Your Kalamazoo Wedding Checklist: 5 Kalamazoo Wedding Venue Essentials
At its best, embarking on the journey of planning your wedding in Kalamazoo can feel an exciting time of romance, adventure, and new possibilities. At its worst, though, it can feel stressful and overwhelming (to say the least). If you can feel your blood pressure spike when yet another person comes to you and says, “Congratulations! Now, I have some questions about the details,” then you’re not alone.
To help out the many lovely couples getting married around Kalamazoo every day, our team has compiled a simple checklist of 5 wedding essentials to plan for when picking the perfect Kalamazoo wedding venues.
1. Set a Wedding Budget (and follow it!)
The easiest way for a wedding to get out of hand, overwhelming, and disorganized is to not understand what your priorities are from the get-go. What’s so nice about a budget is that it doesn’t just keep your wedding within your means, but it also keeps your priorities in line.
When settling on a wedding budget, we recommend you think about two main factors: how much you want to spend on yourself, and how much you want to spend on your guests. Keep in mind, though, that about 40% of wedding expenditures should go to securing a venue and catering. This means that you may want to plan how many guests you have based on the total amount you spend, rather than by upping that number to 50% or more. If the venue and catering take up more than 45% of your budget, you may find you don’t have the funds remaining for your perfect wedding.
If you can, we also recommend getting your venue to cater for you. That way, you can streamline your management and hopefully get a better deal on both.
Tip #1: Budget 40% for venue and catering.
2. Make a Wedding Website—it’s Surprisingly Easy
Yes, our team at the Kalamazoo Country Club knows exactly what most people want when they think of romantic weddings: web development.
But seriously, making a wedding website is not only surprisingly fun and affordable, but also makes planning a dream. The Knot is a wedding website creator that you can use to:
- Share your love story
- Update guests
- Keep registries centralized
- Collect important guest information (dietary restrictions, seating arrangements, etc.)
Best of all? It’s free. The only money you might spend is $20 on a custom domain name, though many couples don’t bother.
Tip #2: Use a website to streamline guest management and needs.
3. Find a Photographer/Videographer that Matches Your Style
If you’re hosting your wedding with us at the Kalamazoo Country Club, then you already know that your wedding venue will be beautiful. Capturing the beauty of your wedding, however, is a skill on its own. Some couples prefer the traditional wedding videography that their own parents had: documentary-style, all in chronological order and without too many bells and whistles.
Yet, you shouldn’t feel that old-school is the only type of photo and video available for your wedding. Some couples prefer dramatic angles, a sense of motion in their camera, or just a little bit of flare and personality. At the end of the day, you should choose a photographer and videographer that capture who you and your spouse truly are.
Tip #3: Reflect on the spirit of your relationship and get a photographer and videographer who can capture it.
4. Tailor Your Attire and Décor to Your Style and Surroundings
Like your photos and videos, your attire and décor should also speak to the type of couple you and your partner are. With that in mind, you may want to consider playing to your venue’s strengths. An obvious example of what to avoid might be a maritime theme in a desert venue, but the choices you’ll be making might have to do more with the subtler feelings that a venue gives off. For instance:
- Flowers and decorations that complement the color of your reception hall
- Lighting that highlights parts of the venue you like most
- Centerpieces and place cards that fit with your venue’s atmosphere
Here at the Kalamazoo Country Club, our wedding venues are rich in history and located in a lush landscape nestled on scenic Whites Lake. That means our venues are more flexible than most and can balance a sophisticated and naturalistic style.
Tip #4: Decide on attire and décor that fits both you and your venue.
5. Plan Entertainment You (and Your Guests) Would Really Enjoy
A good rule of thumb for deciding whether entertainment would go over well is to think: would I want to do this if I wasn’t already at a wedding? This way, you’re immediately narrowing the list down to ideas that guests will be excited to participate in.
So, think to yourself: what’s some entertainment I’d really like to do if I wasn’t at a wedding? Whether it’s whiskey tasting, live music, or just plain old darts, make sure to think of entertainment that brings a smile to your face.
Tip #5: Plan entertainment that you’d love even if they weren’t at a wedding.
If you’re looking to reduce the stress of wedding planning while also booking a beautiful venue, then the Kalamazoo Country Club may be the perfect place for you. For more information on our wedding venues in Kalamazoo, click here to contact us and kickstart planning your perfect day.