Ultimate Golf Course Wedding Planning Guide
There is an average of 2.5 million weddings each year in the U.S.! If you are in the process of planning a wedding, congrats! You're about the be a part of that amazingly large statistic.
But you may not want to just fall into a statistic. You want your wedding to be beautiful, to be unique, and to be the best day of your life.
You could choose to have a church wedding, a wedding on top of a mountain, or even a wedding in your childhood home's backyard. Or, you could have a golf course wedding.
You truly cannot go wrong with a golf course wedding venue at Hampshire Country Club, especially with this planning guide. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how to plan a golf course wedding!
Create a List of Everything You Want
When it comes to planning your wedding, you don't want to accidentally forget about something or leave something out of the planning. That could lead to a lot of frustration down the road.
To avoid that, be sure that you make a list of everything you want out of your wedding at the beginning of the planning process.
Here are a few things you want to consider adding to your list:
- Setup for the ceremony
- DJ or live band for the wedding reception
- The type of bar that you will have
- Photographer and other wedding employees
- Location of the wedding
- How many people do you want to attend the wedding
- The type of decor you want for the wedding
While this list doesn't include everything that you'll need to plan for, this is a great starting point.
Set a Budget
Planning a wedding is never easy, and when you add in the stress of choosing a budget, it can become even more stressful. However, you want to make sure you stick to this budget or even come out below so that you don't start your marriage with too much financial stress.
For starters, choose how much you are willing to spend on the venue itself. In this case, you are choosing how much to spend on the golf course itself.
After you have a budget for the venue, you can then create a budget in relation to the list of must-haves you created before.
There is no "right" budget. You can spend $5,000 or $50,000. It is up to you and your financial situation.
However, the most important thing to think about during this stage is what you and your fiancé want, not what everyone else is telling you to have.
Pick the Course
One of the first things you want to do when it comes to planning a wedding on a golf course is to pick which course you want to get married on.
You can base this on many different factors, but here are a few things to think about when choosing:
- The event space that the course has
- What the course offers in terms of catering, space, and times
- Location of the course
- The landscaping and weather in the location of the golf course
There are a few things to consider when choosing a course, but by referring to the list you made in the previous step, you'll know exactly which one to go with. And once you have one, you can actually get started with the real wedding planning.
Pick a Date
As any wedding planning guide would tell you, you will need to pick a date for the day of the wedding. This may be determined by the course itself if they have limited slots, or you may be able to choose one that you actually want if the course has more openings.
You should also consider picking a date that makes it easier for more people to attend - either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. If people have to take off of work, it is less likely that they will be in attendance.
Create Your Guest List
Now for the fun part! Once you have your venue and your date, you have to come up with a guest list so you can start getting invitations and save-the-date cards out.
Your guest list numbers will depend on the capacity of the golf course as well as how big you want your wedding to be.
This may be one of the more stressful parts of planning, so spend some extra time here to be sure you have it how you want it.
Plan the Details
Once you have the course, the date, and your guest list, it's time to plan the details for the big day. This includes but is not limited to your entertainment, food and drinks, seating arrangements, and decorations.
Catering
Depending on the course that you choose to have the wedding at, they may have catering options available to you. Some may even require that you use the food catering options that they offer (it may be good to know this before choosing which venue you are going to use).
You may want to try out the food options they have and learn more about them, or you may have another catering service in mind. Whichever you choose, this is a detail to get sorted out pretty early on in the planning process, so you know you have food secured for the big day.
Drinks at the Bar
Do you want a bar? Do you want a bar that serves hard alcohol or just wine and beer? Do you want table service, or do people have to walk up to the bar to order a drink?
These are all things you need to consider when planning for the wedding. Some couples prefer to just have wine or beer, so nothing gets too out of hand, while other couples don't mind having a bunch of options for their guests.
You should also decide if you only want one bar area or if you want several around the venue. This will probably be determined by how big the space is as well as your budget for the wedding.
Seating
There are so many different ways you can arrange the seating at a wedding reception. For starters, you have to choose how you want your table.
Do you want your table to just be you and your fiancé at the front of the room facing the rest of the guests? Do you want a round table for you and all of your bridesmaids and groomsmen? Or do you want just a small table to sit with your family?
It's up to you!
You'll also need to decide how to arrange your guests. You can create seating charts to make it simple and straightforward for your guests when it comes time to get seated, or you can allow them to choose where they sit.
Decorations
One of the most exciting parts about planning a wedding is deciding what type of theme you want and the decor that goes along with it.
Here are a few things to consider when it comes time to decorate:
- What type of flower arrangements you want on your tables and around the space
- Table decor
- Decor around the space (it could be modern decor, flowery decor, rustic-styled decor, etc.)
- Types of drapery to have around the space
Don't forget about your lighting options as part of the decor, too!
Entertainment Options
You don't want to forget to plan the entertainment for your wedding, either! This is crucial to keeping everyone having a great time, including you two!
You can choose from having a live band, a smaller instrumental band with a violin and a guitar, or having a DJ. Whichever music type you chose, having a dance floor as part of the venue is definitely smart for people who want to get down and boogie!
This may already be part of the golf course, or you can hire another service to bring one in for you.
Planning a Golf Course Wedding: A Guide
Now that you have this guide for planning a golf course wedding and know how to plan a golf course wedding, you won't forget anything on your to-do list! You'll have the time of your lives and will relive it forever.
From your decorations to your entertainment and your catering services to the venue itself, your guests will love the wedding.
Now it's time to secure your booking! Contact us today so we can make sure we can secure you a spot for your big day!