Preparing For Your Initial Venue Consultation
Q: What does a newly engaged couple need to do to prepare for a venue consultation?
Each couple begins their venue visits at different points in planning. For example, some couples visit venues days after becoming engaged while others may not do so until months later. There is no right or wrong time to start.
Before visiting a venue couples should have conversations about what time of year they may wish to get married, consider what experience they would like for their guests to have and think about an overall aesthetic and style for the wedding.
It is also essential for a couple to discuss finances with one another and with their families so that they may create a realistic and comfortable budget for the wedding.
Before a visit and consultation, please explore a venue’s website, its presence on social media and wedding planning sites, peruse past couple reviews, and carefully read through welcome information such as food and beverage offerings and sample budgets.
And remember . . . wedding planning is a process and an experience: it will not all be figured out at your first meeting and the joy of creating an event comes from new discoveries and wonderful ideas that happen along the way!
Q. Who should attend a venue visit?
At Planterra we enjoy meeting with the couple to explore your vision for your wedding. Even if one of you may be taking more of the lead on the wedding planning it is wonderful for us to have a chance to connect and chat with BOTH of you! We truly feel that a wedding should be an expression of your personal style and represent you as a couple.
We know that parents and families often wish to visit venues as well . . . at Planterra we encourage the couple to attend the initial consultation and suggest couples bring families by at another time for an informal visit to the Conservatory.
As lovely as members of your bridal party may be we kindly request that you not bring an entourage with you to the initial consultation!
Q. What do you think are the most important factors a couple should consider when choosing a venue?
Again, on a conceptual end, a wedding should be an expression of your personal style and represent you as a couple. Wedding planning is all about crafting an aesthetic experience . . . the visual styling, floral design, room layout and menu selections should create a cohesive and beautiful environment for your guests.
From a practical standpoint when selecting their venue a couple should think about how involved they would like to be in the wedding planning process. For example, if you know that you prefer to be more of a “hands off” type of couple it would not be a good fit to choose a venue that requires you to coordinate all of your own vendors. Researching, selecting and managing the specifics of catering, event rentals, floral design, event set-up and take down and valet is an incredibly detailed and time-consuming process.
As a full-service provider, Planterra coordinates all aspects of the ceremony, food and beverage, floral and event design, valet and all service staff. Although most of our couple choose to source entertainment, photography and officiants on their own, we are delighted to coordinate these additional services for your event as well.
At Planterra our goal is to make your planning process as easy and enjoyable as possible and to create your vision for your special day.