Are you planning a shotgun wedding? A magazine-worthy affair? Or something in between? For most couples planning a wedding, choosing a venue is the first step that makes the whole thing come to life: that yes, it’s really happening. The spot you choose to tie the knot will set the tone for your entire wedding, so it’s important you pick one you’re truly happy with.
Wedding venues are a notoriously expensive part of wedding planning, especially if you’re planning to host an event with more than a handful of people. This begs the question…
So How Far In Advance Should You Book A Wedding Venue Realistically?
In this blog, we’re going to consider all the many factors that can affect your choice of venue, how this will dictate when is the best time to book your venue, and get the ball rolling on your wedding plans!
Read on for all our tips on choosing your venue, knowing when to book it, and what other factors might affect your decision.
In this article, we’ll be covering:
- Venue Priority & Wedding Budget Planning
- The Best Time To Book A Wedding Venue
- Seasonal Wedding Booking Advice
- Wedding Venue Booking Timeline
- Tips For Handling Unexpected Changes
Venue Priority & Wedding Budget Planning
Even if having a high-demand wedding venue is not at the top of your priority list, hiring out a space to host the event is still going to take up one of the largest sections of your overall wedding budget. Securing a venue (and paying for it!), whether it’s a castle in the mountains for your fairytale ending, or a relatively low-key event hall to keep the costs down, will help you understand how much you have left to spend on everything else.
The other crucial reason why getting your venue sorted as the first tick on your wedding planning checklist is that every other booking you make, from caterers to florists to make-up artists, will depend on their availability for that chosen date.
The Best Time To Book A Wedding Venue
So – let’s answer the question: when should you book a wedding venue? As experienced event and wedding planners, we recommend locking down your location at least 12 months prior to your ideal date, and up to two years in advance.
This will depend on the popularity of your venue, the season, the number of guests you want to host, and the scale of the wedding you’re planning to put on. But remember that even if you’re after a simple affair, the fact is that many couples do book very far in advance. You just might not have the options left if you wait until a few months before your wedding day to pick a venue (not to mention that your guests will have less notice to make sure they’re able to attend).
Seasonal Wedding Booking Advice
Let’s look in a little more detail at the factors that can affect demand you should be aware of when requesting to visit wedding venue locations such as Canvas House, or making those initial enquiries.
Spring
Spring is a very popular time to get married, as we enjoy long hours of daylight and pleasant weather. You’ll likely be up against a lot of competition for peak Spring weekend weddings.
Summer
Summer is when we see the most weddings, due to the warm weather, time off work over the festive period, and the added demand of a Christmas wedding (more on that below). You may need to secure your venue two years or more in advance if your heart is set on a summer wedding in an especially popular location or wedding venue.
Autumn
Early autumn can be popular as an overspill from summer wedding bookings, however as the weather starts to get colder you may find the demand lessens slightly. Getting married in Autumn can be beautiful, surrounded by rich colours. Here in Melbourne, you may not suffer from cooler temperatures, but either way the AV heating and cooling system in our event space will keep you and your guests the perfect temperature.
Winter
Winter tends to see the least demand for wedding venue bookings. You can create a cosy, warm ambience in an indoor venue, but remember you’ll have to establish adequate lighting and heating solutions.
Calendar Dates
Keep in mind key calendar dates that may affect demand for wedding venues. The obvious period is Christmas and New Year, where you’ll see a dramatic spike in demand and subsequently price, the closer to the festive holiday you get.
The same applies to Valentine’s Day on 14th February, however you may find the inverse to be true on months that feature a ‘Friday 13th’ in their calendar. If you’re not superstitious, this could be a great opportunity to secure a better price for your dream venue.
However, this also applies if you’re having a destination wedding. For example, did you know that in Italy it’s considered very unlucky to get married on 22nd July? In Bali, the wet season between December and February is mostly avoided due to frequent heavy rains.
Wedding Venue Booking Timeline & Other Services
Booking your wedding venue should be at the bottom of the pyramid. Here’s a quick rundown on the estimations of when you should consider looking into the other services you may want or require for your wedding day.
12 – 24 Months Before
- Wedding venue
- Wedding planner
10 – 12 Months Before
- Photographer
- Florist
- Caterer
- Make-up artist
- Hairdresser
8 – 10 Months Before
- Music
- Entertainment
- Registrant
- Invitations
- Wedding Couple Attire
- Wedding Vehicle
6 – 8 Months Before
- Groomsmen & Bridesmaid Attire
- Wedding Cake
- Equipment Rental
- Guest Transportation
3 – 6 Months Before
- Wedding rings
- Wedding favours
1 Month Before
- Wedding Attire Alterations
Tips For Handling Unexpected Changes
Providing yourself with enough time to make adjustments should you experience any unexpected cancellations will help your peace of mind. But it’s important to give yourself some level of flexibility too in case your own plans change, which is why we recommend staggering those other bookings.
Conclusion
To summarise, booking your wedding venue nice and early – especially for peak seasons or calendar dates – should be at the top of your priority list. The rest can follow, and won’t have as much of an impact on the rest of your wedding planning.
To ensure the smoothest wedding venue booking process – why not come here! At our luxurious venue space a stonesthrow from Melbourne CBD, you’ll benefit not only from state-of-the-art amenities and a beautiful venue boasting high-vault ceilings to host your special occasion, you’ll also get the party-planning expertise that makes our team so great at what they do.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch and tick off that first, exciting step on your wedding planning adventure. Fill out our quick enquiry form, give us a call on 0478 056 390 or send an email with your ideal dates in mind.
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