Twelve smart questions to ask your wedding venue

Wedding Venue

When you’re researching and visiting suitable venues for your wedding, it’s really important to ask the right questions to ensure that you will be getting the best deal and overall option for your wedding venue. It can be easy to be swayed by how gorgeous the wedding venue looks, or a delicious sounding array of menu options for your wedding breakfast but it is super important to remember that this is likely to be the biggest spend of your wedding and not to get carried away! I know, much easier said than done!

I have put together twelve questions below for you to ask your wedding venue when you are going for your show-round. Hopefully these questions will help you to make the best decision when it comes to choosing your wedding venue.

1. Will the price change if we changed the date – off season / mid-week?

Some venues will be able to seriously reduce your wedding venue hire fee if you book your wedding for the Winter or a mid-week date.

 

2. Do you have a corkage option where we can bring our own booze?

Some wedding venues will allow to you to bring in your own alcohol for a small fee per bottle. This can work out a lot cheaper than the wedding venue supplying all of your alcohol.

 

3. Can we have access to the venue the day before for decorating?

Are you going to be decorating your wedding venue yourself? Find out if the venue will allow you a few hours the day before to get things set up.

 

4. What are your charges for additional guests?

Make sure you aren’t stung by high excess number charges.

 

5. What time do we need to be clear of the venue by on the wedding day?

If it’s important to you that you can party until the small hours, cover off the question before you sign your contract.

 

6. Do you have any set budget package options?

Sometimes it can work out cheaper to utilize a package offer for your wedding.

 

7. Do you have any preferential rate agreements with local hotels where our guests will be able to stay?

Your family and friends will thank you if you have been thoughtful enough to wangle them a discount!

 

8. Do you have a room that the Bridal party can use as a private area on the day of the wedding?

Having a room where you and your bridesmaids can go and take a breather on the day will be a wonderful thing!

 

9. Do you have any preferred suppliers (photographers, cake makers etc) who we may be able to get preferential rates with?

If you’re starting from scratch, it can be wonderful to have a recommendation for a trusted supplier from your wedding venue.

 

10. Are we able to bring in our own caterers?

Not all venues will allow external caterers in, but if yours does, this can be a big money saver and give you more flexibility on the type of food you will be serving your guests.

 

11. Can we throw confetti?

We all love a good confetti shot – but clear it with your venue first! Some wedding venues will only allow natural biodegradable petals for throwing – others none will be allowed at all.

 

12. Will we be the sole wedding party on the day?

This is a BIG one! If you don’t want to be running into another lady wearing a wedding dress on your big day, check with your venue that you are the only wedding taking place on your chosen date.

 

Have you booked your venue yet? What questions did you ask to make sure you were making the right choice? Let us know over on the Facebook page!

Laura x

 

Photography in this post courtesy of Danielle Mobbs

Finding the right Wedding Venue

Finding the right Wedding Venue

Finding the right wedding venue is definitely up there on your list of things to sort out once you start your wedding planning. Confirming your venue means that you can set your date, and then you can start with all of the fun stuff, like wedding invitations, finding your dress and coming up with suitable theme ideas to suit your venue.

But finding the right wedding venue can be really hard work! Finding a venue that will fit with all of your requirements is time consuming and can be more than a little stressful. This is why The Budget Bride Company has a free a Wedding Venue Finding Service for our readers. We have over a decade of event venue finding experience and our expert knowledge of venues both in the UK and overseas puts us in a great position to find you the wedding venue you’re after!

I love working with Brides to Be on finding the right wedding venue – especially because of the diversity of wedding venue finding requests that we receive. For some, the ideal venue is a beautiful barn with plenty of room for a hog roast and dancing until the small hours! And for others, a classic manor house with a terrace for drinks and lots of interesting rooms for the guests to explore is just the ticket! Whatever your wedding venue requirements, we would love to be able to help you.

To get you started with what to think about when dreaming about finding the right wedding venue, have a think about these elements:

What time of day you would like to be married

If you have a certain time of year in mind

If you would like your ceremony and reception at the same location

If you would like to have more guests joining you for the party in the evening

How you would like to feed your guests

What kind of entertainment you would like to provide and how this would fit in with your venue type

What style of venue you are thinking of – rustic and outdoorsy? Classic manor house? Modern hotel?

How far your guests will be travelling from – will it help to have bedrooms available on site?

There are a variety of things to consider and we are experts at finding Brides Wedding Venues that fit in with their needs and their budgets. Why not get in touch now and let us know your Wedding Venue requirements? Just fill in the form and we will start your wedding venue search for you!

