He’s popped the question, the families have spoken to each other and the rishta is pakka, but ladies the madness has just started. This is when you have to find time to pick out your wedding outfit, you’ve to figure the planner, prepare the guest list and prepare yourself for starting a new chapter in your life. But central to your big day is the place where it’ll all happen- the shaadi venue.
Obviously, this can’t just be any place because it’ll forever be close to your heart. It has to be something you both and your families hold dear to your heart, after all, it’ll be that one special place that’ll be with you forever. To make everything go smoothly on your D-day, we’ve got a list of tips and tricks to keep in mind when choosing a location.
How To Choose a Wedding Venue For Big Fat Indian Wedding
The grand and splendid desi wedding is a full-on five-day affair. If you’re one of those couples who has a guest list which is never ending, then you’ve got to have a banquet hall which can accommodate those many people as well. It shouldn’t be stuffy, it needs to be classy, and it needs to be nothing short of perfect. For that Insta-worthy ceremony, here are some of the tips to choose the ideal venue.
Know Your Budget
Make a budget before any of the wedding planning starts and stick to it. Try to keep an upper limit on the amount you want to spend in total and work backward from there. The expenditure on your D-day is always going to be a bit more than you estimated because of the smaller expenditures that you didn’t even count. So it’s key that you know how much you can spend and in accordance see venues that fall in your budget.
Capacity
Traditional Indian weddings are ginormous affairs. All your friends and family from all over the world come together to partake in the celebrations. The biggest priority is obviously to accommodate everyone. The venue must be large enough to not feel stuffy when all your guests are over. Here are some of the things you need to keep in mind when you’re trying to narrow down your options.
Easy To Locate
Travelling to and from the place is a big deciding factor for guests wanting to attend the wedding or not. Families and friends staying far away, especially in a big city may not be able to make it there. Try keeping the location central and in an area that doesn’t get extremely crammed during the shaadi season and is easy to find. You don’t want people getting lost in the bylanes.
Enough Accommodation For Special Needs
Your elderly relatives will be attending the big event, they’ll be there to bless you and your hubby. So do keep that too in mind when choosing a venue. Make sure the walk isn’t too much, there aren’t too many stairs to climb, a ramp, rails etc are available so that people with special needs can also enjoy.
Clean And Enough Restrooms
Restrooms are very essential and should be a key factor in deciding the venue because hygiene is a priority. Everyone wants to go and check themselves out in the restrooms, fix their hair, retouch their makeup, and they deserve a clean restroom to do that.
Parking And Valet
Parking and valet is often an afterthought but is actually very important. Make sure there is enough space to park in and around your wedding revenue. The valet service is a great help as most guests do not prefer to walk too much after parking their cars. It’s even helpful if there isn’t too much parking space in the venue itself.
Perfect For Your Ideal Wedding
There are so many wedding venues which are beautiful that honestly you’ll be spoilt for choice. But keeping in mind the kind of D-day you want will help you narrow it down. Want a sunny day wedding? Look for something with sprawling lush, green lawns. Want a winter nighttime soirée? Look for something with an indoor hall which is able to accommodate your guest list. After all, you don’t want your guests shivering and freezing during your ceremony.
Catering
We’re also joking about how we only go to a wedding for the food. And it’s true to an extent! The food really is important and it’s great if you can give your guests and yourself an ace treatment. If you’re doing the ceremony at a religious venue, make sure you ask the authorities what their take might be on serving alcohol or non-vegetarian food on the grounds. Some venues also have their set caterers and refuse to let you hire anyone else.
Don’t Book The First One You See
It’s easy to be enamoured by grand wedding venues, especially if you haven’t done the running around for shaadis earlier. But make sure you don’t lock down the first place you visit. If you really like it, go see a few other places, you’ll get a good idea and a comparison scale.
Tips For Choosing a Wedding Venue For a Destination Wedding
If you think a wedding is difficult, planning a destination wedding will make you rip your hair off. There are a million things to consider and keep in mind so it would be easier if you hire a planner who can help out so that some of the load is lifted. So if it’s an exotic vacay abroad or an intimate one somewhere in the country itself, here are a few tricks and tips you should keep in mind.
Choose a Meaningful Destination
More than the venue itself, the destination is important. Remote locations can be beautiful and exciting but they won’t help if there are barely any properties that can accommodate your guests. Also, it’s the place you’ll forever hold close to your heart, that’s a lot of pressure to make it special.
Visit The Destination
Don’t just go by what the internet says. While it can help with the preliminary research of the venue, it’s not enough to actually choose one. Shortlist a few options and then go to the location, stay in the resorts if possible and try to envision your big day there.
Notify Your Guests Well In Advance
As soon as your destination is finalized, notify the guests. They will need to book their tickets, sort out their transportation and even take leaves at work. Best would be to create a simple save-the-date card and WhatsApp it well in advance.
Budget. Budget. Budget.
Destination weddings can be exorbitant if not kept under check. Firstly, the cost of travelling, then the resort, booking rooms for everyone, funding all the meals and so much more. It’s essential to see the venues which will cater to your needs in your stipulated amount of money. Save on the decor and floral arrangements by embracing the natural beauty of the area and you can make smaller budget crunches.
Tailor Everything For The Destination Or Tailor The Destination For Everything
If the destination is very important to you and super close to your heart, then you will need to be a little flexible with everything else. You will have to choose a time of the year when it’ll be most comfortable there- you don’t want to end up on a beach wedding in the peak summer, right?! You’ll also have to tailor your outfits for the place- like a velvet or silk lehenga for a winter wonderland wedding. But if all this is more important than the destination, then work on planning your wedding accordingly.
All in all, here’s everything you should keep in mind. Happy wedding day, we’re sure it’ll be everything you dreamed of.
Featured Image: Stories by Joseph Radhik on Instagram
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