There is one major mistake that many brides and first time event planners make and that is thinking of the style and decor of your event BEFORE you confirm your venue. Sometimes this can work if you are lucky enough to find and book the venue of your choice or if you have the budget to bring in decor to completely transform the room. The venue you choose plays a huge role in the style of your event, think of the venue as your first stage of decor. This doesn’t mean that you can only go with decor that matches the style of the room, but the room does need to at least compliment the decor. Even not so nice venues can be dressed up into something nice but if the room screams early 90′s decor with floral patterns, gold curtains and roman inspired decor, it becomes a lot harder to then place ultra modern furniture with sleek lines, and leather.
A piece of advice that I would give to brides is, before you start setting your heart on what you want your wedding to look like, visit as many venues as you can. Don’t worry about booking an appointment right now, just make a quick visit. Look at the building and the rest of the rooms to decide what you like. Then when you have an idea of the venues that you like, contact the events person there and find out more details, like when it is available, what the price’s are, etc. Most of the time the decor you choose will correspond with your personal style, so then the venue that pleases your eye most, and fits with the rest of your requirements will correspond with both your style and decor.
You need to choose what you feel most comfortable with and what tickles your fancy. If by chance you cannot find something available that you like or that fits within your budget then look for something that is a clean slate. Look for neutral colours, simple light fixtures, and little other decor. That way you are not spending your decor budget on covering up something that doesn’t match your style, and style of the wedding. By corresponding the type of venue you choose with your decor you also end up saving a lot in your budget as well. If you choose that you want your ceiling draped before your venue is chosen, you may end up getting a venue that has beautiful, high ceilings and your money is spent on something that may not have been needed. If you do not have the budget to do everything you have dreamed about, try to be flexible and rely on trustworthy vendors and professionals to give you sound advice to have the best day possible.
The most important thing is that you don’t fall in love with an idea of what you want your wedding to look like (unless that idea has been in your mind since you were 5) and then not be able fit it into your venue or end up spending too much money on decor to cover up the things that don’t correspond, Especially when you are planning for such an important day, being disappointed about something that can be avoided never feels good and of course really puts the pressure on your event stylist who really wants to WOW you on your special day. Even talk to your decorating company and get some of their advice on where to go, they would love to help you out before hand and may have some great ideas that you may not have thought of!
Lauren, you are amazing! El Masquerado wouldn’t have been the event it was without your beautiful decor! I hope to see pictures up soon