Laura x

Photo Credit:  Photography by Danielle Mobbs

Free Wedding Venue Finding Service

Free Wedding Venue Finding Service

Did you know that we offer a 100% free wedding venue finding service for Brides to be? We have been running this service since the start of the year and have had a fantastic response from UK Brides looking for their perfect wedding venue.

 

Our free wedding venue finding service is totally impartial and our knowledge of hundreds of UK wedding venues means that we can provide you with shortlists of wedding venues hand picked to suit your budget, style and wedding party size.

 

By filling out the form on our free wedding venue finding service page, you will be giving us the information that we need to start searching for a perfect wedding venue for your requirements. We are then able to provide you with a shortlist of ideal venues for you to review and once you have chosen which look good for you, we arrange a viewing for you and your fiancé to go and explore the venue and meet with the wedding team there.

 

At The Budget Bride Company, we know that your time is extremely precious when planning your wedding and from experience, we understand how much of a time pit looking for your ideal wedding venue can be! Our free service takes away all of that stress and hassle and means that you can spend your planning time on other, more enjoyable tasks!

 

Our free wedding venue finding service will provide you with all of the information that you need to make a decision on your wedding venue – we include plenty of details and full budget breakdowns to help you decide which venues you would like to see. Our knowledge of hundreds of wedding venues means that whether you are after a romantic castle wedding, a fun barn wedding or a traditional manor house wedding, we will be able to provide you with plenty of options to choose from.

 

So stop spending your planning time on google looking for venues and let us do the hard work for you! Get in touch and let us know your perfect wedding venue wishes today 🙂

 

Laura x

Photo Credit: jenlynnephoto via photopin cc

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

On Sunday 7th September, we ran our Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair at The Ruby Lounge at Diana’s in Wellingborough. We had a great day with lots of happy couples coming to browse through the offers, meet with the suppliers and watch the fashion shows.

We had goody bags with glossy magazines from The Wedding Planner and Wedding Scene, and some delicious shortbread  favour samples from Betty Bakes.

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

The weather was amazing and I was so pleased to see Gerry’s Split Screen VW Camper Van getting lots of attention parked outside the Venue!

We had two fashion shows with Jewkes Bridal whose dresses are all priced under £600.

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

 

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

I was very lucky to have help on the day from my sister Becky and from Zoe, who were on hand at reception to run the registration and to help exhibitors finding their spots!

As for me, at 34 weeks pregnant and looking fit to pop, I must say that I took the opportunity to sit down at this Wedding Fair whenever I could!

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

 

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

Thanks to all of the Brides to Be for attending and to all of the exhibitors for making it a great Fair! And once again, thanks to the Ruby Lounge for being a great host 🙂

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair

 

See you at the next Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair!

Laura x

Gorgeous Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo – Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

 

I’m so pleased to share this lovely budget wedding at Twycross Zoo with you today! Vanessa and Luke were married at Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire on the 17th May. Pictures kindly shared courtesy of Lacie Cox Photography.

 

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

I love the dramatic backdrop for the pictures – what a great location to celebrate your wedding day!

Vanessa shared some of her tips with us for having a beautiful wedding on a budget…

The Dress: I bought my dress at The National Wedding Show at the NEC, so was ableto secure a 25% discount off the shop price.

The Flowers: All of the flowers were arranged by a family friend, so we only had to pay £60 for the flowers themselves including my bouquet and the bridesmaid’s flowers and centrepieces.

The Table Centrepieces: We bought all of the teapots, cups and saucers from car boot sales and charity shops in the run up to the wedding, so we only spent about £30 in total!

The Bridesmaids: We were able to get 30% off the bridesmaid dresses at BHS as we found money off vouchers online.

The Favours: My sister works in a boutique chocolate shop and so we were able to get a great discount on handmade chocolates. We then bought boxes and ribbons from EBay  for less than £20 to present them in for our guests.

 

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

 

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

 

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

Budget Wedding at Twycross Zoo - Vanessa and Luke

 

 

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous budget wedding at Twycross Zoo with us Vanessa and Luke – congratulations to you both 🙂

Laura x

All pictures courtesy of Lacie Cox Photography

Top wedding venues in London

Weddings at The Landmark London

 

London is certainly not short of impressive wedding venues. Whether you’re looking for spaces that exude modern chic, classical elegance or rustic charm, you should be able to find the perfect location for your big day.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some of the English capital’s best venues.

 

The Landmark London

If it’s elegance and grandeur you’re after, it’s hard to beat The Landmark London. This five star hotel boasts magnificent banqueting rooms complete with original Victorian features, high ceilings and plenty of natural light.

