5 Tips for Evaluating Wedding Packages

Ian RamirezWedding Planning, Wedding Tips

Photos on thumbnail courtesy of Ama by Aisha #amabyclaudia.

With engagement season currently underway, there will be plenty of couples getting ready to embark on their wedding planning journey. This is such an exciting time and we’re sure you’ll enjoy every last moment of it as you plan out your big day. As you can likely imagine, the entire wedding planning process is composed of several different activities. For one, you’ll need to craft your dream team of wedding vendors, as they will undoubtedly serve an important role in your big day. In addition to that though, you’ll also want to remember all of the other items like creating a budget, building out your guest list, sending save-the-dates and invitations, and so on! Simply put, you’ll have a few things on your to-do list!

With that being said, anything that you can do to simplify things and limit any unnecessary stress will be well worth it. As a wedding venue that has had the opportunity to work with hundreds of engaged couples over the years, we completely understand how important it is to create a seamless and stress-free experience for our clients. One way in which you can ensure you have a stress-free experience is through utilizing wedding packages that include multiple services all in one package. So…rather than have to look through and evaluate pages upon pages of potential vendors, you can streamline some of these decisions! Don’t forget about the value in working with an experienced wedding venue either, as this can help ensure they are able to follow through on what they promise and provide you with some peace of mind.

To sum it up, in this week’s blog post, we’re going to walk you through a few tips for evaluating wedding packages.

How much customization is possible?

If you go through all of the different vendors involved in a wedding day, you’ll quickly notice that there are more than a few. Plus, there’s no denying that each of them will also have an important role in different facets of your special day. Photographer, videographer, caterer, florist, coordinator, DJ and/or live band, cake creator, officiant, hair and makeup, the list goes on. Having said that, when having initial discussions with wedding venues, you’ll want to inquire about what packages are offered AND if there is any opportunity to customize those offerings. For instance, say a venue offers an all-inclusive package and you’re perfectly content with several of the vendors. However, you have a photographer already picked out that you would love to use. Can you still use this particular photographer, which would mean you would be customizing the pre-set wedding package?

All in all, our first piece of advice when evaluating wedding packages is to ensure there is some flexibility in the packages in the event that you would prefer to use another vendor or customize other aspects of the wedding package.

Will you have an on-site coordinator at the venue?

Particularly on the wedding day itself, the last thing you need to be worrying about is whether or not everything is staying on schedule. With many wedding venues nowadays, you’ll quickly see that they may assign you a venue coordinator who will be able to help out with a number of different things. For one, this allows you to have an on-site contact at the venue who can assist with answering any questions both leading up to the big day and ensure that you’re taking care of all of the necessary details before the wedding day arrives! In addition to that though, on the wedding day itself, they can also be a major asset to keep everything on schedule based on what your timeline is.

In the end, an on-site wedding coordinator can be excellent at giving you the peace of mind that everything is running smoothly without you having to manage it yourself. So…when you’re evaluating potential wedding packages, check and see whether you’ll have an on-site coordinator to work with throughout the process.

Is there a back-up plan in-place for weather-related issues?

This next section really applies to evaluating wedding venues, in general. For this blog post though, you’ll also want to keep it in mind for the various wedding packages. When touring different venues around town, we always recommend inquiring about what their plan is for inclement weather. In the event that it rains or the weather throws any other curveballs on your wedding day, what is the back-up plan? Before you start to discuss specific packages, it wouldn’t hurt to ask this question first!

To provide you with an example, let’s take a look at our wedding venue, Madera Estates. We have both an outdoor space (in front of the Grand Fireplace) and an indoor one (the Hacienda). If you had planned for an outdoor ceremony or reception and the weather doesn’t cooperate, the Hacienda can easily be utilized for both a ceremony and a reception. While your guests enjoy a cocktail hour, our staff will transform it from a ceremony space to a reception area.

What all is included with the packages and are there any optional add-ons?

Truth be told, we probably could have easily put this point first, as the first thing you’ll want to ask is in regards to what all is included with a particular package. Additionally, you’ll also want to ask if there are any optional add-ons or upgrades that you can consider adding to your package. What would an example of this be? It could be upgraded linens that differ from their standard colors/styles/materials. It could be added components offered by the venue, such as seating chart displays or other decor. It could be additional backdrops to utilize for photo opps. It could even be the always-popular neon signs that definitely add a unique touch to any wedding reception!

Long story short, there are so many details included throughout a wedding that you’ll have no trouble creating exactly what you’ve envisioned and possibly even adding some components along the way that you hadn’t previously thought of! 

How does the date impact the price?

When it comes to wedding packages, two of the most important aspects that you’ll look for are the services offered and the prices, right? No surprises there! Since we’ve already covered the service part to this equation, the only thing left is the price point. With this, when you’re evaluating the different wedding packages from the venues that you’re considering, you’ll want to check and see how the prices may vary depending on the wedding date that you’ve selected. Whether that be the day of the week or month of the year, as you can probably guess, certain times are more popular than others and may come at a higher price tag. In the end, be sure to inquire about how the date may impact the final wedding package price.

Secure Your Wedding Package at Madera Estates!

Here at Madera Estates, we have always been focused on making the entire wedding planning process and the big day itself as stress-free as possible. Furthermore, as a wedding venue that has hosted hundreds of weddings over the years, we enjoy utilizing our wedding blog as a resource for engaged couples as they plan their wedding. Whether that be tips on different stages in the planning process, inspiration from past weddings held at our venue or anything else, there are certainly plenty to talk about when it comes to weddings. We hope you enjoyed following along on this week’s blog post that covered some ideas for evaluating wedding packages.

Interested in learning more about our wedding venue in Conroe or the wedding packages that we offer? Feel free to fill out the form HERE to request a copy of our Pricing Guide. Happy wedding planning!