How long did it take to book a venue?

mrsbanany · January 2014

I am sure most of you have seen my thinking out loud posts on here. But I was just wondering how long it took you from when you got engaged until you booked the venue. FI and I got engaged at the beginning of November and I started researching right away but we didn't start visiting until right after Christmas. Now we are getting close to February and still don't even have a clue as to where we are going to book. We have a list of 4 venues we want to visit but we probably won't go until next weekend. We are getting married April 2015 with a non-flexible date so I feel like I should be on top of this stuff. Am I behind schedule? For a 15 month engagement, what is the typical time table for this stuff?

AddieCake · January 2014

We got engaged and then didn't start planning for a year. But once we started, we booked a couple months later. We ended up having to change venues about 6 months before our wedding, though.

Emmy1493 · January 2014

FI and I got engaged April 2013 and started actively looking at venues around May/June. I wanted a larger venue as FI has huge family and we needed to accommodate that. If you are getting married in April, I would say you still have time, but if venues book fast in your area, you might start looking sooner as April is pretty popular I believe, maybe not.

Just make absolute sure before booking so you have no regrets as some venues will charge you a percentage if you end up backing out later.

jenna8984 · January 2014

I booked mine 10 months before the date and there was plenty of availability in the month I wanted (Sept which is a very busy wedding month here in New England). My good friend booked hers 9 months before the date and my sister booked hers 6 months before the date. I obviously don't recommend 6 months but I think at 14 months you should still see most places are available. I don't think you're "behind schedule".

PrettyGirlLost · January 2014

We got engaged in June of 2012 and we began looking at venues in January 2013, planning for a Fall 2014 wedding. Many of the places we were looking at already had a number of weddings already booked for fall 2014, and one was already booked solid from May 2014- November 2014 save for one date.

We booked our venue in March 2013.

If you plan on getting married during peak wedding months for your area, then having an inflexible date may make finding a venue difficult, depending on how far in advance they book. I know your situation from other threads, and I hate to rain on your cheerios, but I just wanted to warn ya

Good luck!

mrsbanany · January 2014

Well April isn't peak, at least not in the Boston area. However, our date is the last Saturday in the off season so it is pretty popular. But from what I gather from what you were all saying, I am not in that bad of shape but I also can't just wait around.

@jenna8984 I am glad to hear that you booked yours 10 months out, especially since we live in the same area. This area books up pretty quickly.

Maggie0829 · January 2014

H and I got engaged in June 2010 and we started looking in late July 2010. We looked at two venues in one week and we booked the second venue the day we saw it. We got married about a year later.

I think having an in-flexible wedding date it can be harder to fine a venue. Since you have a set date then you need to be a bit more open minded and flexible when it comes to a venue. If you are getting married in a popular wedding area then I suggest looking and booking sooner rather then later.

AddieCake · January 2014

Can you just have the wedding at your beach house?

ei34 · January 2014

I was engaged on August 6th and my hubby and I booked our venue on Aug 12th. Our engagement was less than six months though, so maybe this is quicker than usual? My sister got married exactly one year after she was engaged, she and her hubby booked their venue within a month.

JMalettas · January 2014

We got engaged May 1st, & started looking at venues about a week or so later. We booked the venue within a month of getting engaged, & were engaged 15 months before we got married. Our venue only had 5 Saturdays left for the following year when we booked! So I'm glad we started looking early! Personally, I would start looking asap, and at least narrow it down to what you like & know is available!

*J

vmj23 · January 2014

I got engaged last December and did some online research, but didn't look at venue's until June! We booked soon after looking at it - we only looked at 2 places, but I had so much online research I was pretty sure that was where I wanted it. Our wedding is in May - so just under a year before the date.

chibiyui · January 2014

We booked our venue before we were technically engaged, about 18 months ahead of the wedding. Our date is in "peak" season, and one venue we were super excited about was already booked. The place we booked as three other venues, two of which were also already booked.

If I were you I both wouldn't stress but would defintely keep on it, as many places do book up fast.

