Choosing the perfect wedding location

Choosing the location for your wedding will either be one of the easiest things about planning your wedding, or it will be one of the most difficult. Many couples have a home church that they wish to get married in or a special location that has sentimental meaning to their relationship. But many others choose to go a different route or do some shopping around before they decide on a venue.

If you are considering getting married in your home church or are looking at which area church could be right for you, here are some things to consider:

  • Lighting: Bad lighting can throw your wedding day into chaos. Both your photographer and videographer will have problems with poor lighting and you want to look your best walking down the aisle. Poor lighting can wash out your complexion and cause dresses to appear to be a different color than what they are. Avoid locations that have fluorescent lighting or have yellow or green windows or light shades. Look for a church that has recessed lighting near the front of the church or a lighting system that can cast additional light on the wedding party.

    Visit Discover TriCities.com for a list of area churches, here.
  • Size: if your home church is small and you are planning a large wedding, consider an alternative location. Trying to seat 300 guests in a sanctuary that will comfortably hold 100 or so people is not going to work well. Along the same lines, you wouldn’t want to seat 25 guests in a sanctuary set up to handle 500 parishioners.
  • Style: If you are planning a very elegant and formal wedding, a small country church is probably not the best choice. By the same token, a informal morning wedding is not well suited to a huge, elegant sanctuary.
  • Accessibility: Will it be easy for your wedding party and your guests to get in and out of the church? Is the facility handicapped accessible? Most of the time, you will be inviting at least a few older guests who may have problems with lots of steps or narrow walkways. Constricted can also cause problems for the wedding party. There should be plenty of room down the center aisle for the bride, her skirt and her escort to walk comfortably without touching the pews.
  • Facilities: Is there plenty of space for the bride and her attendants to have a dressing room well away from where the male contingent will be waiting? If you want to have your reception on-site, is there a kitchen and food preparation area available? Is there a place to take photos other than in front of the alter (this could include a stained glass window that you would like to have as a backdrop or a arbor or gazebo outdoors, even the church entrance if it is attractive)?

Next:Shopping around