How long did it take you to find THE ONE?

MrsDouthit

Just curious, how long did it take you ladies to find your ceremony and/or reception venue(s)? How many did you contact? How many did you actually go tour?

I'm feeling a little over-whelmed. lol

mstallae

We only looked at one in person and booked it that same day!

I did however do extensive research via internet and phone and looked into prices / location/ etc. 

The reason we picked the one we did was the prices were very reasonable, they allowed us to purchase our own liquor liscence and bartending staff (cheaper) and if we were to do a cash bar to set the prices (we are not planning to do this but at the time we were undecided) and we are able to cancel up to 3 months before and get a FULL refund (almost UNHEARD OF) because FI is in the military and there may God forbid be last minute changes. After the 3 month cut off we are able to get 50% of our deposit back if needed as long as we can prove cancellation is for "military reasons" (ie he is deployed or forced to go on a course at that time).  This is pretty unlikely given our particular situation but its really nice to have that buffer. 

krispi921

It took a little over a month after we got engaged. I had done some preliminary internet surfing before we were engaged, but hadn't actually contacted anyone or anything. Budget was a big factor for us. I made a spreadsheet comparing about 5 different venues. From there, we narrowed it down and visited 3 of them. The one we picked was the best for our budget, and also incredibly easy to work with.

emeejeeayen

It was the first we visited. I would say we visited maybe 10 other locations in both California and New York before deciding the first one we visited in CA was "the one." 

egeurts

I did extensive research online and called a bunch of places in order to narrow down location- we were deciding between where we currently live or our hometown. The budget difference was HUGE, so we went with our hometown, and then we visited probably 4 or 5 different places. I visited 2 with him, and then I had to leave to go to school (I live out of state during the school year) and then he took over the search with our moms. The three of them decided on the last venue as being the best one. They discussed it with me even though I couldn't see it in person, I looked at it online and had been there before. We booked it, and I saw it a few months later when I was home to visit. All in all, from when we really started planning the wedding to when we signed a venue contract, it was probably about 3 months. 

Everything turned out perfectly in the end. 

MuppetFan

In Response to How long did it take you to find THE ONE?:
[QUOTE]Just curious, how long did it take you ladies to find your ceremony and/or reception venue(s)? How many did you contact? How many did you actually go tour? I'm feeling a little over-whelmed. lol
Posted by MrsDouthit[/QUOTE]

Well, we both thought it would be amazing to have it at my uncle's lake house but didn't want to ask. When he offered it, we thought it was a sign and were elated. It ended up being way too much for me to coordinate so we basically just went with a place my friend used years ago because it was the nicest, most economical solution...nothing romantic about finding it, but the day will be romantic...and it is a good venue.