Wedding venue doubts

I'll be honest our venue wasn't my first choice to get married in I did like it but it didn't make me go WOW. I do love my venue no, it has grown on me and when it came down to it me and OH needed to think practically- my first choice venue had no accomodation so our venue was the logical choice- this one also had a better package. In the end I'm glad we made the choice and the venue has really grown on me and I can picture my wedding there and no where else- not everyone has the 'WOW this is our venue moment' and as long as you don't hate it I'd say go for it

That's very reassuring - I was hoping that I wasn't the only one and clearly I wasn't I imagine once you have a place booked and you can start to picture the day that initial wow this is our venue isn't the be all and end all

I didn't have the 'wow' thing with our venue either. It offered the best package for us in terms of flexibility, food, price etc but I'd always dreamed I'd get married somewhere a bit grander. However, it has grown on me as it does fit who we are (we're not very grand people!) and the venue co-ordinator was by far the best we found and to be honest we we felt so much confidence in her that it really swung it for us. If it's a nice day, our venue willbe amazing (getting married in the agrden, next to the old mill pond) but if it's inside it will be nice, but just nice, not 'wow'. However, we'll do our best with decor etc and at the end of the day it's where I will marry the most amazing man in the world, so that will make it 'wow' to me!

Hi

Not sure whereabouts in Worcestershire you are thinking about or when but my mother in law went to a wedding here and she said it was a fab venue.

http://www.springhillhouse.co.uk/Weddings.htm

I think you have to like your venue but also it has to work. If you find a venue that has the wow factor and works practically then great but if you find one that you do like but caters for everything you want then it may be enough. In my opinion its really important that a venue is going to give you the service you want so take that into consideration.

Out of interest (my parents live in Worcestershire so spend a lot of time there!) which venue are you considering?

Anna

My venue never gave me the wow factor when we looked round it but, I knew it was the best that we'd seen and it ticked all our boxes.

But then, I never got the wow facotr with anything to do with the wedding...... my dress was the same, I loved it and knew it was by far the vest I'd tried on but, I never got "the one" feeling. Maybe it was just me!

On the day, it was the best wedding I could imagine for us and I can't imagine getting married anywhere else or having anything different.

I too didnt get an absolute wow with our venue when I first saw it. I dont think I am that picky, but ended up seeing over 20 places & nothing suited. We only had 60 guests & most venues had a min of say 80 guests, some didnt have suitable access for elderly relatives, some venues were just far too large for a smaller group etc.

When I saw our venue done ready for someone elses wedding was the first time I thought it looked really good & was glad we had picked it. Did you see your venue bare or done ready for a wedding? It can make a huge difference.

I felt like this too - I didn't love our venue at first, especially as we looked at a grander venue but then could not afford it. But our chosen venue is more 'us' and is actually lovely. I think you will be lucky to find one place which ticks ALL the boxes (especially if you are on a limited budget), so you need to figure out which are the most important boxes to tick! My OH pointed out that on the day, wherever you get married, you will love it - just look at DTTB!!

Yup, I'd agree with this. At the end of the day, we're all lucky now that we have a choice. Not so long ago, it was the local church, regardless of how photogenic it was, and a reception at a local hotel, or village/church hall. Certainly when I was a child (1970s) that was the case, it wasn't until relatives started marrying in the 80s/90s that there were long journeys to posh reception venues after the church. We have all this choice now, and sometimes having pretty unlimited choice can mean we're never happy! I'd say as long as the food is good at the venue you'll be fine (decor is very much an each-to-their-own thing, bad food will be noticed by most people), so stop worrying and enjoy yourself

Wow thankyou for all the responses - this surely calms any worries I had that I was the only one!!!

The venue we have decided on is Billesley Manor in Stratford - it's a Barcelo hotel which I wasn't keen on but the food looks lovely and the venue is very nice and because it's Barcelo comes in on our budget! Also has a really lovely little church on site where you can have a blessing following the civil ceremony which is actually the church where William Shakespeare married Ann Hathaway (or so we are told!)

Going to see the venue again tomorrow set up for someones wedding which I'm hoping will make it slightly easier to picture as the ceremony room was set up for breakfast when we went!!

Thanks again everybody!

Aaahhh now that's where I married first time round. Lovely place. And no, Shakespeare married in what is now the music room of the girl's grammar school (I went there!). It was independent, not Barcelo, when I got married there, and rather pricey, but the staff were great and sorted so much out for me. Hope you have a great day!

I didn't fall in love with my venue. It was the best we viewed in two counties and my OH loved it so we went for it. I am really happy with it but always imagined something grander. It was by far the best we found & ticked nearly all the boxes so, in the same way the perfect house doesn't exist when house hunting, the perfect venue doesn't exist when wedding planning (for me anyway!). As long as when you think of your wedding you feel excited and happy, you picked the right place.