Have you recently got engaged and don’t know where to start with your wedding planning? Having photographed hundreds of wedding, spoken to many brides and grooms and planned my own wedding, I have a few ideas on where you can start.

1. Decide when you would like to get married

When planning your wedding you want to start thinking about your preferred season. Do you love the idea of autumn foliage and cooler days? Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of summer wedding. Or is Christmas your favourite time of year in which case you may want a December wedding. Also consider the costs. Wedding venues will sometimes offer discounts for less popular times of the year. You will also want to think about which year you would like to get married in. This might be affected by you budget, maybe you need time to save some money. Or how long you think you will need to plan. It could also be affected by venue and supplier availability. You will also want to think about the weather and how it would affect your wedding day, especially with the UK weather. You probably don’t want to plan an outdoor wedding in the winter for example. For a winter wedding you would want to ensure there is plenty of space indoors.

2. The type of venue you want to get married in

There are so many different wedding venue options out there to consider when planning your wedding. From barns to manor house’s, village halls to pubs, outdoor venues to hotels. The choices can be overwhelming. You may already know the kind of venue you would like to use. If not sit down with your partner and talk about what your ideal wedding venue looks like. How does your day unfold? Do you want lots of outdoor space or do you dream of a grand hall? It should quickly become obvious the type of wedding venues your leaning towards. It’s also worth thinking about the amenities at the wedding venue. Do you want to be able to get ready at the venue on the morning of your wedding? Maybe you want accommodation on site for you and your wedding guests so they can stay over night at the wedding venue. Do you want a private venue? So only wedding guests are there? Or are you happy for non wedding guests to be there?

3. Where do you want to get married?

You now need to think about the location you would like to get married in. It might be close to where you currently live, or maybe where you or your partner grew up. It’s worth thinking about your guest list and where they would be travelling from, would they need accommodation over night after your wedding? You then have a geographical area to start researching wedding venues in. Its also worth thinking about the ceremony location it’s self. Would you want a civil ceremony at the same location as your reception or do you want a church ceremony? If you want to get married in a church and at a particular one you ideally want to find a wedding venue within a reasonable distance of the church.

Now your ready to start planning your wedding

Now you know when you’d like to get married, the type of wedding venue and location you can start to research and visit wedding venues. You can contact venues individually or see if there are local wedding fairs with venues attending. If you need any help or recommendations for wedding fairs please do reach out, we’re always happy to help.

If your ready to start thinking about the next stage of planning your wedding, head to our wedding photography page here.