

Newly Engaged…What Happens Next?
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Finding a Venue
One of the first things to do is find your venue. Once you have this secured, then you can work everything else around it, book in your suppliers, send out save the dates and get started with the food options. The venue will also give you a starting point when it comes to your décor, style, and help you with your guest list depending on the capacity. Here at Kelmarsh Hall, we’re delighted to welcome you back to visit multiple times to refresh your memory and help decide on all the finer details, you can even bring your photographer or florist to help give them some inspiration too. If you’re having a civil ceremony, then after booking your venue it’s important to get in touch with the local registrars to confirm your date and time of ceremony.
Food Tastings
It’s best to get the ball rolling with your caterers as soon as possible. Once you have your venue and date confirmed, you can start looking into your food and drinks options. Once you’ve secured your date with us at Kelmarsh, we let our wonderful sole caterers, Portfolio Events, know and they will be in touch with you, giving you all the details that you need. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with them for a tasting session and discuss all the different food and beverage packages available. If you’ve decided to give your guests a choice for their meal, then the earlier you meet with your caterers, the better. This means that you can move onto the next steps of finalising your guest list and sending out their invites.
Securing your Suppliers
Just like your caterers, it’s best to secure your other suppliers as early as possible to ensure that you don’t miss out. When booking with Kelmarsh, we will send you our recommended list of suppliers which can be extremely helpful as there are so many out there to choose from. Some couples find it useful to meet with multiple suppliers before making their final decisions, trial photoshoots are a good idea for those that don’t always feel so comfortable having their photos taken. This will give you the opportunity to get to know the photographer, how they work and whether you feel comfortable with them before you book.
Planning the Order of the Day
Working with the wedding coordinators of your venue is essential for the order of your day. With their experience and knowledge of the venue, they can give you recommendations based on what you would like and the suppliers that you’ve booked. At Kelmarsh, we invite our couples back to the Hall for a Day Plan meeting about 6-8 weeks before their wedding. We work closely with our couples in each meeting to ensure that their day is just as they envisioned, and we discuss all the finer details. The day plan is crucial for the rest of the suppliers as they’ll be able to plan their own running order to suit and everyone will be working off the same timings. This will also give you the chance to ask any other questions that you or your guests may have.