Images via: bride & groom (jose villa), ring (jose villa), escort cards (the knot), boutonniere & bouquet (mints design), bridesmaid dresses (stylish soiree), save-the-date card (zazzle), pillows (cb2), reception (anna kuperberg), cocktails (martha stewart), cake (the party dress), table centerpieces (mints design)

Budget:
I am sure you’ve heard it already — your budget pretty much determines everything. I truly believe you don’t need to spend a million to have a memorable event and setting a budget early on helps me eliminate choices and stay focused. I highly recommend couples to start their guest lists as early as possible. Ask yourself do you envision an intimate wedding with close friends and families or do you want a festive celebration with 300 guests. I know it may not be the most exciting activity comparing to trying on wedding gowns or choosing your bouquet’s flowers, but the number of guests determine the size of the venue you needed as well as how much you can spend per person. Just a rule of thumb, generally couples spend about 50% of their total budget on their reception (site fee, rentals, food and beverages).

Too many choices
Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many choices. Before you call and email every single venue, ask yourself if you want an outdoor or indoor wedding? in a hotel grand ballroom or a luxury resort? gallery or museum? golf course or your parent’s backyard? The KEY is narrowing down your options. If you are indecisive like I am, search The Knot and other wedding websites for real wedding pictures and try your best to imagine yourself was the bride and ask if you would be smiling as pretty as the girl in the picture if this was actually your wedding. Also check out here comes the guide to get a look and feel of the venues plus all the basic information, such as site fee, minimum, photo & virtual tour. Although some of the photos may not do it justice, most of them review enough details for you to say yes or no. Does it have a view? Can it accommodate all your guests? Do you like the window treatment? (yea, one site looks very nice till I saw the window blinds in the room.) How’s the overall decor and ambiance? Good reviews on yelp? Trust your instincts. For us, we eliminated down to three choices and it only took us one day to do site visit to make the final call.

Site Visit
Be specific with your questions. Is there any limitations or rules on vendors’ choices and decor? can you bring your own liquor? what’s the payment schedule? how many hours and what are the overtime charges? is there a Bridal room? extra fee for parking? Ask them to provide you an estimate. Although some locations require a site fee, it may still save some dough if they let you bring your own wine and liquor (tips from my brides).

Last but not least, search online and see if the venue is in good business/ financial standing before you sign anything. Next time, I am going to tell you my final pick. =)