MandyMost · January 2014

First we made a guest list to get an idea of the size of a venue we needed, then we had the finances talk. After this, we started looking into venues, and it took a few weeks before we booked one. Get a list of places that seem like potentials, and then call/email to 1) make sure your date is available (we didn't do this--we just picked an open date for our venue), and 2) get a sense of what they offer and what the budgets/minimums are. I figure it would take a couple days to get that list together via internet searching, and then about a week to reach out to a contact at each place and set up an appointment to go see it--appointments would probably be within the coming 2 weeks.

We were looking in June 2013 for an October 2014 date (so, about 16 months?) and around half the dates were already booked. We ended up with November 8th.

banana468 · January 2014

We had a guest list and booked venue within 3 weeks of our engagement. We were engaged just over a year and we were married in August.

MyNameIsNot · January 2014

We took 4 months to make a decision on venue. Like you, we were engaged in November. We looked a little, but after Thanksgiving decided to put it on hold until after the first of the year. We looked around a little more in January and made a decision in February. We were still more than a year out, so we went over and booked in mid-March with plenty of time. It was still 14 months out when we signed the contract.

ShesSoCold · January 2014

We booked our venue about 13 months in advance. We wanted an outdoor wedding and our destination has a very small window of dependable weather and a few of the Saturdays were already booked.

JCbride2015 · January 2014

We were engaged about a year before choosing our venue. Booked the venue about 1.5 years ahead of time, for a May wedding in NJ (very popular). We actually got the second-to-last Saturday that month, already 1.5 years out, so things book up fast here.

We looked at about 5 venues, after researching dozens online. We took two weekends to look at places, but once we walked into ours, we knew that's what we wanted.

lavenderfields13 · January 2014

We got engaged on Christmas and made a guest list the next day. I started looking at venues within that week. I still have no idea where I'm going to book because I don't want a typical function hall or golf club and I'm running out of ideas in my budget. I'd like to get married in June 2015. The 3 places I've toured are completely booked every Saturday in June 2015 and one place was booked every Saturday for the whole year beside 2 dates. I know June is much more popular than April though.

JoanE2012 · January 2014

We got engaged and booked our venue 2 weeks later. I did alot of research during those two weeks to weed out venues that we didn't like or didn't fit our budget. We set up appts with 3 venues for a Saturday. We booked the 2nd venue.

Why do you have a non-flexible date? You will open up your venue choices, both in terms of availability and budget, if you can afford to be a little flexible.

Cookie Pusher · January 2014

We got engaged in March 2012 and booked our venue in January 2013. We knew right away where we wanted to have the wedding and wanted to lock in pricing right away. They only do one event at a time there and didn't want to risk not being able to get the date we wanted. We also wanted to lock in pricing with their preferred caterer, which turned out to be smart because they increased their pricing not long after we booked.

CaliMel11 · January 2014

We got engaged in June, and booked our venue in July. We emailed a ton of them, including our "dream" venue that is a winery, but at the time they were not booking weddings.
so we looked elsewhere, fell in love with the one we ended up booking. things book up fast around here, so we wanted to get that booked asap to ensure we knew what we would be working with.

erinlin25 · January 2014

we got engaged in August 2012 with a goal to get married in June 2013, so we looked at some venues in mid September. By mid October I found the one, they had June 7th available so we saved the date and started planning. Wedding was planned in 8 months and no troubles anywhere with vendor availability or anything. It will all depend on your area and how long venues typically get booked. I know many places can book a year to two years in advance, but I had plenty of options even with a short planning period.

JaniV123 · January 2014

I got engaged Dec 14, 2013 we are still looking for venues, we are hoping for a June 2015 wedding

misscoffeeplease · January 2014

I got engaged on 12/28/13 and we booked our venue last week. I had originally wanted a Feb 2015 wedding but FI wanted a warmer weather wedding. So June-Aug is considered off season here so we booked it for August since we get a 10% discount.

huskypuppy14 · January 2014

I'm in Massachusetts and I got engaged in July and had our venue booked within the month. We looked at it about 3 weeks after getting engaged, and then I held the date until we checked with our VIPs. I was very particular about the venue, and wanted to get married during peak (June-September). So I wanted to make sure I booked ASAP. I think you still have time, but since you need a particular date, you may have to be more flexible with venue.

melbelleup · February 2014

We got engaged 12/31/12 and didn't book venue until early April. Our wedding is 6/28/14. Usually as long as your a year in advanced or not too far under you should be okay.

How long did it take to book a venue?

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