Hi there!
We come to the community because we’d like your advice. We started planning our wedding on May 2020 and after having the main things already set (church, photographer, florist, entertainment, and idea of decor) we took a pause to figure out the whole pandemic. Pretty much all of our guests travel from out of the country so the logistics have been tricky.
When looking at possible places to host the reception that were close to the church, we found a beautiful hotel that was almost finished - That was around June 2020.
The hotel had the website up and I tried to contact them. (Long shot, maybe) They replied months later saying that since they were just opening they didn’t have a formal wedding package in place, but they send us a draft of the menu. Understandable.
Unfortunately, by the time they replied, we had already decided on a venue so we didn’t pay much attention to it.
We’re members of a country club close to the church and when looking at a place to celebrate something, that’s the family’s regular place to go. They have beautiful spaces, food and service is amazing. We know everyone there and they’re more than excited to host it since we have been there for so many years. Choosing that venue was a no brainer. We talked with the person in charge of catering and events and “set the date”.
The problem is that the club is undergoing major renovations and designing a whole new menu, changed chef, they’re pretty much reinventing themselves. Which is great because it needed an update, but it has put on hold a part of our wedding planning.
The renovations have taken longer than expected and with 6 months left for our big day, we have no idea what to do with the venue, which is also, decor, food and bar.
This weekend we were searching at hotels for our wedding night and came across the hotel we liked last year and of course, decided on that one. Out of curiosity, we looked into the wedding packages they have available now and we probably shouldn’t have (that’s why we’re on here now)
They not only match the approx price per person we have with our current venue, but they also include the event planner, more food, the cake, decorations, room for us, discount for room blocks which is a plus for our guests coming from abroad. Looking at the numbers and our budget that’s over 5k in savings which would make financial sense. We contacted the hotel since we wanted to talk about the room blocks anyway and took the chance to ask if the wedding day was available. They are available… Now we don’t know what to do.
We haven’t sent the invites yet, so guests don’t really know where the reception is taking place.
Changing the venue seems like a financial smart idea plus the hotel has a more modern look and vibe that fits better with our style.
Even though we have not signed any contract or given any sort of deposit with our current venue, we have the date set with them. We sat down with the person in charge of the event a couple of weeks ago and still no menu and renovations still not done. It will be ready before our May wedding, but the uncertainty and lack of organization is stressing us out.
We don’t have much time for wedding planning due to our strict work schedule (we have one day off every two weeks) so being realistic we only have 8-10 days left to organize the things missing for the wedding.
What would you do in our situation? Should we just chill and wait for the renovations and menu to be done in the next months with our current venue or just book everything with the hotel?
