How Far in Advance Should you Book Your Wedding Venue?

How Far in Advance Should you Book Your Wedding Venue?

If I were recently engaged, I would focus on what is most important to both my fiancé and me first before choosing a wedding date and wedding venue location. If we wanted the most popular wedding venue in Denver, on the most popular wedding date of the year, we’d probably need to book our venue 16 – 24 months in advance due to competition. However, if saving money was most important to us, we may be willing to book a venue 6 – 9 months out to take advantage of “short term booking” discounts. There’s really no set timeframe, but there are many very important things to consider before you run out and book your wedding venue.

 

Elegant Indoor Denver Wedding Venue

 

Things you need to consider before choosing your wedding venue and date:

• Educate yourselves on what a wedding costs for the guest size you want first
• Family and friend’s availability
• Do you have to have a specific date?
• Do you want a peak Saturday?
• Type of venue you prefer (indoor or outdoor, rustic vs. elegant, etc.)
• Guest size – large or small wedding
• Time needed to save
• DIY or All-inclusive venue considerations
• What season do you prefer?
• Bridal gown timeline considerations
• Night of the week
• Honeymoon (travel costs & weather considerations)
• Complexity of the wedding
• Availability of any “must have” vendors

 

Educate yourselves on what a wedding costs for the guest size you want first

On average, the most expensive wedding expenses are the wedding venue ($6,500–$12,000), the catering ($6,500–$10,000), the band or DJ ($2,000–$7,000), and the photographer ($3,500–$6,500). As far as Colorado and comparing wedding costs, an all-inclusive Denver Wedding venue vs. A DIY venue, will be very different in costs and effort in planning. This article should give you some more insight:

Average cost of a wedding

 

Are your most important family members and closest friends available on the date you’re considering?

• If your fiancé is in the military and can only take a leave on a specific week, you’ll need to consider this first; don’t just assume the military will work around your preferred dates.
• Military Leave for family members- consider family in the military who may only have specific times open in the year.
• If you’re blending a family, and only have a few good dates that work for everyone around school, sports, etc.

 

Specific “must have” dates that mean something to you personally:

• Numerology can help you choose a wedding date by assigning meanings to numbers and calculating your marriage number.
• If you want a very popular date like 5-5-25 or 5-25-25, it’s best to reserve these dates at least a year in advance.

If you want a Peak Saturday

• If you want a peak Saturday in the state or location you’re considering, it is also best to book at least a year in advance, as these Saturdays get booked up first.

 

Private Wedding venues with a capacity of 250 or more are hardest to find

Book as soon as possible if you have a very large guest count and don’t want a hotel conference room, as there are far less private venues available that host 250 – 350 guests. Although hotels can generally hold more guests, they too can get booked far in advance for conferences. Hotels do not give you the intimacy that a private family owned wedding venue can, nor do they typically have a private area for family formals. The carpet often times clashes with the couples colors and decor, and it takes a lot of money to transform a conference room into an elegant wedding reception. Therefore, if you want a private venue, it’s best to reserve your date with these types of venues as soon as you’re able.

 

 

Complexity of your wedding:

Planning an elaborate wedding with hundreds of guests and intricate logistics? Booking your venue well in advance (12-18 months) allows ample time for discussions with your wedding planner, the venue coordinator, and all of your preferred vendors, to ensure smooth execution of your vision. Leave yourself plenty of time to plan out the necessary details 

 

If hosting a smaller Wedding:

Smaller, more intimate weddings with fewer guests might have more flexibility in terms of booking timelines. However, even for smaller affairs, securing your date at least 6 months in advance gives you a head start on vendor coordination and ensures you don’t miss out on the perfect space.

 

Time needed to save for your wedding:

• If you’re unsure of the amount of money your family can contribute, don’t create unnecessary stress on yourselves by booking a venue too soon. Make sure your budget and the time needed to save all of the money you need is realistic. 
• If you realize after review the costs, that getting a deal is most important to you, then a shorter booking timeframe will usually save you the most by taking advantage of “short-term booking” discounts.

 

Bridal gown

A typical turnaround time for a bridal gown is around 6 to 9 months from the time of ordering to receiving the dress at the bridal salon, which includes production time and shipping, with most experts recommending starting your search 8-10 months before your wedding to allow for alterations as well

• On average, it takes 6 – 8 months to receive a wedding dress after ordering it.
• Alterations can take 2 – 3 months

Here’s a helpful Comprehensive Wedding Dress Shopping Timeline

If you are set on hiring a specific photographer or DJ 

If you know you’re in love with a certain photographer, or florist, or DJ, don’t book your wedding venue before speaking with them to find out their availability.

 

In season flowers

If you are very particular about the flowers you want in you bouquets, ceremony decor and reception, and these flowers are “out of season” on the date you’re considering, this may play a factor in budget and ultimately the date you choose.

 

Honeymoon considerations

When would you like to take your honeymoon? If  its during peak travel times, you should you consider into your budget  before booking your wedding venue and date? Keep in mind, popular wedding dates in May and June tend to coincide with a spike in international travel rates and traffic. Viewing weather patterns and rainy seasons in the country you’re considering, need to be taken into consideration also.

 

So, How Far in Advance Should you Book Your Wedding Venue?

As you can see from this detailed list, it really does “depend”.