Hi everyone,
Hope you are all well. I'm new here. My name is Jess and hoping to set a date for July 2014 :)

This might seem like a strange question but i was wondering exactly what happens when you go looking around at venues? Do they just show you round? Do they give you quote and things there and then or wait until you have gone home and email them? Also how long do they usually take?
Thanks all :)

Hi Siany
Thanks for that. How can they expect you to choose there if you feel rushed at a viewing?! Really glad you found THE venue.It sounds daft but I'm really nervous about looking around,I don't know why but I just don't like talking money with people :)

We saw a few too. A couple we found was just like a business transaction (this was big chain hotels). Hey saT us down gave us a price then left us to wonder around! Didnt like that! The one we went with we were there over an hr she sat down with us went through the wedding brochure and options available, asked if we had questions (I had loads), and then showed us round the two differrnt suites and pretty much the whole hotel (drinks reception is out on the decking so wanted to show us that) and the bridal suite and pool etc. You just get a feeling when its right. She put so much effort in and was really helpful and friendly and we fell in love with the place :) x

Different places have different approaches, I've always had the venues brochure first then contacted the venue with a few queries then gone for viewings.
Two of them gave us the wedding pack on arrival, gave us the tour, some time alone then asked what we thought.
If we liked it we sat down with them and talked details and got prices at that time, one was quite pushy about the price being limited to that day. I didn't like that.
Most ask for a decision within a couple of weeks and may hold the date for you. Others won't do anything without a deposit (often 10%)
As said its different for different places, don't feel pressured and its quite possible to haggle a little if your wedding is a weekday or out of peak season.

Most of all enjoy looking around xx

we only viewed 2 venues. I got a rough quote off both on the day we went to see them. they showed us round and let us have a wander. Mine were both hotels so im not sure about other places.
We picked the first one due to budget xxx

We just visited two. We loved the first one, and went to visit another just to make sure it wasn't 'first-venue-viewed-excitement' taking over.

At 'our' venue we arrived about 10 mins before our appointment and had a wander round outside. Then we met with one of the meeting/events coordinators and sat in the bar area (got offered a drink) and had a bit of a discussion about number of guests, and if the ceremony would be happening there too. We then got shown around the choice of rooms where they can hold weddings, she was really good and said where the top table usually goes, the dance floor/DJ etc, where the bar/toilets were. We were lucky in that they were having a wedding there later in the day so we were able to see what it would look like, and had a quick chat with the venue dresser that they reccommend. We also got shown an exclusive area near the restaurant that we and any guests staying over could have breakfast in the following morning, and a standard bedroom, and a larger executive/bridal suite room. Then we sat down again and had another chat.

We didn't get a quote there and then, but emailed later and asked for a quote, including details of exactly what we wanted after having seen the place and pondered over it.

Unless you're super rich and price isn't an issue then I would say to get an idea of prices before hand from the websites/brochures and therefore what sort of venue is within your budget, and be realistic. You don't want to be going to some fabulous place you could never afford and then up comparing all the others to that one!

We veued about 8 venues, all of which approached us as potential customers very differently. I had looked at all the brochures and made sure we could afford the prices etc. Some venues literally just said 'take a look around, ill be at the reception'. I have found that these venues were not nice overall, so we didnt ask for more information. Which i suppose was good as there was no pressure on us. That narrowed it down to three, who had showed us around properly showed us the ceremony rooms, examples of bedrooms etc.(they are all hotels). We got quotes from these three, but had a checklist of things such as prices, capacity, room costs etc, as well as 'feeling'. One stood out in the 'it just felt right' category so we went back with my parents. we arrived early, but were served drinks in the library next to the fire. The wedding co-ordinator came and sat with us, briefly covered everything for my parents, and by this point i had 2 sides of a5 full of questions i felt were important. We went through each in turn, discussing points, barganing on prices etc. The i asked to see several options for bedrooms, as well as the reception room and to meet the reverend at the on site chapel (we had already met him but my Dad wanted to meet him too), then we sat back down with another round of drinks (Served by the butler, steven, who filled us in on some of the castles history. We were given time to discuss things, at which point we asked to see the co-ordinator again and finalised prices and options before confirming the date and paying hte deposit!

Overall i am of the opinion you know when you know. The venue we chose was the second one we saw overall, but looked around several others before deciding, just based on what we had always dreamed of, and what we had seen in our price range.

The venue have been brilliant so far and answered all of my OCD questions without batting an eyelid (this means alot to me as some people have called me freaky for being so organised- needless to say i did not book them for my big day!). I think its important to filter venues out based on the facts and figures, then let your heart do the talking. As someone said earlier its no good falling in love with a venue to find out you cannot afford it!

Ooof sorry for the essay!

Have fun!!!

I viewed 2 venues, the first one were so helpful, they showed us around, showed us all the rooms, all the different areas we could use, they had answers to every question we had and if she didn't know it she went off to find out, we sat down with her with a drink and went through all our requirements and gave us a brief quote, she gave us a lovely glossy brochure to take away with me that basically told me everything she had said but meant that I could refresh my memory whenever I want, she let us wander around on our own to get a feel of the place and showed us photos of previous weddings so we could get an idea of what it was like. THe room looks completely different done up so she invited me to have a sneak peak of the room made up for a real wedding before the guests and bride and groom went in which was really nice. All the staff were really friendly, it was clean, bright and smelt nice. We were there for about 2 hours.
We went to the second venue and it couldn't have been more different, the place was filthy, she said it was because they had a function the night before but that wouldn't account for the cobwebs across the bar and the disgusting smell of too many airfreshners mixing with damp that was wafting around. We were not offered drinks, they did not discuss our requirements, just took us to the room, gave me a cheap nasty brochure and walked off leaving me and h2b wondering what we were supposed to do next. In total we were there for 10 minutes and called the first venue when we got back to the car to book it.
Go there with an idea of how many people you are going to have and a rough idea of budget, a lot of places in todays climate will work around you.The staff should be nice and polite and not make you feel like you are taking up their precious time.

Hope the viewings go well and the snow lets you get there.
x

We only viewed two venues. I knew rough prices and packages from emails/website. The first 'tour' was a disaster. Photo's on website were years out of date, then arrived to be told the owner had forgotten to put our appointment in the book so wasn't expecting us. Then he came out of his office, very drunk! He wandered round, slurring words and looking down my top before telling us "If you like it, you like it. If you don't, go home" So we went home!

Second venue, I must have said Wow a million times as we walked around. They brought us coffee while we waited, then we were shown round by a lovely lady, she answered all our questions and offered suggestions for lots of things. H2b was very quiet until we got outside and then he looked at me and said he couldn't wait to marry me there, so knew it was the one!