So it turns out picking our venue wasn’t going to be straightforward. Word of advice? Estimate your guest list, then leave room for around ten people you will have forgotten!
We visited our favourite venue last week with the parents in tow and I am thrilled to say they loved it. We had a 24 hour wait for the wedding planner to return from annual leave to answer my extensive list of questions, then assuming all was well we just needed to confirm the deposit amount and pay! Or so we thought…

Image from http://www.stylemepretty.com, Jillian Mitchell Photography

Our preferred venue can seat around 100 people for the outside ceremony, and up to 120 in the evening. The catch is they can only seat 50 guests for the wedding breakfast. And if it rains? They can only seat 50 for the ceremony inside. Pick straws for who gets a seat inside anyone? We went back to the drawing board and tried to narrow down our list from 80 people to nearer 50. We managed to get to 58 with the addition of a few guests we wanted there but had accidentally forgotten. I was back on the phone to the wedding planner asking if they could accommodate just one more table of 8. Unfortunately, being a historical building, the room simple isn’t big enough.

This stage of the process has really made us evaluate our priorities. We are committed to the outside ceremony and the summer garden vibe to our wedding. What we don’t want to do is compromise on family and friends being able to attend, for the ‘perfect’ place. If the ‘perfect’ place can’t accommodate everyone close to us, is it really perfect?

Ardington House, photographed by David Bostock; one of our venues left to explore

The good thing is we know what we want from a venue, the difficult thing is trying to find one that works. Having met a bride-to-be yesterday who has a guest list over 200, surely I shouldn’t be finding this so complicated?
Dean and I have reserved tomorrow as a final venue exploring date; we have three lined up to view that appear to tick the functional boxes as well as having beautiful outside space. A hotel, a purpose-built barn/country house, and a Georgian Manor house.

Ultimately, we want to be married, our guests to enjoy themselves from start to finish, and there be plenty of food, drink, and music. I know we can get there eventually, we just hope it’s soon!

Until next time,

Acacia X

Feature image from http://www.intimateweddings.com