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Ohhh thats a tough one - have you found vendors for everything else that you know will come in under budget?
Both venues seem really nice - i would choose the less expensive one remember the guests won't know if you had a better choice and there are many areas that may also come in over budget!
Let us know what you decide!
Do you think that if you got the more expensive venue you could take money out of your decoration budget to make up the extra cost? Or would you be willing to sacrifice something else?
I haven't booked a venue yet but here is what I am thinking: Venue is pretty hugely important to me. It makes such a huge impression and sets the tone. If you love it and you can do it, I'd say go for it!
I noticed that you commented the food is suppose to be nice. It is very important that you have a tasting first before signing a contract. You have to live comfortable after the wedding also keep that in mind. FMrs.Martin Great points with the other vendors, create a spreadsheet with estimates for each vendor and know your limits.
I think you just need to evaluate what is more important to you and allocate your wedding funds based on that. For me, the venue was by far the most important part of the wedding and that is where the majority of our spending is going. Percentage wise, it takes up a huge part of our budget, but I have been doing a great job so far in cutting costs on all the other things. It is possible, I promise!
Check out the book Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. It has so many great tips on ways to save money. I've used it a lot to find ways to get great deals on other wedding items, since so much is being spent on the venue.
I think it depends on what your comfortable with. Our big splurge was our venue. We gave ourselves a 2 year engagement so we'd have time to save for it. We have had to cut back a lot in other areas-flowers, guest list, no favors, bar options-time, etc.. We both are still happy with our choice though. I'd take a step back and think, can we really afford this? If you can afford it by scrimping other places, will you still be happy with the overall look?
@Tulip61110, you are exactly right. It's about figuring out your own priorities and allocating your money accordingly.
Reception venue was, for me, really the most important thing. More important than dress, more important than photography. I want my guests to have a great time in a great place that has great food. We've secured a really iconic building in central London that actually came in lower than our other choices and exactly fit our budget for that part of the wedding. But I would have been willing to scrimp elsewhere to get the perfect place, because it was the top priority for me.
Agh, we are going through the same thing right now...So I have no advice, but can def. sympathize!!
I was in a similar situation about 4 months ago, and opted to reserve the more expensive venue. Glad we did. The background for the reception pictures were worth the extra cost alone. To offset the expense, we are nixing the wedding favors and cutting back on the ceremony flowers. Good luck!
i blew my budget for the perfect venue. At the end of the day, I didn't want to walk into my reception and be disappointed and think "I wish I had gone with X". That wasn't worth any amount of money.
I think it's all about what your priorities are. My FH and I had a list of things that were most important to us, and the venue and photography were at the top of that list, so those were the things we splurged on. We blew right past our budget with those 2 things, but I LOVE where we're getting married, and I wouldn't want it anywhere else.
I agree it's about the priorities and if you have your heart set on a venue, personally, if it is even within reach, given that you are willing to compromise on other items, I say go for it. We went with the reception venue I loved, and took into account that it would need less decor, I'd do candles instead of florals everywhere, we'd do lighting but I'd cut out some stationary items, we are doing it all in location so there's no need for transportation, extended the cocktail hour and cut the bar....
Marriage is about compromise and I believe it starts at the planning of the wedding.
Good luck!
Please scrutinize the contract(s) very carefully before you choose. I'd hate to see you choose a budget-busting venue, only to find out too late that they're going to nickel-and-dime you on every little thing ON TOP of the venue charge. (tables, chairs, linens, corkage fee, cake cutting fee, extra for required security, you must use our bar service and they'll charge you 4X more than anyone else would for each drink, etc etc etc).
If you choose to go with the budget-buster you need to be absolutely certain that they won't present you with any surprises later.
