It goes without saying that saving money on your wedding is one of today’s hot topics. The wedding venue is always going to be your largest expense so maybe it’s worth taking a chance and booking your venue last minute.

There are a few considerations to think about first:

1. Just because you don’t have a definite date doesn’t mean you can’t send out save the date cards.
2. Avoid a weekend wedding if you want a summer wedding.
3. Do LOTS of research well in advance and see who’s offering deals. It’s best to look at what venues have deals this year even if you’re planning to get married next year.
4. Most suppliers aren’t going to hold a date for you so give yourself lots of backup options.
5. Remember that the best suppliers book up months/years in advance. They might be more flexible if you pay them a deposit and offer a weekday wedding. Some suppliers might offer you a partial refund or merely a loss of your deposit if they end up to be busy but it might be worth the risk.
6. If you’re not bothered about ‘getting the best’ then there are plenty of suppliers that still do a very good job and you might be able to get last minute. It’s worth meeting as many of these as you can so when you have a date you can start from the top of the list to see who’s still available.
7. Have consideration for your guests. Are they coming from overseas? Will the venue you’re after offer hotel rooms?
8. Just because you book your venue last minute doesn’t mean that you can’t spend months planning everything else!

Here’s a few places to look at:

www.hitched.co.uk

Hitched offer a great listings resource of venues and available dates.

www.wedding-venues.co.uk

Listing of late availability and special offers.

www.whirlwindweddings.com

Whirlwind weddings specialise in last minute weddings and offer some great deals on four fantastic UK locations.

Leez Priory in Essex, Gosfield Hall in Essex, St Audries Park in Sommerset and Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire.

www.confetti.co.uk

Confetti also offer a late availability directory although dates are not always available on the site.

www.lastminuteweddings.co.uk

Well we had to include these guys didn’t we? Only two venues both in Essex, The Fennes and Parklands.

If there’s a venue you’ve really set your heart on then many venues do offer last minute deals on their websites. How much cheaper they are who knows!

Happy searching!