As well as providing a truly romantic setting for your nuptial celebrations, this luxurious hotel offers the utmost convenience. Its wedding and civil partnership coordinator will help you to plan each stage of your celebration to ensure it runs smoothly, from the decorations and flowers to the menu and entertainment.

Because the venue benefits from 300 bedrooms, your guests won’t be short of a place to stay either.

 

  The Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College

Sometimes referred to as the “finest dining hall in Europe”, the Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College will certainly make an impression on your wedding guests. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, it was originally created as an eating space for naval veterans and it is characterised by its lavish wall and ceiling decorations.

 

Amadeus Centre

If you’re planning a themed ceremony and reception, the Amadeus Centre may be ideal for you. Here, you can really let your imagination run wild. Whether you want fire-eaters, an ice cream van, a big top circus tent or anything else, you can see the venue as a blank canvas.

This former Welsh Presbyterian chapel features a wood-panelled gallery and its own pipe organ. The building contains an Upper Hall and a more intimate Lower Hall, which was originally a crypt.

 

  Bleeding Heart Tavern

To immerse yourself in the city’s history, you can book a reception at the Bleeding Heart Tavern. This venue has real character and it's highlight is a 600-year-old crypt complete with exposed beams, which was once the setting for a three-day feast hosted by Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The bash was thrown to celebrate the couple’s wedding.

 

  Chelsea Physic Garden

If you’d like to enjoy some fresh air on your big day, the Chelsea Physic Garden could be just what you’re after. Established in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries as a place for its apprentices to study the medicinal qualities of plants, it became one of the most important centres of plant exchange and botany in the world.

 

Are you going to be getting married in London? What would make your dream venue – let us know over on the Facebook page.

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

Back at the end of July, I was thrilled to get together with the amazingly talented Danielle Mobbs to create our second styled shoot together.

Having worked on a vintage themed wedding styled shoot last Summer, we wanted to try something really different and decided on working with a Barn theme with a Western ranch feel twist. Danielle is quite a regular in the States and brought along her authentic cowboy boots to feature in the shoot!

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

We chose Brampton Grange as the perfect venue for our Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot thanks to its incredible setting in the Northamptonshire countryside. The Venue has a beautiful manor house with gardens, converted barns and stables – giving us loads of gorgeous photo opportunities to fit in with our theme. And when we found out that the lovely Wedding Co-ordinator Tracey kept her horse there, we jumped at the chance to feature him in the shoot 🙂

We chose our suppliers to bring the Western Barn Styled Shoot ideas to life very carefully. We were really lucky to work with some super talented companies that understood exactly what we wanted to achieve!

Big thanks to these guys for bringing their talent to the shoot…

♥ Venue: Brampton Grange

♥ Models: Bride with Horse -  Abi. Bride and Groom – Scot and Carly. Bridesmaids – Katie and Becky (my lovely little sister!)

♥ Wedding Dresses and Bridesmaids Dresses: Jewkes Bridal

♥ Flowers and Table Centres: Bloom In Scents

♥ Wedding Cake: The Bluebell Bakery

♥ Hair and Make-Up: The Beauty Outfit

♥ Stationery: Quills Wedding Stationery

 

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

 

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

A Western Barn Wedding Styled Shoot

 

I hope that this shoot has given you some ideas for styling your own wedding! Are you going to be having a barn wedding? Join the conversation over on our Facebook page 🙂

Laura x

All pictures courtesy of Photography by Danielle Mobbs. Danielle offers wedding photography from £650.

Northamptonshire Wedding Fair: Budget Bride Live at The Ruby Lounge

Northamptonshire Wedding Fair: Budget Bride Live at The Ruby Lounge

Today I am super excited as we’ve literally only got three more sleeps until our Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair at The Ruby Lounge at Diana’s in Wellingborough. Running between 11am and 3pm this Sunday 16th February, this Northamptonshire Wedding Fair will have so much weddingy wonder going on, if you don’t make it you will miss out!

 

To give you a little taster of how the day is going to run, you can expect the following when you arrive with your Bridal Party for a fun Wedding Fair day out sorting all of those ‘must actions’ from your list:

 

♥ A glass of Bucks Fizz on your arrival to get you in the mood…

♥ A Bridal Goody Bag full of Glossy Wedding Magazines, treats and money off vouchers for great brands including Go Hen and Confetti.com

♥ A Fashion Show at 1pm with loads of stunning wedding dresses, all under £700!

♥ 40 incredible exhibitors showcasing wedding dresses through to groomswear suits, wedding transport through to Hog Roasts and    Sweetie Carts. We only pick the friendliest, best value for money wedding suppliers, so that we know that your time will be spent wisely speaking with them!

