If you’ve decided that the surroundings you’d like to get married in are a far cry from the country clubs, stately homes and banquet halls your friends and relations have chosen, what should you be aware of?
If your style is more casual, you may gravitate towards a more relaxed wedding venue. The ideal venue will probably not need much research.
You will have chosen the venue for your wedding because it’s meaningful and special to you and reflects who you are and your style. Perhaps you have chosen a restaurant, pub, or your own garden or a spot at a remote park, or where you and your partner first met or created happy memories.
Weddings at more casual venues tend to be smaller than at the more formal locations. From a hundred wedding guests to as few as a dozen, or even just a couple of the most important people in your lives.
Benefits of the casual wedding
Apart from being less expensive, sometimes even free, you can make the place more your own. You can have practically free rein in choosing food, decorations, music, and entertainment, time of day, and your schedule of events. You won’t have the pressure of having to start or finish at a set time for photographs, ceremony, cocktails, and reception.
I‘ve conducted wedding ceremonies at informal venues ranging from living rooms to ballet studios, gardens, beaches, national parks, and on board ship. Each one had its unique qualities and reflected the style of the couple getting married there.
Remember!
It may be harder to have a backup plan if the weather does not co-operate, or if you have a sudden flood or power outage.
You will likely have to attend to every detail, large and small, yourselves, (which some couples love to do anyway, and others just don’t. They may prefer to focus on the ceremony, for example) rather than hiring a wedding planner or having an onsite wedding co-ordinator.
It may be harder to improvise if there are glitches, as there would be fewer resources of people or technology to fall back on than there would be at a formal venue.
Balanced against all that is the joy of getting married in a very special place, and doing it your way, in every way.
Catherine Kentridge
