It always amazes me how many people plan their wedding by going to see vendors without an appointment. Most people wouldn't think of seeing their doctor, hair stylist or other professional without an appointment, so why would you do this in planning one of the biggest days of your life? In your professional life, how many people drop in on you unannounced?
Considering how much money, planning and effort goes into planning a wedding, I would definitely recommend selecting your vendors the same way.
Because I have a hotel background, I will speak from that point of view. Although hotels are open 24/7, that doesn't always mean people are standing by ready to show you the venue. Making an appointment would give you several advantages:
- The hotel representative will give you their full attention. When you drop in, they may be in the middle of something and not quite focused on your appointment.
- You will know in advance if the spaces appropriate for your sized wedding is available to see and can adjust your appointment accordingly. Why show up when the ballroom you would potentially book is in use? Another scenario could be your wedding is for 250 and they can only fit 200.
- You will know in advance if the venue is free on your potential wedding day. It is a waste of time to not discuss this in advance, then the catering manager would need to return to their office, mid-appointment to check availability for several potential dates. Or, in some cases, there is only one possible date because of a church booking. You fall in love with the reception site, but it's booked. Then what?
- You have the potential to receive menus, pricing and hotel booking parameters in advance to prepare any necessary questions accordingly. Maybe you love the venue, but you'd like to know if they're flexible with the menu or if they do any price breaks on possibly Fridays or Sundays.
There are, however some reasons to drop in on a venue. If you are truly in the beginning stages of planning your wedding, you may want to visit several venues and get a feel if this is somewhere you'd like a closer look. You can get a good feel of a place just by walking around. You may be able to view a ceremony in the distance or take a peek at a room while they're setting up. If you do drop in, keep your expectations low on being able to see something. The venue may be going through renovations or have a large event that wants total privacy on the space.
Remember, there is a lot of planning that goes into a wedding. Try to maximize the time that you have!
