Choosing Your Reception Location
Deciding Where Set Your Wedding Reception
You’ll have to choose your reception locale immediately after you’ve set your budget and style for your wedding. If you’re going for a formal affair with 200-plus guests, you need to scout for a banquet hall, a large restaurant, or perhaps a hotel space. If you’re marrying in the warmer months, you might search for a spot on the beach—though the site has to have indoor facilities in case of rain. Restaurants and hotels can be very formal or casual; that part is up to you.
Sights for your eyes.
If you’re dead-set on having your reception in that Historic Mansion in town, go for it: Just know ahead of time it will probably mean a smaller guest list and a lot of restrictions—ditto the fine arts museum that’s so elegant and chic. Such places are fabulously glamorous, but can seldom hold more than 100 people. For maintenance purposes, there will most likely be food limitations and sealed-off areas; some museums, for example, will not allow you to offer red wine. They might also have their own food requirements, or have an on-site catering staff you’re required to use. On the flip side, they might have limited kitchen space, which means you’re caterer will have to have to bring all the cooking and storage supplies.
Where’s the party?
Should you opt for a more casual setting, you can think about a backyard, a park, the beach, even a pub. Once again, the season factors in; anytime you book an outdoor venue there has to be a “rain” plan. This might mean taking the party inside someone’s home, or providing tents—which will add a significant amount to your budget. If you rent out a bar, make sure you know the exact timetable that the place is yours, and when the locals will be allowed to belly-up. The one surprise you don’t want at your reception is for the local hockey team to “crash” your wedding during their nightly happy-hour.
Receptions made easy.
Before you start fantasizing about where the gift table will go at the country club, make sure the site is not booked! All reception spots book up months in advance, the more popular the season, the faster they’re taken. As soon as you know the date, start making calls. Try and be flexible and have alternate days available. If you want to save money, have your reception in the afternoon, or on a weekday (another bonus: Guests drink less in the daytime and on “school nights”). Should your site be the beach or the park, you still need to call to make sure there are no restrictions against weddings, and to find out what rules you’ll have to follow. Some public parks, for instance, will forbid alcohol or open flames on the premises. All of these technicalities need to be figured out ASAP, so you can either adjust your reception plans, or move on to your second choice. And don’t fret if you end up having your reception at the third place you picked: The most important thing is that you’ll be spending the day with the number one man in your life.
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