Venues and Visits in a Lockdown

Dates are going pretty quick so they may not be lying. We want to get married in May 2023 but have already been told by a couple of venues that our date isn't available. One told us that all dates in May had gone so we'd actually need to change to April if we wanted to get married there! We were told this last week though so the chances are that April could be gone now too

I think it's hard at the moment because we're not having the 'proper' experiences. Virtual tours and not being able to see venues doesn't make the wedding planning as fun as I imagine it would be in a normal world.

Hope you manage to find one that you love!

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I agree Laura, it is very difficult for all concerned, the venues obviously want their bookings especially after such a terrible year for them revenue wise but us Brides and Grooms also want the real experience!

We got engaged before Christmas and planned for summer 2022, we are being told it is busy though which is disappointing as we felt we had loads of time!

Good luck with the virtual viewings.

I spoke to my venue regarding rescheduling today and they have no weekends until September 2022 left. So yeah summer days are sparse and if you want to get married in high season I would not wait till you can visit all. Do a video tour and book the one you like best. Then visit once lockdown ends. Risking the deposit but otherwise you risk not getting a summer date. Unless you are happy to settle for a weekday if it comes to it. I have heard of many booking based on virtual tours. Even before lockdown many venues would book out on summer weekends up to 2 years ahead so you kinda already cutting it tight....

Hi Katie!

I got engaged on New Years Eve and have had two virtual viewings and a lot of email conversations with venues already. I actually wanted to book the first place we looked at (virtually of course) but every Saturday from April through to the end of October in 2022 was booked (and we want a Saturday for sure).

2022 is going to be such a mad year for weddings, I think people are booking based on virtual viewings just to secure a date. The places we’ve spoken to are taking refundable deposits to hold dates, and they’re saying that when lockdown eases you’ve got two weeks to visit and make a decision before they hold you to anything or take your deposit. We actually just booked our venue today and again, there were very limited dates available, so I’m happy to have pinned one down. Obviously if I visit in a few weeks/months and I hate it then we are in trouble! ??
Good luck on your hunt!

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Hi Laura (also in Surrey)

We got engaged in November 2020 and thought we would have loads of time if getting married in July 2022, turns out the longer the pandemic goes on, the busier summer 2022 is becoming. We managed one viewing in person before Christmas and then the other 4 places we had earmarked have been communicating by email. We haven't had a virtual viewing yet but two of them have offered this. I am just frustrated that one venue are pressing for a decision and want a non refundable £1000 deposit without a physical visit. Another venue had a much better situation where they would take £500 after a virtual viewing to save your date and £500 after a physical viewing if you still liked that place. They would refund your £500 if you didn't like the venue on a physical viewing. It would be great if they all did this.

We are one of the couples you mention who have booked their wedding without seeing the venue at all in person! So we do exist! Hi!

The reason we booked without viewing in person is that we only got engaged this Christmas and want to marry asap (we've ended up booking June 2021). We knew that if we waited until lockdown was over that places might be fully booked and we just wouldn't have time to plan the rest of the wedding. So we had an online Zoom viewing, read lots of reviews and saw lots of pictures and decided to just go for it! We have the mindset of that it is an experienced venue with excellent reviews, so we are trusting all will be well!

If we were happy to wait to marry, we might not have booked without viewing in person - I guess it depends on if you are willing to wait if your preferred date(s) gets snapped up in the meantime.

Hi Laura

Yes were experiencing the same. Got engaged last July and then got lots of pressure to visit before second lockdown. We couldn't go as I had to shield. We haven't decided Surrey or North East yet but I'd like to visit 2 potentials in each area before deciding but they're all saying theyre booked in 2022 (we had hoped for school holidays as a lot of my friends are teachers). So now we've decided if they're full when we decided, we will either wait a year or longer. Its important to me to have the wedding I've always dreamed of.

Hi, we got engaged over Christmas and booked our venue for august 2022 without viewing and only a video tour but our venue is being really good and has said when we visit if it isnt for us then they'll refund the deposit we paid. We looked at loads of photos, read reviews on the venue and the restaurant that provides the food and had a video tour of the castle including the guest rooms and bridal suite

Thank you for your replies, we have had one virtual and one physical viewing so far but feel like time is running out as we want a Saturday in July next year. The other issue I am having is that some communications are not getting through as staff at the venues are on furlough or flexi furlough and not answering emails regularly. We have another virtual viewing this weekend so hopefully we can make a decision soon. I was disappointed that one venue wanted £1000 deposit on confirmation but were not keen on offering to refund it if we didn't like the venue on actually visiting. Another venue had a much better system of offering refunds but they didn't have our date! So all a little bit frustrating at the moment but we will get there! Good luck to all x

We got engaged on Christmas Day and I wanted a May 2022 wedding, but we haven’t been able to get this. We ended up securing the 1st October as the closest Saturday over a pre-recorded tour followed by a virtual tour and went ahead on the proviso that if we really didn’t like it when we saw the venue post lockdown we would get a refund of our deposit. It seemed the only way forward; especially as we lost out on 2 dates before that, and we had another couple wanting the date we had provisionally booked! Venues have said that there are couples holding dates for next year ‘just in case’ their wedding doesn’t go ahead this year, must be very difficult for them. But maybe once things are a little more normal and weddings can go ahead again this year there may be some dates freed up for those provisionally held. Who knows?! It’s crazy times and at one point we had 3 dates that may be coming available but that they wouldn’t know until later in the year. We decided that we didn't want to wait until 2023 so bit the bullet and went for it so we could move on a bit. I would def want the offer of a refund and we made sure this was in the contract before we signed. Good luck everyone! X