Seven tips from our wedding planner: it’s all about timing
Seven tips from our wedding planner: it’s all about timing
Daylight savings just happened. We set the clocks forward one hour from standard time to prepare for summer months. For some, this period gets people flooding with spring fever. For those planning a summer wedding, this means the days are ticking to your big day. Feelings of overwhelm and stress may occur.
There are so many places to find information online about “expert “planning and advice that it can sometimes be daunting.
Our very own wedding sales manager, Becky Bohnenstingl, gives some advice to those brides prepping for the summer wedding of their dreams. She’s narrowed down a few fundamental tips that can be a massive help to soon-to-be wedding couples.
Before you select your date & venue
How many guests?
Have an estimated number of guests in mind. This will save you a lot of time on knowing which venues can accommodate your potential guest list the very best. Grand View Lodge offers four different wedding venues and two different ceremony options based on guest capacities.
Narrow down a time.
Narrow down what time of the year you are interested in getting married. Many couples will start their venue search with they’re ‘flexible date.’ When it comes down to verifying availability, there may be several dates that don’t work for the couple or the immediate family and wedding party — knowing which time of the year and month is key to saving time and getting your ideal date secured.
Grand View Lodge offers fabulous significant ‘off season’ discounts during November through April.
Is a Saturday a must?
Many venues may offer discounts during an off-peak time of year. Many also may offer specials if you select a weekday other than a Saturday. Besides obtaining a discount from the venue, many vendors may also provide specials for non-Saturday dates and will throw in extra items because they aren’t as busy.
Grand View Lodge offers discounts for weekday dates (including Sunday).
What time of the day?
Are you a morning person or night owl? Traditional or non-traditional? Are you open to a morning ceremony with a brunch following? Is a dance important to you? Talk it over as a couple and find out what your ideal day looks like. Do you want to dance the night away with your guests, or would you instead be toasting with a mimosa or tasty bloody mary and having a fun afternoon with your guests on the lake?
Grand View Lodge has a new Brunch & Bubbly Package, which is the perfect option for the non-traditional couple. The package is for weddings with under 75 guests.
Location, Location, Location
Discuss your ideal location ahead of time. Are you planning on staying ‘local’ or would you like to find a central location for everyone to travel to? It’s not uncommon for couples to spend countless hours searching a particular location only to find out that many of their guests can’t possibly travel the distance or find reasonable flights to get there.
After you select date and venue
Selecting vendors
Be sure to ask your venue for a preferred vendor list or what vendors they have worked with in the past. Planners from each venue have done many events and likely know which vendors are good and which ones to stay away from. This is a total time saver when planning and can save you a lot of homework.
Grand View Lodge gives all of their wedding clients a copy of their preferred vendor list. They even showcase a Wedding Fair where you can meet the preferred vendors first-hand!
Selecting your catering menu and bar options.
There are so many options and so little time. As a couple, you should be on the same page with each other as far as what kind of meal you are going to serve your guests. Casual stations, buffet options, or a formal plated dinner – Grand View Lodge offers a variety of options to fit best what their couples are after. Deciding
Deciding on your catering and bar items can take a lot of time. Be sure to ask for a preliminary budget or estimate and ask your venue what’s the most popular and what the culinary team and chefs may recommend as their signature dishes.
Grand View Lodge will offer an on-site planning meeting and private tasting appointment where you can not only try their specialty entrées, but you can also pair it with a wine tasting and even dessert.
The day-of timeline
One may think this is an easy task. Copying a wedding timeline template may sound like a simple answer, but this can be more time consuming than one may think. A word to the wise, start your wedding day timeline from scratch. Make a list of all of your day of events (getting ready, first look photo, ceremony time, social hour, and dinner). Then determine an approximate time for each.
Every wedding is different.
Locations and time of year all play a role in the uniqueness of a couple’s day. It is important to include time buffers to give your guests time to transition from one event to the next. Keep guests on time, and your guests, vendors, and catering venue will love you for it.
Grand View Lodge will walk you through a timeline and will give you plenty of planning resources to use. The staff will keep you on task with the appropriate planning items that are needed.
Planning a wedding is a huge task.
It can be fun, stressful, and time-consuming altogether. However, our wedding staff is here to help and assist along the way. In the end, as a couple, you should enjoy the journey.
Talk to our sales manager today and see if your preferred dates are available.
