Planning An Atlanta Wedding? 5 Tips On Navigating Your Nuptials In Atlanta

Photo | Jess Henderson Photography

I cannot tell you how many times I hear from current or potential clients that they were shocked to discover xyz about planning their wedding in the city Atlanta. I am so lucky to serve couples in an area with a booming wedding industry, but it took me some time at the beginning of my career to learn the ropes and make those important connections. I also have the pleasure of serving clients throughout the Southeast, so I can compare and contrast different markets and serve my couples based on industry standards in their wedding location. 

I could ramble on about the Atlanta industry until the cows come home, but today I want to share with you 5 things I have learned during my time here in the industry. If you are recently engaged and planning to have your wedding in Atlanta, these facts will be helpful for you!

As much as I want you to bask in the joy of your engagement for a while, you need to nail down that date!

It can be tempting to wait a little bit before you start the planning process after the question is popped, but Atlanta venues fill up fast - unbelievably fast! It is September of 2017 as I am writing this, and there are some venues that I have spoken with recently are completely booked on Saturdays for 2018, and many others with very few dates left. I am talking January through December, friends! For this reason, and especially if you are set on having a Saturday celebration and getting married in the next year, you need to nail down your date as soon as you can. The venue is the first task I check off the list with my planning clients, and usually in the first week of our time together. It helps if you are flexible and can have a Friday or Sunday wedding, which is completely common here in Atlanta (and can also save you some money!). Luckily, once your date is booked, a huge weight will be lifted!

Your timeline could be heavily influenced by Atlanta traffic.

...especially if you are having your wedding and reception in separate locations, or if your wedding is on a Friday. Keep this in mind when scheduling your ceremony time or planning your timeline. It naturally takes people a bit longer to get where they are going in Atlanta, so your planner or coordinator can advise on your timeline based on their years of experience. This will also affect you if you have a guest shuttle service, so be sure to talk with your planner or coordinator so they can assist you with booking those services and getting the coverage you need.

The wedding industry is enormous in Atlanta, so you will have a lot of options for great vendors!

This can be a blessing and a curse! It is great if you have all of the time in the world to shop around, but really tough if you have a full time job and have never worked with anyone in the wedding industry before. Unless you want to have 43 tabs up on your Google Chrome window at any given moment, researching vendors that you don’t know from Adam’s house cat, do yourself a huge favor and invest in a planner or coordinator. Experienced planners will provide you with a condensed list of the best and brightest vendors in the area, and many of them will give you custom recommendations based on your budget and style, so you can choose wisely and spend more time having fun instead of researching (or settling on a vendor that you don't love or who isn't a good fit).

Pick your date wisely - it’s called Hot-lanta for a reason!

If you are planning an indoor ceremony and reception at the Biltmore ballrooms, your date really won’t matter because you will not be using outdoor space for much of your wedding day. If you are planning an outdoor ceremony at the iconic Swan House, you may want to pay attention to weather patterns! It can get very hot in Atlanta, and your guests will be sitting in the heat for 30 minutes prior to your ceremony. If you must get married outdoors in the summer months, provide a water station or other option for cooling down your guests (King of Pops, anyone?) - they will be in formal attire and appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Atlanta venues can accommodate any style of wedding that you’d like!

Atlanta has it all - ballroom, industrial, outdoor, rustic, historical, museum, metropolitan, estate… you name it, we can find it for you. If you are considering Atlanta or the greater Atlanta area for your wedding, chances are you will find a venue that is the perfect fit for you.

Let us help YOU get started planning your Atlanta wedding on the right foot! We are currently booking 2018 couples.