♥ An opportunity to win a gorgeous Bridal Pamper Hamper chock full of treats for a bridal pamper night in

♥ Wedding Cake tasting and sample giveaways

♥ Live magician

 

There is also plenty of free parking for all that attend this Northamptonshire Wedding Fair and children are more than welcome! In fact, we even have a Magician who is going to be performing at the Event who will keep them entertained! Check out this video of him at our Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair last year when he totally got my sister!

 

http://youtu.be/oN3YOJRfNN0

So grab your Beau, your Bridesmaids, your Mum, your to be Mother in Law and whoever else takes your fancy and join us for a brilliant day to help you plan and look forward to your wedding. Just pre-register your FREE place here and we will send you across your confirmation! We can’t wait to see you there!

 

Laura xo

Castle Wedding Inspiration – Mood Board Monday

As part of our free Wedding Venue Finding Service, we do get a lot of requests from Brides to Be for us to find them a gorgeous Castle Wedding Venue for them to hold their celebrations at. And we can totally understand why! The drama of a Castle Wedding makes the perfect setting; secret rooms for kids to explore, your wedding breakfast in a banqueting hall, the list goes on…

 

Castle Weddings Mood Board

Budget Bride Company on Pinterest 
 
So today, our Mood Board Inspiration is all about Castle Weddings, we’re into the Cinderella look with plenty of candles for extra ambience! Head over to our Pinterest page now to check it out...
 
Have you decided on your wedding venue yet? Let us know in the Comments Box below, or join us over on Facebook!
 
Laura xo

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair at The Eden Centre, Kettering

Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair Table Layout

Through The Looking Glass
 
On Sunday morning, Tammy and I headed across with our cars full of goody bags, balloons, chalk boards and bunting, ready to set up for our fourth Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair.
 
We were so excited to be hosting a Fair at the gorgeous Eden Centre in Kettering  for the second time and knew from all of you gorgeous brides to be that had pre-registered to attend, that it was going to be a lively event!
 
After a crazy couple of hours of setting up tables, creating balloon archways and testing smoke machines, the scene was set and all of our amazing exhibitors were ready to meet you – the brides!
 
Budget Bride Wedding Fair Live Main area

Through The Looking Glass
 
We opened the doors at 3pm and were thrilled to meet so many of you at The Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair registration desk. We gave out goody bags containing treats and money off vouchers from Confetti.co.uk, GoHen.com and StagWeb.com along with wedding shopping catalogues and two glossy wedding magazines. With a glass of fizz in hand, the brides and their families were then free to explore The Eden Centre and to meet with all of the exhibitors. We had every area covered, from scrumptious Wedding Cakes from Capell’s to a brilliant photo booth set up from Ultimate Photography.
 
Budget Bride Company and Through The Looking Glass Events at Budget Bride Live with Ultimate Photography
Kelly from Through The Looking Glass and I go crazy in the Ultimate Photography Photo Booth!
 
Budget Bride Company in the Ultimate Photography Photo Booth
And no Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair would be complete without a false moustache!
 
After a busy fashion show with seven models showing off at total of 14 dresses from Jewkes Bridal, all of our lovely bridal party visitors had time to meet with amazing companies such as Big Bopper Entertainment and Francis Hale Photography.
 
Capells Cakes Wedding Fair Display
 
Capells Cakes Wedding Fair Display
The beautiful cakes from Capell's
 
If you would like to get in touch with any of our budget beautiful suppliers from the day, you can contact them via their details below:
 
Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair Exhibitors

The Eden Centre

Capells Cakes

Francis Hale Photography

Citroen DS Hire

Voyager Wedding Cars

Finishing Touches

Greenwoods Menswear

Ultimate Photography

April Productions

Phoenix Stationery with Kate Simpson

Suitors Of Buckingham Menswear

Eternity Images

Forever Living Products with Ros Whittle

Big Bopper Entertainment

Pops N Bangs Fireworks

Artisan Catering

Cotton Buds Florists

Jewkes Bridal

Harlequin Rose Videography

MG Photographic

PartyLite
 
This Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair was also supported by:

Confetti.co.uk

Go Hen

Stag Web

James Thorpe Photography

Marie Louisa Jones Wedding Musician

Classic Carriages of Northampton

Mike Brown Photographic

Dresses 2 Impress U

Pure Steel Productions

Through The Looking Glass Wedding Fair Decorations

 

It was a fantastic day and we were so pleased to meet so many of you. If you didn’t get the chance to attend this Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair, we have another one coming up on Sunday 16th February in Wellingborough so please do pre-register your free place and join us for another fun wedding planning day out with your Bridal Party!

Laura and Tammy xx