When you begin planning your wedding one of your first tasks will be to find your wedding reception venue. This is where a wedding directory will come in useful. In it you will find advertisements & listings for various venues & locations within your locality, as well as lots of other vendors & supplier for your wedding needs.

A wedding directory can take the form of a paper based booklet covering a particular area or these days there are numerous wedding website with directory listings which will cover the entire country & can be searched via state, town/city or by zip code. It is a good idea to use a combination of both types as not all venues will be listed in every directory.

When it comes to choosing your venue many people are simply overwhelmed by the choices available & may just simply choose a hotel & hall that they are already familiar with. However, finding your ideal location can be easier than you may think. To start use your wedding directory to make a list of all suitable venues in your local area & narrow that list by the types of venues that appeal to you most i.e. hotels, inns, country estates, wedding favors; then you will need to make appointments to visit them & check out which one is right for you. Your final choice should be one made with your heart but which also is friendly & reliable.

Make sure you book your location well in advance particularly if you are getting married in the high season (April – August). It is usual to book around 12 months in advance of your wedding date but if you don’t have that much time you may need to be flexible on your choice of venue.

When it comes to cost you won’t know how much the venue will charge you until you have visited them & asked them to provide you with a price based on your requirements. However, you may not get a final cost until all your details have been finalized, such as your menu & number of guests. Make sure you get your total costs in writing before you sign the contract & hand over a deposit, ask about any extra or hidden charges such as corkage fees, over-staffing costs, security charges & anything else. Also ask about charges for any late amendments or changes such as cancellations, change of venue because of bad weather etc.

Do you know your wedding planning style? Are you the type of person who will immerse themselves in every aspect of their wedding the moment you are engaged? Who will fuss about every detail – the location, the dress & the flowers? Or do you like to approach things a little more slowly, take your time & get every detail just so? Perhaps you have already done your wedding planning & know exactly where you will get married, when it will be & what you will be wearing! For some couples, a long engagement is perfect & after maybe 6 months they have got no further than booking the ceremony venue.

No matter what your wedding planning style is, it is perfectly okay to have everything already mapped out or to take your time. If you have rushed headlong into the whole wedding process then perhaps you will find yourself in need of some much needed relaxation & stress busting. If you have the major elements out of the way, such as the ceremony & reception then take some time out & do something fun like making wedding favors or choosing your wedding wine.

At the other end of the scale, however, if you have been dragging your heels a bit & haven’t really got much achieved, it is time to look at your wedding checklist & see where you’re at. If it all seems too daunting & you can’t face finding your reception venue just yet, then start by doing a fun task first, such as choosing a wedding theme, wedding favors or finding your wedding music.