Choosing the perfect venue

So you're now ENGAGED! How exciting!?

One of the first steps towards tying the knot is finding the perfect venue. The venue needs to be perfect because this is where you and your other half will be saying your vows and promising to spend your lives together.

We started our venue search by looking online at what venues were around us. We had a small idea of places where we could hold our ceremony and reception but we wanted to see what else was out there. Our search found us venues which varied in style, location and price! Perfect.

Photo found on hitched.com

We first looked online at a venue which is located in Otterburn in Northumberland, Le Petit Chateau. It is an absolutely gorgeous fairytale venue but the more we looked at it we found that many people we knew had gotten married there and it seemed to be the 'it' venue for our area. It was also quite a distance from our home which meant we would need to budget for transport. For ourselves personally, we wanted something still as grand and beautiful but less known and less expected.






Our second find was a classic hotel down by our local coast. Andrew and I regularly spend time walking along the coast and visiting the local weekend market so a venue by the seaside seemed perfect. We booked in a visit to look around this venue and we went down so full of excitement.

Once we arrived, we were shown lots of different spaces where we could hold our ceremony and reception. We liked the spaces we were shown and its proximity to the beach but there were a few points which put us off. Firstly, the price was quite expensive, the bar was within the reception room and the venue would have their hotel guests able to use some of the same spaces we were offered. I did not like the idea of people I did not know being in the same places we would be taking photos and entertaining our guests.

When picking a venue, please make sure that you are choosing somewhere that fits your budget but also fits the both of you. You are both the most important parts of the wedding and if you are choosing somewhere for show or just because it is where everyone gets married, it wont feel as special to you as somewhere your heart takes you.

Ask lots of questions when you visit a venue and don't be afraid to ask if things can be moved or changed to your liking. Please remember, this is YOUR day!

I will share in another post the venue we decided on because there is that much to tell you about!

Sarah and Andrew - Our Engagement Story

Hello and welcome to my new adventure!

My name is Sarah and I have started this blog to take you all on my wedding journey. From getting engaged, the waiting, the planning, the big day and all the bits in between. 

I have already been on a journey through my Instagram account which is fully dedicated to our wedding journey. If you're interested in checking out more frequent wedding ideas, tips and budget finds, please follow the link through to my Insta. 

Now, you're here to find out how exactly Andrew and I got engaged. Let me take you way, way back to February 2012 and I'll set the scene. 
Aged 19, I was in my second year of my degree and Andrew was working full time as a labourer and he had not long turned 21. Life was very busy and we were both working really hard to create a life together. At this point I should mention we were not living together but we had been in a relationship for just over three years. 

Andrew and I in January 2012.

It was coming up to Valentines Day, which happened to be my Mum and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary. They decided they were going to go away for a few days and so I decided to cook for myself and Andrew. I had met up with him on the 13th and he'd given me a very sweet bunch of flowers to celebrate Valentines Day with a single red rose. 

Valentines Day arrives and I am busy cooking us a not-very-swanky dinner (I was 19 and couldn't cook anything!) and Andrew arrives with some gifts. He immediately wants to just exchange gifts so I thought nothing of it and gave him his presents. He gifts me a gorgeous Me to You bear and then come the words..."I don't know how to give you your next present." Now, me being me, I immediately thought 'Oh my goodness, no we can't do THAT here, my dad will go nuts!'. Before the words get out of my mouth he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a jewellery box. Perplexed, I asked him what it was. That was when he opened the box and I was just stunned. Absolutely floored. Safe to say I was definitely surprised by the gesture. He mutters the words "so will you then?" as I hadn't spoken or made any noise in quite a bit of time. (Yes he never 'officially' asked but he has since!) Of course I told him YES and from that moment on, we were ENGAGED!!

Here is a picture of my ring, this was taken after it was resized. Unfortunately, the ring initially was too small - as you can see I have rather chubby fingers. 

Excitedly, I told my parents when they arrived home and of course they were very happy for us and so were the rest of our family and friends once the news was broken. 

We have now been engaged for 6 years and we are now well on our way to becoming Mr and Mrs in November 2019!!

Thank you for reading...keep an eye out for my next post!