2. The Wedding Party
As soon as you announce your engagement, you’re bound to be asked who your
bridesmaids / groomsmen are going to be. While there’s no need to rush this, if you have
already chosen – let them know. Invite them to join in on the wedding planning journey –
they may be able to help and impart some very helpful advice along the way!
3. Pick a Date
You may have a set wedding date in mind, or maybe you’re open to exploring the
availability of your chosen venue? The reality is that you might need to be a little flexible to
secure your dream wedding space. Consider what season, or month, you ideally want to get
married in and talk to your prospective wedding venue about this. At Burlton Manor we
have a number of beautiful outdoor areas around the barns which can be utilised
throughout a wedding day. For example our Secret Garden is magical for an outdoor
wedding ceremony, the Terrace benefits from magnificent views for a drinks reception, and
romantic couple’s photos by the Cherub Fountain are non-negotiable!
4. Your Wedding Guests
Your final guest number will end up directly impacting many elements of your wedding day.
Most importantly, the capacity of your venue, but also how many adults / children will be
eating, who needs accommodation, and how many wedding invitations you need to send
out. Have a clear number in mind before you start booking the big stuff. The venues spaces
in our barn are incredibly versatile for a variety of different sized celebrations. While we can
comfortably sit up to 200 guests in our Main Barn for a sit-down meal, an intimate wedding
for 30 in our Ceremony Room would make for a beautiful occasion.
5. Research and Secure Your Wedding Venue
Google is a great place to start but we also have listings on Hitched, Coco Wedding Venues,
and For Better For Worse. These are all exceptional wedding directories and integral to any
newly engaged couple planning a wedding. Consider your budget, location, capacity,
accessibility, venue style etc. and then once your key criteria have been set you will be able
to focus more clearly and select only the best wedding venues to visit in person.
We offer private viewings of Burlton Manor on a regular basis. Visiting in person gives
couples a wonderful opportunity to visualise their big day, meet our resident wedding
coordinator (and fountain of knowledge), Rebecca, and discuss the logistics surrounding
your wedding. We want you to have the best day of your life and will always try our hardest
to accommodate your requests and wishes.
6. Wedding Inspiration via Pinterest & Instagram
Social media is an amazing tool to use to gather wonderful wedding inspiration and aid
wedding planning. But a friendly warning – there’s a LOT out there! Try not to fall into the
trap of comparing yourself to others or second-guessing your already carefully thought-out
choices, and only pin / save the wedding style, dream suppliers, and décor options that you
truly love.
7. Research and Book Your Wedding Suppliers
We love it when our couples ask for some wedding supplier recommendations. We would
always say that recommendations direct from your wedding venue are quality leads as they
have likely worked there before and done a fantastic job! Plus if they know the venue inside
out that’s a bonus too.
Online blogs such as Love My Dress and Rock My Wedding are packed with wedding
inspiration and champion the best of the best within the industry. Seek out the posts which
align with the style of wedding that you’ve having and make a note of the supplier credits.
Social media is also a brilliant place to search for your wedding suppliers. Instagram’s search
function picks up on keywords, hashtags and location so try searching a variety of terms and
see what comes up. ‘Fine art wedding photographer’ will bring up photographers with a
certain style / niche or maybe you want a florist that lives locally, ‘Shropshire florist’ for
example.
We are lucky to be home to some incredibly talented wedding professionals here in
Shropshire and are always happy to assist with your requests.
