Weddings are joyous events celebrated by millions upon millions of people all throughout the United States. As a matter of fact, there are very nearly two and a half million weddings conducted for each and every passing year, meaning that there are at least 44,000 weddings for each weekend of that year. The wedding business, therefore, is quite the booming one indeed. From reception venues to dresses to catering companies, there is a lot of money spent on the typical wedding – and a great many decisions to finalize.

For one thing, you’ll want to ensure that your guest list is set in stone from relatively early on in the process. Though the average wedding seen here in the United States will have exactly 136 guests, this number will vary from actual wedding to actual wedding. Some people might want a large celebration with just about everyone that they’ve ever met, while others will want a more intimate gathering of close friends and family members only. It all depends on what you and your spouse to be want – and what you can comfortably afford as well. After all, keeping your wedding small will help to reduce overall budget concerns quite dramatically.

A small to moderately sized wedding will also make it quite a bit easier to find a venue, as different venues can accommodate different numbers but most will be able to accommodate a wedding of the average size or even smaller. Fortunately, finding the right venue has become easier than ever before, thanks to the internet and its wide ranging accessibility. After all, the data backs up the fact that a growing number of brides to be and their partners to be – around half of them, 48% to be just a bit more specific – are looking at venues online before ultimately deciding upon one. From a cost perspective, this can make it much easier to compare costs and find the best option price wise as well, which is certainly not something that should be underestimated by any means.

Securing a venue early is also recommended. After all, with so many people getting married over the course of a single year, venues can book up quite quickly indeed. Therefore, it is highly recommended that your venue be in place at least nine months before your wedding, if not a full year in advance. Getting this out of the way can make it much easier to plan the rest of your wedding as well, as the venue can work as a sort of structure for the rest of it (both literally and figuratively, of course). Romantic wedding places are very common right now, as romantic wedding places have always been (as one might expect).

However, more and more people are looking for romantic wedding places and party venues for rent that break the mold, if even just by a little bit. For instance, banquet halls are falling out of style and more than 35% of all couples will choose romantic wedding places that are actually outside – though perhaps they will only choose to stay outside for the ceremony alone, weather permitting. Many couples are also not only looking for romantic wedding places, but unique ones at that. This is something that is backed up by the data, which shows that nearly half of all soon to be married couples (around 40% of them, to get just a bit more specific) are looking to find a unique wedding venue in hopes of finding one that fits their personality. Romantic wedding places outside of the norm can often do just this.

Planning your wedding takes time and patience. Making your engagement a longer one than you had perhaps originally anticipated can be a positive thing, giving you the time to make these judgement calls and decisions. At the end of the day, a well planned wedding will be the one that you can most thoroughly enjoy. Planning your wedding can even be something of an enjoyable process, provided that you have enough time to do it. Therefore, taking your time in the process of planning our your special day can really only be a good thing indeed.