Book Your Wedding Reception in Your Hotel

Some couples are now choosing to hold their wedding reception in the hotel in which they will be spending their wedding night.   The benefits of this being, is that the couple will be checked into their honey moon suite early on in the day, and do not need to worry about missing the check in deadline after the reception.

Ideally, you should be able to negotiate a package deal which will include the reception venue and honeymoon suite.  Ensure that you get all early negotiations in writing, to avoid problems later on.

Wedding Venue Idea #1 The Penthouse

When planning a wedding, don’t feel pressured to stick to the usual wedding reception venue locations, such as function rooms and halls. Brainstorm outside the box for wedding venue ideas to see what you come up with.

Part 1 of our wedding venue idea series brings you the idea of holding your wedding in a penthouse with ocean or city views! This idea only works if you will be having a small wedding with close family and friends.  Being an intimate wedding, it needn’t be a full blown reception. It can be an elegant dinner or cocktail party with close family and friends to celebrate. Once the reception is over, the penthouse can double as your honeymoon suite for the night.
Bear in mind that some hotels have strict “no party” policies, so it might be an idea to talk to the manager to clarify the situation early on.

Things To Consider

•    Book early to secure the views that you want.  Ocean or city views usually cost a little extra, so factor this in to your costs.
•    The hotel will likely only have limited visitor parking, so it would be considerate for your guests if you found out where the most suitable parking for them would be and relay this information to your family and friends.

7 Tips For Choosing a Wedding Reception Venue on a Budget

Saving money on wedding reception venues can be achieved with a little planning.

Are you looking for tips to reduce the cost of your reception venue? For many engaged couples planning a wedding, choosing the reception venue will be one of the biggest decisions that they will need to make, as for most couples the  wedding reception venue is also responsible for the biggest portion of their wedding budget.

If you are looking to hire a wedding venue on a budget, take a look at these  great budget conscious wedding  tips that may end up saving you money in your wedding planning budget.

1. Host an off-season wedding. Hotels and banquet halls generally charge higher rates during peak tourist season, as they know that their premise will be in more demand.

2. Getting married on any other night other than a Saturday night will generally ensure a cheaper rate.

3. Don’t mention the word ‘wedding’ when calling for initial quotes as this usually guarantees a mark-up, just casually ask for a quote on a party or an event.

4. Non-traditional locations are becoming more and more the norm. Leave no stone unturned in your search for a cost-efficient perfect venue. Many wineries organize tours of their vineyards and facilities. Always try to liaise with the manager of the venue as they can offer the best deals. Don’t be afraid to haggle.

5. To save additional costs provide your own table decor and centerpieces.

6. Get an itemized quote for the reception venue to ensure you know if there are any fees if the reception runs later than agreed. This may also help you to trim some areas of the reception that are an unnecessary cost.

7. Some venues offer cheaper rates if you book their reception hall just for the day. This would mean a morning, or early afternoon ceremony with your wedding reception to finish late afternoon/early evening.

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Have An Early Wedding Reception

Everyone knows that Saturday weddings cost more as this is the day that most couples will likely wed. The reception venue will subsequently cost more as well. Find out if your venue will offer a reduced rate for an afternoon reception. You could have a morning ceremony with an afternoon reception ending at around 5pm The venue could then host another evening event and therefore be happy that their establishment has been booked for the entire day.

Reuse Wedding Church Flowers

Are you decorating the church with you own wedding flowers. See if you can then transfer these flowers to the wedding reception, to save the cost of buying flowers at both venues. Don’t take the existing church flowers, only the ones that you brought in specifically for the service.

Wedding Venue Idea #3 The Community Centre

Community centres can be a cheap option for a reception venue, but bear in mind this may very well mean that you will have to source everything yourself and set it up and pack it up yourself. Find out if the centre has tables that you can loan, if not ring around rental places to see what you can find.

You will also need to organise caterers and decorations. For those brides who loves organising weddings and have real hands on approach in organising everything, , the community centre could very well be for you.

Remember, when booking in services and the venue don’t say it’s for a wedding, but rather a ‘family function.’ This will avoid wedding mark-ups. Once its all paid for, you could let slip to the community centre that it is for a wedding, as they may have some useful items in storage that you can use.

A community centre wedding takes lots of planning, so allow adequate time

Have a Lunchtime Wedding to Save on Catering Costs

One way to reduce the cost of your catering is to have a lunchtime wedding rather than an evening one. Evening weddings generally consist of a more elaborate and larger meal for dinner. You could still have a tantalising lunch time menu for a significantly reduced cost.

Another bonus is that people (well most people anyway) tend to drink less for lunch time weddings rather than evening one saving you money.

Compromising Can Save You Money

When planning a wedding, you are more than likely going to be faced with decisions brought upon by financial restrictions. There might be something that you really want to have at your wedding that you simply cannot afford. Before cutting it out from your wedding all together, consider whether there is a way to compromise with yourself to still have what you want at a reduced price.

At a wedding I attended years back, the bride had chosen to decorate every third chair at the reception with seat covers. These seat covers were beautiful, with a floral bouquet entwined with this gorgeous gold ribbon, it was simply stunning. Had every chair been decorated, it might have been an overwhelming feature of the reception décor, so I was under the impression, decorating every third chair was an aesthetic choice.

It wasn’t until months later that I had learnt that the reason only every third chair was decorated (the other chairs were covered with a simple white cover) was due to financial restrictions, not aesthetics. This bride had her heart set on this particular wedding seat cover and wasn’t willing to compromise. Her then-fiancé suggested that she compromise and just get the elaborate covers for every third chair.

At the end of the day when planning a wedding you need to have a balancing act of achieving the look that you want whilst compromising with any financial restrictions that may be placed upon you. There is always more than one way to achieve a certain look, you just have to know where to look.

Choosing a Wedding MC

Choosing a Wedding MC can be a daunting process, as the Wedding MC is ultimately the glue that holds your wedding reception together. There are generally three choices when it comes to a wedding MC:
1. Using the reception venue’s official MC can have great benefits as they are familiar with the venue and talking to large crowd. Ask the manager to find out if they have done many wedding functions before.
2. A family member or close friend : Many couples love the personal touch of having a family member MC the event. One of the major advantages of having family MC the event is that they can draw on personal stories to entertain the guests.
3. Hiring an external MC: Hiring an external MC, can be ideal as it allows you to be picky and not be confined to a venue’s MC. Start by recalling weddings that you have been to. Were you impressed with the MC? Ask family and friends for referrals.
When selecting your MC it is ideal to see wedding videos of the candidates in action. You don’t just want a confident public speaker, you want someone who can entertain and draw the guests in.

Should you have music during the reception dinner?

Most likely, during your reception after the dinner has been served and the speeches are finished the wedding music (and dancing) will commence. However, have you considered whether you would like some music playing during the dinner potion of the reception? Depending on the music chosen, this can bring a nice atmosphere to the room and can generally promote more conversation.

The key is not to create an overwhelming musical soundtrack to the room. Try to opt for mellow, soft music. Orchestral classics are good such as Bach. If you would like something more contemporary what about Michael Buble or Norah Jones? Their music has strong romantic overtones to it and is perfect for a wedding.
The volume of dinner music is also important. It should not be at the same level as the dancing music. It should be loud enough to be heard easily, but soft enough to allow your guests conversation to flow and be heard easily.