How long do I need for my Honeysuckle Hills wedding?
Over the past ten years, we've noticed a few things that are worth sharing to help with your decision on how long to book your wedding venue. While wedding chapels operate on a completely different model, this information would also apply to any wedding venue with open spaces, gardens, vintage barn or woodland chic atmosphere.
Reserve early. The best dates typically book a year or more in advance. October Fridays and Saturdays book well over a year in advance. Any wedding venue that pours their heart and soul into their grounds and customer service will book before the others. In other words, the best venues always book first.
Last minute brides are not necessarily out of luck... occasionally there is an unfortunate cancellation, and we always offer a discount in attempts to re-book the date. Don't count on this to happen, but if you're flexible it's a great way to save money.
Reserve plenty of time. We can't stress this enough, especially if you're using the Honeysuckle Hills photographer, or any professional photographer who makes a full time living from their craft. Too often we see brides trying to squeeze too much into a short time period. A budget is one thing, but please be realistic in respect to what can actually be accomplished in the time frame you can reserve. Also give yourself a little wiggle room for those unexpected things like guests running late, forgotten items, or last minute additions.
When in doubt, ask Regina for a timeline. This will put things into perspective for you.
I have seen too many brides over the years say, "Oh, we only need something very simple," when in reality their ideas and wishes require more time than they originally booked. Make a list of the must have events for your wedding, and then ask for that time line. If your budget doesn't allow enough time for everything, prioritize. The worst thing you can do is try to cram it all in anyway.
Some things to consider when deciding how much wedding venue time to reserve are:
1) The number of guests
2) The style of your wedding dress (how long it takes to put it on; lace up takes longer)
3) How many people will be in the dressing room with you
4) Having parents and grandparents officially seated
5) Using your own wedding officiant / minister
6) Reception needs (cake, finger foods, or a full meal)
7) Your photographer's needs (level of creativity, use of off camera lighting, number of areas they plan to use at the venue, and how many family photographs you wish for)
8) Alcohol consumption
9) Time for dancing / DJ / Band
10) Traditional wedding events such as bouquet toss, toasts, cake cutting and first dances
11) Seasonal Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg traffic situations
When using your own minister, consider booking extra time. While not required, we recommend adding at least thirty more minutes to your reservation when using your own minister. Why? Because they know you more personally, they will deliver a longer, more uniquely personal ceremony. It does not matter how many times you tell them to keep it shorter, they just can't. The average ceremony deliverance when brides use their own officiant is twenty minutes. This puts the wedding ceremony process from start to finish at around thirty minutes, sometimes a little longer. If you only have an hour booked at our venue, that doesn't leave much time afterward for photographs. Even if you have more time booked, this additional ceremony length needs to be factored in to the overall itinerary.
Be realistic when it comes to the wedding budget. We have structured our venue so that we have many conveniences and decorations already, saving you a LOT of money. We're always set up and ready to go, even with a back up plan for rain. Because of this, we are one of the most economical wedding venues in the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area considering everything included. www.honeysucklehills.com
The best way to save money if you have a tight budget is to keep the guest count SMALL. Larger guest counts mean the need for more reservation time, more food purchases, larger wedding cake designs, and more. Brides who insist on inviting everyone despite a lower available budget always end up sacrificing quality. This is not a good idea, sweet girls.
It is better to save your money for a future wedding date and have your dream wedding later than to cut corners and add stress for immediate gratification.
Alternatively, consider a wedding elopement now and have more money to spend on wedding items that truly last (such as experienced, creative photographers,) and save your money for a vow renewal celebration at a later date.
Wedding music and larger celebrations... Don't skip out on the professional DJ. Our Bose Mp3 player sounds great. I've gone through two of them in ten years, and for our smaller, more intimate weddings it's perfect. However, when you've hired a caterer and several hours to enjoy our beautiful venue, the DJ is the icing on your cake. He's the pretty bow that holds the beautiful gift box together. His sound system rocks, and he can do things like create unique song mixes and start a song at a particular time point. He has microphones for announcing events so that no matter where your guests are on our spacious farm and gardens, they will hear it. This is money well spent, we assure you. www.knoxvegasdjs.com
Don't cave under pressure from family and friends to do things you don't want to do. This advice probably needs to be at the very top of this article, but it must be addressed. Over and over again we see family put undue stress on a bride for something they want instead of what the bride wants. We will always follow our bride's wishes, but it's almost impossible to keep it under control when family members become vocally aggressive.
If you want to elope with just the two of you in the Smoky Mountains, then take care who and when you announce this blessing to. I can't tell you how many times a bride has scheduled an elopement only to upgrade to a wedding with guests and reception shortly after. Sure, we love it! But the question is, will YOU love it?
We are also often asked, "Can my parents please attend my elopement" or "Can a few more people attend my wedding?" shortly after it's booked. Of course, we are always sensitive to this loving gesture. But it does inevitably take away from the time you would have originally had for photography or other scheduled events. You will spend longer in the dressing room, the guests will want time to take pictures of you with their own cell phones, you will need more time for extra family pictures, and they will want to spend time giving affectionate hugs and kisses to you. So again, if you find yourself with a few extra guests for your elopement or wedding celebration, please consider adding more time to compensate.
Overall, the very best way to find out how long you need to reserve is to call Regina and ask. She can be reached at 866-572-7724, or she answers text during normal business hours at 865-368-5569.
