How to Select a Wedding Reception Location

After making main wedding location arrangements, finding a reception location usually becomes the next priority on the list for engaged couples. This does not have to be a stressful or complicated process, especially if you're willing to take the time to plan ahead. The following are a few tips that I found helpful in planning my own wedding and advising friends with theirs:

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The desire to find the right wedding reception location

1. Make sure the location is easy for guests to find.
   
   Many times you're going to have guests who are from out of town and who do not know the area well. A great option if the church or other main location is large enough is to have the reception on the same campus. This will allow friends and family who are helping out to see the entire wedding and then move to the reception area a little prior to dismissal.
   
   This is what my husband and I did, and it worked wonderfully. The church was even kind enough to not charge us any extra as long as the reception area was clean prior to the next church service and that no alcohol was being served, which in our case we were not going to do anyway.

2. A second alternative is to have the reception location within a few minutes of your main location. You don't want people to have to drive no more than 15-20 minutes unless you purposely want a smaller crowd, which I've actually seen people do a on a few occasions! In most cases however, your family and friends are going to thank you for making things easier on them. Including maps to the reception in your invitations or at your main wedding location will help things as well.

3. Get quotes from various locations so you get the best deal for your budget.
   
   It is amazing how even similar locations with similar services can range in price within hundreds of dollars from each other. Taking the time to shop around a little will often save you time and money in the long run. This is also why it's helpful to start planning your wedding at least six months in advance so you don't have to deal with more expensive prices and fewer unreserved locations.

4. Get feedback from your wedding planner, friends, and family.
   
   Even if you've lived somewhere your whole life, there may be location ideas that you might not know about or thought about. Networking will open up more options to you which you can later narrow down after you learn more about them.
   
   I hope you've found these tips helpful. Good luck and best wishes to you!

Resources

• How to Have a Debt-Free Wedding
• How to Combine Banks Accounts After Marriage
• How to Have a Great Marriage
• How to Show Someone that You Love Them

[acole]

on 7/16/2008 This can be a difficult task. Good tips!

[MidniteWriter]

on 7/5/2008 Great tips, thanks!