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Why you should: Save on your venue, splurge on your decor
Let's face it - having Pinterest in our lives for so many years has given us all of us very definitive ideas about how we want our weddings (or events) to look. Those masses of flowers and velvet chairs you've been envisioning for years can quickly add up on top of the rest of your wedding day costs.
If a gorgeous floral moment is something you have your heart set on (and trust us, it should be!) the easiest way to fund that dream is to see where you can slash costs from your big-ticket items - namely the venue.
The more high-end, established and popular venues can charge pretty exorbitant fees to couples just to book your date. They have the reputation and the clout to be able to charge whatever they want since their high demand is based on their name recognition. This means that sometimes you're sinking anywhere from $10k to $40k on just the venue itself - with nary a chair rental, table, or catered dinner insight to show for it.
Sometimes all it takes is to think outside the box or outside your location. Venues located in small towns can be just as wonderful as the popular destination spots such as Napa or Mendocino. Try venues in Nevada County or Placerville. As long as you have your friends it doesn’t matter the location.
Venue booking fees can quickly take a large bite out of your overall budget in one fell swoop - it's definitely worth exploring smaller, newer, off the beaten path venues if you want to stretch your dollars further. Find an area that you like and start hunting around - avoid venues that look like they've had zillions of weddings there and have been featured in tons of blogs. Places that are popular are less likely to negotiate and will stick to their existing rate card.
When you're inspecting these potential (and slightly cheaper) venues, make sure you consider the following. Does the architecture have good bones? Will you have to bring in a TON of decor to make it hospitable and beautiful to your guests? Are the bathrooms decent - or are you going to have to rent fancy bathroom trailers? Is the location not TOO far away for guests to commute? Remember, you want your guests to reminisce about the love between the couple and the gorgeous flowers, not the 3-hour drive back to the hotel post-party.
Also, keep in mind that you foresee a good working relationship with the company or individual that manages or owns the venue. Since you'll potentially be bringing in a lot of outside vendors to transform the space, it's important that their team is on board and equipped to deal with problems as they pop up.
Since we've got you all gung-ho about nixing the Ritz and finding your own personal oasis, here is a list of Northern California locations we're excited about, and won't break the bank.
