by Olivia • November 9, 2022 • Wedding Planning Guides
You’re engaged! Congratulations! You must be super excited and ready to start planning the wedding day of your dreams! The first place you head to is Google to start searching for venues, here’s our guide to make your wedding venue search nice and easy for you.
Venues at the moment are extremely busy holding weddings so have very limited viewing slots, making it incredibly important to do your research before heading out to see them, research is the key! Create a checklist of what you need for your day, using some of our ideas below, and make sure to narrow down your search carefully before selecting venues to view in person.
It’s a subject that couples want to avoid, but it’s very important when finding a venue as you don’t want to fall in love with a venue that doesn’t fit your budget. Discuss how much you are looking to spend on the wedding, and specifically the venue so that when you come to request prices, you have a budget to stick to.
Some venues can be priced lower for the venue hire but cover their costs by putting up prices in other places such as the food and drink, so make sure when considering your budget you look at the venue, food and drink as one sum to make sure this all fits into your budget plan.
When we send the prices for our venue, we also attach a link to Stable Yard Catering, our onsite caterers, menus and prices so you can put together a good estimate on the cost of a wedding here with us.
Discuss where in the world you and your partner want to get married, whether it’s as close to home as possible, or maybe you live in the city now but originate from somewhere different with guests travelling more from your hometown.
Once you’ve decided on the best location for you, you can use this to narrow down your venue search. Here at Heaton House Farm, we’re extremely lucky as we are very central and have guests travelling from all over the country, and even abroad! Being so close to Manchester airport and Macclesfield Train Station, we are very accessible for guests travelling from further afield. Are the venues you’re looking at easy to get to? Make sure to check you’re happy with the distance by checking on Google Maps.
If you’re looking for a large venue to accommodate your family and friends, there’s no point looking at intimate venues that can only accommodate a small number of guests, find a venue that works for what you need; including the ceremony areas, as some venues have a large dining room but can’t accommodate the same large number of guests for your ceremony.
At Heaton House Farm we can accommodate up to 250 guests; both for dining and in our ceremony area Under The Stars and our rustic Oak Beamed Barn can accommodate up to 120 guests, both of which still work beautifully for weddings of any size.
Now you have a good idea of what your requirements are, it’s time to begin the search. Couples like to use directories for their search, Bridebook and Hitched are very popular directories that have lots of different venues listed. If you have a certain style you are looking for, you can also filter your search down to just this style.
Have a good read through their ‘about’ section and a browse through their pictures and quite importantly, it’s also worth having a good read through the reviews for the venue across a few different platforms, such as Trip Advisor (especially if they have accommodation on site as we do), on their social accounts and also on Google Reviews.
– do you already like what you see? Fantastic! Click request a brochure to find out more!
You’ve now received lots of information from all the venues you’ve liked on first impressions (eek!) and now is the time to focus on finding your top 3.
Reading through all the information, does it answer all your questions? If not, can you find the information on their website? A quick email to the events team is great to just make sure you know everything you need to before you make any important decisions.
Many venues are very proud and are keen to share just how wonderful they are with you on social media; this is a great place to see more pictures and videos of the venues, Instagram and Pinterest are great for this as you can browse through the feed and gather ideas for your special day too!
Does the venue have a virtual tour available? If so, make sure to watch as this will give you a really good feel for the venue before you even have to leave the comfort of your own home!
Your time is very precious, it’s time to start savouring it, so be sure you like the venue before spending time travelling to and viewing it.
Our virtual tour includes a trip through the venue guided by the venue owner himself, Mick, so you’re sure to feel like a VIP whilst learning about our venue and how we can be the perfect venue for you!
Once you’ve done the research, it’s time to book a show around and explore your top 3 venues in person. Don’t worry about waiting for an open day, as most venues can accommodate tours when it’s not an open day. Here at Heaton House Farm, we can welcome couples to view the venue 7 days a week!
