Engagement Season

Published January 2, 2025

Christmas and New Year; the festive season, also known as ‘engagement season’, in the wedding world.

Landowners, venues and suppliers have geared up, having just finished counting the number of turkeys and brussels sprouts required. They have now switch their heads to how to WOW our new prospective couples!

Venues, including landowners for outdoor events are the first-place couples will look to source and confirm. Building their suppliers around the selected venue offering.

We know you have already delved into googles images searching for the Instagramable picture that shows you the venues which might be right for you. But what sort of venue do you have in mind?. Is it traditional, modern, funky, way out there, festival vibes, or something understated and serene? 

Everyone’s perfect wedding is so different. But it is all YOU and the vision YOU have for YOUR special day!

As it’s engagement season, there will be several wedding fayres/showcases going on in your area. This is a great starting point for checking out venues, suppliers and seeing what is available. Also what is the new trend for the coming years.  What it looks like, tastes like, feels like in person.  It will help work out what you like and what you don’t. Which can be just as important and to help you with new ideas.

They say stepping into THE right venue is like putting on THE dress. YOU will know from your initial step through the door whether it’s the right fit, feel, ambience for you.  It is also worth continuing show rounds in venues you don’t get that feeling for too, this will help you work out what you don’t want which is equally important.

Once you have the right venue, the people in that venue are just as important. You will be entrusting your most important day to them to organise and run, so you can enjoy your dream wedding on the day, not worry!

Then it’s onto how to personalise it and make your day’ speak to your guests about both of you, some bits will be about one of you, but how you intertwine with each other… how romantic is that?!

Before you start your search, have a clear idea of budget and stick to it, if not it will end up in heartache.

You need to follow a few rules, ensure your master plan is understood.

  • Make sure you understand the payment schedules for the venue and suppliers.
  • Make sure you are happy with the co-ordinator at the venue, and they are understanding how YOUR day looks. 
  • Ensure the suppliers are the ones YOU want, and that they can liaise with all your other suppliers.

Decide who is going to deal with the co-ordinator-this should be the only person that gives instruction to the co-ordinator. Could be the bride, the groom, the mother-in-law, the best man or bridesmaid? but just one person!  The co-ordinator will then refer to that person should anyone else try to get involved-this is the only way to get the day you want! (and certainly, cuts out the stress!)

Some couples will want to organise everything themselves; others want a full-on event manager to take the stress of organising.  This is YOUR day, what do YOU want-don’t be afraid to ask for help….

Do venues mark up significantly for weddings ?

Weddings are all about the detail, minute but significant details, both beforehand, setup and during execution on the day. This cannot be said for any other event you will organise for any other occasion.  If you want the attention to detail for the whole process organising and executing your day, time is a significant factor. You will also not want to share space with other couples.

Organising

Organising a wedding can be stressful and very quickly it can go from excitement to total overwhelm.  Move at your own pace, decide on things when you are ready and not before, if you have a particular date someone else may also want this date, so there may be pressure to sign from the venue and suppliers-if you aren’t ready DON’T sign- it’s probably not right for you and something better/more suitable will be around the corner.

Insurance- we are not able to recommend insurance, but often you are spending something like buying a car-whether new or second hand…you wouldn’t drive off in it unless you were insured. None of us know what is around the corner so cover yourselves.

www.borrowmygarden.co.uk is a great starting point for venue finding if an outdoor wedding is the wedding of your dreams.

Hello! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience while browsing. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy to accept cookies. You can view details of our cookie policy here.