Wedding Wednesday #2 – Choosing Your Venue!

Today officially announces 4 months until John and I’s big day. How crazy is that?! In celebration of today being on a Wednesday I knew I had to write my second “Wedding Wednesday” post. Click here to see the first. I want to talk about wedding venues, including our own.

In the beginning of the engagement, after the huge high you’re on, I froze and was not sure what I was suppose to do. Being one of the first friends in my group getting married made me feel as if I almost had no one to turn to. All I could see was a huge to do list in front of me and not sure which order to handle each task. After taking a step back, and having great pep talks with my family, it was clear we needed to tackle the venue first.

Choosing a venue helped me figure out all the puzzle pieces and align further decisions. For example, time of year/date, location, decorations, how many guests are allowed, types of food, etc. The venue we chose is called Clark’s Landing Yacht Club in Delran, New Jersey and honestly I truly believe it’s the hidden gem of the state.

Our biggest challenge in finding a venue was the date. John’s in the Military and is looking to change career fields in which case they could whisk him away for training as soon as the end of April/beginning of May. With this being said, and me wanting a wedding outdoors, I knew we had to choose a venue that had a Saturday open in April 2020. I wanted John to be able to call me his wife before he went away for 6 months of training.

It’s amazing how signs work sometimes as this venue just had Satruday, April 18, 2020 open up last minute because someone else backed out. We were very blessed.

John and I discussed our desires and needs for a venue and we decided a water feature was definitely top of our list. We are a huge lake/boat couple and really wanted to get married in front of a beautiful body of water. We also wanted a romantic/enchanting feel to our day which our ballroom themed reception will allow us to freely express.

Finding the perfect venue can be a stressful situation, especially when it comes to your budget, but we were so lucky to find something affordable that had so many key factors we wanted, such as water with boats (Hence the yacht club).

One of my favorite aspects about this venue is it lines you up perfectly to see the sunset through their huge open windows out to the water. I think it’ll make for such a stunning view to be eating dinner/dancing while watching the sun go down over the water.

Once your venue is fully on the books, the real fun begins! You can start thinking about all the decorations you want to add and really envision your big day. We’re talking to florists now and it’s so exciting to think about how everything is going to come together. I think decorating for the theme really helps tie in all the visions and expectations. There is so much I could tell you but for now all you need to know is I want lots of greenery, candles, and enchantment.

They also do food tastings so you can try your food months before your wedding takes place. This was one of the fun parts for me, as you all know I’m a huge foodie.

I went with John, my parents, and my 2 Maids of Honors. They gave us SO much food and this event really helped us narrow down what we will serve the day of the wedding. We tried an appetizer of penne vodka, 3 different chickens, 3 different fishes, and filet mignon.

The food was really tasty and it was a great time being able to test it out before the big day. Makes choosing my selections a lot easier!

Looking at all of this food makes me tempted to share the details of our whole menu but I need to keep some of it a surprise. One hint you’ll get is that there might be a Mac and Cheese bar….drooling already.

When I think about my venue I get a rush of excitement and I know in my heart it was the right fit for us. It had key factors we wanted such as the water feature. The ceremony and reception all take place in one location which was important to me because I did not want people to drive place to place. The food menu looks amazing and we get so much for our money it blew our minds. The staff has been SO incredibly nice and treat us like royalty, even though I text/call them all the time with questions. Lastly, it was in our budget which really sealed the deal.

Word of advice I would give is really make sure you love your venue. You only get married once, so you hope, so make sure you pick somewhere you can look back on and always be happy about. There’s a place out there for everyone and as long as you love it that’s all that matters. No matter where the wedding takes place it will be beautiful in it’s own special way, as long as YOU love it.

So many more details to come and I can’t wait to share them all. Stay tuned my friends! Next Wedding Wednesday we talk dress shopping!