands-off when you want her to be.

You should find your wedding planner from personal recommendations.  If you don’t know anyone who has had a wedding planner in the last couple of years, get on the internet wedding chat rooms and find out who has the best reputation.

A wedding planner should take your image of a dream wedding and turn it into a reality.  She should take the worry off of you.  She should allow you to have the time to really enjoy your engagement and to look forward to the big day.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

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Read the full story -> Andrew Dobell’s Blog – Surrey Wedding Photographer: Surrey …

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wedding Entertainment Surrey | Ross Malone Events

By working with us, we can help make your wedding a truly unforgettable experience for everyone involved. From the ceremony to the early hours, we can offer the best wedding entertainment Surrey to help create life-long memories. …

Read the full story -> Wedding Entertainment Surrey | Ross Malone Events

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wotton House Wedding Photography | Surrey wedding photos …

Wedding Photography at Wotton House by Bruce Neville. Wotton House revisited.

Read the full story -> Wotton House Wedding Photography | Surrey wedding photos …

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wedding Venue – Clandon Park, Surrey. » Martin Beddall Wedding …

Some detail images from a National Trust wedding venue, Clandon Park, near Guildford in Surrey.

Read the full story -> Wedding Venue – Clandon Park, Surrey. » Martin Beddall Wedding …

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Surrey wedding photography- Karen & Tony’s Hartsfield Manor …

It only seems like yesterday that I was photographing Karen & Tony’s pre wedding shoot- (How time flies). I had a blast photographing that session so I knew their.

Read the full story -> Surrey wedding photography- Karen & Tony’s Hartsfield Manor …

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wedding Venue- Nonsuch Mansion, Surrey

Wedding Venue- Nonsuch Mansion, Surrey. Last week I was invited by the team at Bovingdons to look around their new venture, Nonsuch Mansion. Nonsuch Mansion is a Georgian building set in 300 acres of parkland near Cheam in Surrey. …

Read the full story -> Wedding Venue- Nonsuch Mansion, Surrey

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Hannah & Matt, 05/03 – Woodlands Park Hotel, Surrey Wedding …

HM 050311 040 b Hannah & Matt, 05/03 Woodlands Park Hotel, Surrey. HM 050311 044 b Hannah & Matt, 05/03 Woodlands Park Hotel, Surrey. HM 050311 059 Hannah & Matt, 05/03 Woodlands Park Hotel, Surrey Wedding. HM 050311 061 b Hannah & Matt …

Read the full story -> Hannah & Matt, 05/03 – Woodlands Park Hotel, Surrey Wedding …

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

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