We booked a venue!

After planning weddings for over three years now, its my turn to be a bride! My fiance, Caleb, and I got engaged back in January of this year! I thought it might be fun to share a journal through our wedding planning journey for you to follow along! I’ll be sharing our process, thoughts, and decisions every step of the way! I hope that you enjoy this peak into what planning a full wedding looks like 🙂

Back when we got engaged, we sat down with my parents to determine our budget. I always suggest that couples first establish a budget because every decision is dictated by that overall budget. We talked through who was contributing and the amount they were willing to provide. By communicating these things with each other, we were able to lay a foundation for our vision and leave less room for misinterpretation for all ends. Once we had that discussion, planning could begin!

Our planning process didn’t start until we had some life things figured out. Caleb and I have been long distance our entire relationship and I was just finishing up school. We needed to secure jobs in the same location before we could move forward with planning a wedding. In March, we were ready to start touring venues. Sadly, this is when COVID-19 hit, causing our wedding planning to be paused. Between all of the uncertainty of the world and my client’s weddings getting postponed, it only felt right to hold off until we knew more about what the future held.

Over the last couple of weeks, we noticed that life seems to be returning to a new “normal” so we wanted to start touring venues again. Things that we took into consideration when looking at venues included the distance necessary for travel for majority of guests, lighting for photographs, overall aesthetics, options for rain plans, and (of course) budget. We ended up finding the perfect balance between all of those considerations at The Maridor in Roanoke, VA!

I really loved the estate feel that the venue gave off! The house was originally built in 1916. The owners have kept the historic home in beautiful condition! Perhaps my favorite part of the property is the ceremony backdrop! It has an intimate garden with lots of trees, greenery, and string lights. I can’t wait to say “I do” to the man of my dreams in such a gorgeous place! Guests will head inside the house for cocktail hour and the reception. One thing that made this option unique was their ability to offer catering in-house! By having the caterer and venue team on the same page, I knew that all of the logistics would be taken care of!

We couldn’t believe they had a date in October only 5 months in advance! If you know anything about weddings, October is one of the busiest months of the year! We definitely got lucky here! After Caleb, my mom, and I toured, the venue coordinator sent over a copy of a contract and invoice. The booking process was super simple and mostly able to be done online!

Caleb and I are more than thrilled to be planning the day that will serve as the perfect start to our marriage! Some people might call us crazy for attempting to pull off this wedding with such a short timeline, but what better person to do it than a wedding planner! I’m excited to take y’all along on the journey! 🙂