Do you like the second choice or do you hate it? BTW, the first choice is not perfect, because it's $$$$! But, if it really is perfect, then you already know your answer :-)
We had to choose between venues. Site A exceeded my budget (groom was blown away and wanted to expand the budget) and Site B was within the budget. Site A had dramatic bay views, beautiful space, no added decor needed etc. Part of unique but corporate hotel, service was going to be above and beyond. Required florist contract, but shuttles and cake contracting available, easy one stop shopping. Site B was a vineyard boutique hotel, more intimate and cozy, less capacity, known for food and wine. But ballroom really needed decor! I wanted B, Groom wanted A. We went with B and we're both so glad we did. Site A was the "over the top" wedding option, so it might have been perceived as slightly pretentious or embarrassing. Site B was beautiful but it was more discreet, it had personality and I don't think the guests would wonder how much it cost, it could go either way. We were all OOT, and as it turned out, our guest count was much smaller than anticipated (we would have been too small for Site A ballroom) and it was foggy that day (no view for all that money at Site A!!! Huge risk for this venue!). Truth be told, my compromise with groom was we'd have the rehearsal dinner at one of Site A's smaller restaurants, so we'd have both venues somehow. We added a lot of extra vendors and upgraded "stuff" in the last few months of planning, and I'm not sure if we could have done them (funfun!) if we had already shot ourselves in the foot with the more expensive Site A. My experience is, there's a lot of fun in embellishing. And there's a good chance we would have gone overbudget anyway. If you're going to go over budget, you may get more with your money if you start with your second $$$ venue than the most $$$$ venue. If you're like me and might not always be as disciplined as you intend, you may decide that you don't need a certain vendor today, but 2 months from the wedding you may decide that it would be a good idea to throw it back in. If we had picked Site A, it would have been very elegant, but it would have included a lot fewer details, and might have been less fun for me to plan because I would have had to skimp. Site B, I probably did overcompensate for not picking Site A, went overboard on embellishing Site B, but it included more personal details and choices that I spent too much time on, and it was fun. Skimping on Site A or embellishing Site B MIGHT have ended up costing about the same. But personally, I probably would have blown the budget at either venue, so it is better to exceed with the less expensive venue than to exceed the venue that already costs too much...
Not knowing your site, I don't know how close of a choice you're making. I really liked my Site B alternative and had a list of pro's and con's. Site A was more impressive and I had decision remorse after we signed the contract. In the end, our wedding was perfect! We both loved our Site B wedding, great party, no remorse, couldn't leave, must go back for 1st anniversary. I really think you will be happy with your wedding no matter what, I think a bride can make any venue work.
here's a tip: negotiate contracts with both venues, see how far down they'll go with their site fees and the cake. maybe you can get one venue to throw the cake in for free or waive cake cutting fees so you have the option to find a separate baker.
I agree with all many previous posters who say that it's all about making your priorities and allocating money accordingly.
We fell in love with our venue when we found it! It was the nicest and most expensive location that we found - but as soon as we toured it, we HAD to have it. It was an old gentlemen's club...cocktail hour on the first floor "Red Room", dinner upstairs on 3rd floor in the ballroom, cake cutting in grand foyer with balcony on 2nd floor, dancing on the first floor. We also got ready at the club with complimentary suites and stayed there that night in the honeymoon suite. It was PERFECT!!! With such a gorgeous venue, we did little-to-no "decoration" - it almost would have cheapened it.
The #1 reason we are SOOO happy that we chose this venue is because the weather was HORRIBLE on our wedding day (read: sleet, snow, wind, rain, etc.) We had scheduled a limo to take our wedding party around the city to do photos at tons of outdoor locations. But, we couldn't go outside ALL DAY! Our gorgeous venue saved the day! I was pretty upset at first, but at least our venue was GORGEOUS and it made for great pictures. Just something else to consider :)
Wow, thanks for all the great advice! Archibee, you're right I think I will try negotiating contracts with both venues to see what each rate really includes. And I totally know what you mean about all the embellishing--my fiance and I have all these ideas for fun things we want to do for the rehearsal dinner, next-day brunch, etc., and we would definitely have to curtail a lot of that if we go with the more expensive venue.
But it's a relief to see that there are so many people who chose the more expensive venue and were able to save elsewhere and were happy with their choice! That's definitely kind of what I was hoping to hear :). There's definitely part of me that thinks if I don't pick the more affordable venue I'm making the totally irresponsible choice, so I'm glad to see that's not (necessarily) the case. And I do think that venue is one of the most important parts of the whole wedding to me too, so maybe it makes sense. We haven't found other vendors yet, but I do think we could definitely save $ on decorations and the cake and favors...though I'm pretty sure we're going to have to go over budget a little on the band too, so who knows if that will actually help in the long run!
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Hi! I'm torn between two reception venues, one of which is at the very top (okay, a little bit out of) our budget. It is absolutely PERFECT, supposed to have great food, and I don't think we would have to do too much in terms of florals, lighting, etc. to dress it up because it's already gorgeous the way it is. The other is comfortably within our budget and is very nice, though I don't like it nearly as much as the other. It probably wouldn't need all that much to dress it up either though, as it has floor-to-ceiling windows and beautiful water views.
I guess I'm just wondering if any Bees have opinions on which ultimately works out better (and feels classier and nicer for the guests)--spending a lot to get the perfect venue and then having to scrimp elsewhere, or spending less to get a somewhat-less-perfect venue and then being able to spend more on other stuff? Also, am I deluding myself that if I exceed my reception budget I can still stay within my overall budget? I'm curious if anyone's been able to overspend a bit on their venue and still been able to come in within their overall budget. Thanks!!