Guest List, Venue, Style? How to decide.
Short engagement + Small Wedding = Flexibility in venue choice! This is advice I’m always giving my clients, along with “do what YOU want, it’s your wedding day!” The first way to cut costs and to have flexibility in just about everything related to their wedding is to have a small guest list. I know this is not always possible especially with large families and cultural obligations. In fact, I have a small family but a large social circle and my fianceé Greg has a larger family and has been a police officer for the Indianapolis Metro Police Department for 13 years, so therefore has a large professional and social circle as well. I wasn’t sure a small guest list was possible for us. So, we sat down, talked it out and we did it! A guest list of 70 people! Okay, to some, that doesn’t = small wedding, but for us, it’s perfect!
I just recently read a Facebook status update by an industry colleague, Crystal Adair-Benning of Distinct Occasions. She said: “It’s not the quantity of people you have at your wedding, it’s the quality that counts.” I love that! It wasn’t an easy decision to not invite family members such as my first cousins or people that have been a influence in my life and great friends over the years. But, the reality is, life can change and paths go in different directions. So, for us, it was about having the people who have been constants in our lives, who are here with us now through our journey and next big step. It surely doesn’t mean that the others aren’t important to us. We have a vision for our wedding - a small intimate affair, close family and friends, a celebration of us!
So, with that decision being made, we had alot more venue options. We went back and forth between many great venues that Kitchener-Waterloo has to offer for under 75 guests and settled on The Tannery. The Tannery District is an up and coming area, a commercial space that will give the same vibe to downtown Kitchener that The Distillery District gives to downtown Toronto. We are having the ceremony, dinner and reception in The Showroom. It’s an urban space with concrete floors, exposed brick walls, lounge area, and paraphernalia showing the history of The Tannery building. It’s chic and cool! We couldn’t be happier!
So, my advice to clients will remain the same. To stay true to what they want as a couple! And if it’s possible to have a small guest list - go for it!
This is a drawing of what the area will look like upon completion.
Lounge area - view back to front
October 24th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
[...] all in one place. This is becoming very popular and as a Wedding Planner, I love it! I wrote a previous blog post on The Tannery and why we chose the location - urban, modern, lofty, chic - it had us written all [...]