New Bride To Be... don't know where to start!!

you got it there, rough guest lsit sdo you know numbers youl need venue to accomodate! then happy viewing

congrats and welcome to hitched!!!! where r u based?

Hello and congratulations! I have n't been on here long but you will get all the help and advice you need. I think most people pick a venue first then that way you will know what type or theme your wedding will be, then possibly your dress!! Happy planning and if in doubt just ask away!

You will soon get the bug, and Hitched it very addictive!

Have fun!

Zoe x

I would suggest looking at a rough draft of a guest list, do you want everyone at the day time do or are you going to have a party in the evening too which more guests will be invited to who won't be invited to the day do? You'll need to bear that sort of thing in mind when looking at venues. Venues get booked up very early so that really needs to be a top priority - everything from there will start to fall into place! Try not to get stressed, it's a happy time, enjoy it!

If you'd like any help please feel free to contact me!

Hiya,

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I'm in Barnsley but originally from Essex, we've decided to get married up here in the North... waiting for the disapproving comments from my Southern lot!!

Hi and welcome…you will soon find that Hitched becomes your sounding board for everything wedding related!

First piece of advice before doing any guest list or thinking about any venues is to sit down with your OH and a nice bottle of something cold and sparkly and a big pad of paper and brainstorm ideas. We did this when we first got engaged and quickly realised that neither of us wanted the big formal wedding, it just wasn’t us, so it made venue shopping a lot easier! I know you say that you never thought about getting married (I too was once one of those women!!) but is there a time of year you would prefer to get married? Some people immediately know they want a Spring wedding or Christmas…so that has an effect on things.

The way I see it, if you concentrate on what makes you happy as a couple, everything else falls into place!

Welcome to Hitched.

We did a guest list, then narrowed it down to who we want from those people at the ceremony and who at the night time. Once you know how many people you'll be having you can then look for a suitable venue.

Everyone here has loads of tips and ideas, and it's a great place for inspiration. xx

I'm a southerner who has moved "tup north" they accept you after a while.

If you need some help - my wife is a wedding planner, and I am a photographer

Good luck with the planning "me duck"

Hi

Welcome to hitched, everyone gets a bt overwhelmed at first. The first week I was so worried, but as soon as I got a few spreadsheets going everything sudenly felt fun and much more managable!

Guestlist/ venue is a bit of a chicken and egg, you need a venue that can fit your guest list but if you find the perfect venue you want to make sure your guests arnt squashed/ rolling about it in.

My advice, same as most others above, is to do a provisonal guest list first.

Also i would say that even if some venues say their capacity is X they may be able to squeeze some more chairs in and are just being cautious- that is of course far easier in a civil wedding that a church where they cant just squeeze in another pew!

I visited 4 venues in one day with OH and my mum and we had a clear winner, although I had already been there for afternoon tea so I knew I liked it!

Congratulations on your engagement and welcome to Hitched! Fun times ahead!

One other helpful thing to do is work out a rough budget for the wedding - this may impose restrictions on numbers of guests and also type of venue. (Like a very grand mansion venue with 200 guests may not be do-able on a £3000 budget.)

Congrats!

I'd say the first thing to do is sit down with the other half and have a quick brainstorm. Then get a ball park budget in your head, you'll need that when you start to look at venues!

Alex

Hello and Welcome!

You are absolutely right, deciding what needs doing first isn't easy. You and your OH need to consider budget, style, theme, numbers and make sure you have the same ideas before you go venue shopping. Once you have some ideas of what you want and what you ahve to spend you should contact your local registrars who should be able to provide you with a list of licensed premises.

Another bit of advice - planning goes in fits and starts, so when you find you have nothing to do just sit tight and ignore the itchy feeling.

I am the same. Although I have been engaged since May 2010, I didnt want to rush into planning something. However today we have picked a date and venue, so now eager to get planning the rest................but have no idea where to start.

We are looking at August 2012