When to book a venue?

[Deleted User]

This is slightly hypothetical, since we haven't toured the venue yet, but FI and I have found a venue that we love from the pictures we have seen. The price is also extremely fantastic, compared to the other venues that I have heard from. We are about 90% positive that we will be having the ceremony and reception there, but we're still about 1 years and 8 months out. When would you all recommend that we book? How soon is too soon?

PrettyGirlLost

bookishgiraffe said:

This is slightly hypothetical, since we haven't toured the venue yet, but FI and I have found a venue that we love from the pictures we have seen. The price is also extremely fantastic, compared to the other venues that I have heard from. We are about 90% positive that we will be having the ceremony and reception there, but we're still about 1 years and 8 months out. When would you all recommend that we book? How soon is too soon?

We booked our reception venue over a year before our wedding.  Reception venues, photographers, MUA, caterers, etc.  book 1.5 to 2 years out in my area.

So once you meet with them and confirm they really are right for you, I say book!

lyndausvi

We booked 15 months out.    Some dates book up faster than others.  Some venues also book up faster than others.  It might not be a bad idea to at least investigate.  Just because you fell in love with a place means it will be sitting there waiting for you.

mikenberger

We booked 16 months in advance and by 12 months before, the entire venue was booked Fri and Sat from May 1-Sept 30.

If you love it and can afford it, book it.

floridabride44

I'd recommend just doing whatever you need to do to become 100% sure, which might involve just scoping out some other venues to make you feel better about your original venue. Don't book if you're not 100%, but as soon as possible just do what it takes so you can eliminate that 10% doubt that you have. Then book it! You wouldn't want to lose your dream venue on your desired date.

That being said, I got engaged in August and booked our venue for our May 2015 wedding in October. It just depends on your location and the popularity of the venue!

Also, tour the venue before you get too attached. There was one place that I was SO convinced I wanted, and then when we saw it in person it didn't even come close to living up to expectations. Plus, I learned that they only do their open bar packages by consumption which freaked me out since our friends/family are pretty big drinkers. Tour your potential venue soon to get a feel for it. Good luck! 

mlg78

If you love it then the sooner, the better.  Lock in prices now!

wrigleyville

Tour it ASAP. If you love a venue, it's never too soon to book. It's better than waiting and then losing your date to someone else. We had our venue booked about 16 months in advance.

vulpiepop

Venues, especially venues that regularly do weddings, get booked up pretty early. Tour the venue and if you really love it book it! The sooner the better. We booked our venues pretty early and are glad we did when we saw all of their prices rise.

downtondiva

Book it as soon as you are certain it's the venue you want, especially if you're getting married at a popular time of year. FI and I booked our venue less than 2 months after we got engaged; we knew it was what we wanted, and since we are getting married in October, we figured we should make sure we got the date we wanted before someone else did! 

MandyMost

We booked our venue almost a year and a half out, with the intention of a Fall wedding (September/October). We ended up going for early November, because the only weekend left in October was a crazy weekend in the city where hotels would have been impossible (consider this if getting married in a city!), and the only weekend left in September was very early September. 

The other venues we looked at were all at least half booked a year and a half out. 

atlastmrsg

As soon as possible after you visit and confirm you like it and the photos are current.

I contacted my venue 17 months before wedding.  They penciled me in for date, but didn't have a contract ready for me to sign until more like 14-15 months out.  Either way, I had it reserved and was willing to execute the moment I knew I liked it to ensure I'd have a May date.  There are only so many Saturdays in spring/summer/fall.

sames52915

We booked ours 10 months before - but that is only because our wedding will be 11 months after our engagement. Everywhere we looked said that once you find the right place book it ASAP. If we were having a longer engagement we would have booked it far in advance. We actually lucked out that we were able to find venues with availability in the month we wanted. A few places I called/looked at were not only booked when we wanted, but even out 1-2 years.

So if you are sure, do it! You don't want to take any chances with someone else getting your date.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for all of your advice! We finally got in to see the venue and we were very impressed! We've got our date set and booked so we're finally getting things done!

Knottie16024652

My venue was a bit strange, it's owned by the Parks Dept so I had to wait until it was 364 days before my wedding to book. Also, the first person that calls the Monday a year before the date gets the venue, so the first day we could call for 10/10/15 there were about 20 other people calling in trying to book the date. VERY STRESSFUL. 

So in short, I did book mine a year in advance, but I would have sooner if I could have! 

[Deleted User]

Go to the place & tour it & confirm if you want it or not. Any place that is good and is available for a good price, will go quickly. Plus if you book them know, you've locked that price in. if you wait until later this year or even next year, it may be booked or the price might increse.

blabla89

I would not book it sight unseen, but there's nothing wrong with booking early once you've toured the place, gotten all your questions answered, and know that it's where you want to get married.

cspolales

If you really have found a place you love you should book it. As long as they're taking reservations there's no such thing as "too soon."  My FI and I booked our venue almost 2 years before our event. We absolutely fell in love with the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia! The price was perfect, it had all of the amenities I wanted (large outdoor space, tent provided by the venue in case of weather issues, a great interior, and the most AMAZING food from the caterer).  I'm getting married in October which is a really popular month, so I booked our date as soon as I knew it was the venue I wanted!

Good Luck!

dcbride86

I booked my venue almost 2 years before the wedding.  In DC, venues book pretty early, and I fell in love with this one, and wanted my wedding in the spring, so we just went with it!  Also, we had to plan around every Jewish and Christian holiday, so we wanted to make sure we got a weekend that actually worked.

Good luck!!

haleyk620

My FI and I booked our reception venue 1.5 years in advance. (We are also from a fairly small town with limited options when it comes to venues.) I'm glad we did this early on because I know of several other people from my hometown getting married the same day!

yankeefaniniowa

It depends on the venue, availability in the area and the season. My venue was a winery and because of the scenery we had to jump on it as soon as possible for our summer wedding. If you love it, I'd book it ASAP. Make sure you visit and ask questions. Look at the contract. Some of these ladies had to help me out a bit with venue woes over in Wedding 911. Even though I love love love my venue, that doesn't make it any less of a pain in the butt. And if I'd have booked it later 1) I wouldn't have gotten our date and 2) We wouldn't have been able to set aside enough alcohol from the winery for our reception. 

SP29

At least a year out- depends on the month you'd like to get married and your area, but some places can book up even 2 years in advance!

Definitely tour it first, and tour a couple other places to be sure, but if you like it- it offers what you want at a great price- then I say go for it! I *suppose* you might see another venue and think, "But oh! This place is SO beautiful", but really, it's a room. As long as the venue you like has the service and options you are looking for, go for it. 

[Deleted User]

We booked our venue in October 2014 for our May 2016 wedding. We actually wanted to get married sooner, but in my area, venues book up at least a year and a half early! We actually got the last Saturday slot in May 2016... everything else was gone. So after you tour, I'd recommend booking quickly. It's never too early.

julieanne912

We got engaged Feb 4th.  I had my venue booked by Feb 7th.  I had seen it before, FI hadn't but he didn't really care.  Our wedding is September 12th, and the only reason that date was available was because of a cancellation a couple days before I called.  Otherwise she had some very late fall dates available (which is very iffy here in Colorado for weather), or not until next year.  Everything else in our price range that was decent was booked through 2015 and even some into 2016.

So, I would say as soon as you see it and like it, book it.  

[Deleted User]

First, I would visit it in person.  I thought I found my perfect venue because of the price, but when I went to visit I was not impressed.   

After you've visited it, I would book ASAP.   I booked my venue a year before my wedding.  

madamerwin

We booked our venue 14 months out, and we got one of the last open Saturdays from May-August. Definitely tour it first, and if you are 100% sure, book it!

But it also depends on your wedding season and location - I am sure there are plenty of venues that book solid 1.5 years out for summer weddings, but still have openings for winter a few months out. Maybe talk to the venue and see how that's played out for them in the past.

Knottie1439450033

We booked our wedding venue one year before. We wanted to get married in Vaughan . I always imagined getting married in a chateau with beautiful Victorian decor. We were lucky to find Le Jardin banquet hall in Vaughan with a reasonable rent.

Viczaesar

Zombie thread.