When you book your wedding venue and start planning early, you’re assured of much less stress as your wedding approaches.

Here are our best tips on picking the perfect wedding venue for your big day.

Pick a Location for Your Wedding Venue

Traditionally, weddings were always held in the bride’s home town, but nowadays you can host your wedding reception anywhere. The groom’s home town might be a better option for some, or maybe you’ve got your heart set on tying the knot in Texas.

There are a few reasons why Texas is the ideal place to say your vows.

Texas is full of pretty places and small towns with a friendly atmosphere and the weather’s mild year-round in this part of the world, with an average daytime temperature of 60° F.

The northern panhandle of Texas can get cold in winter, but skies are generally clear in areas with a semi-arid climate.

Wherever you choose to get married in Texas you’re bound to find plenty of accommodation for your guests nearby. There are also many exciting and entertaining activities to keep them busy before and after your celebrations.

Texas is an affordable wedding destination since low taxes mean businesses can pass their savings on to their clients.

Once you’ve decided on a general area in this lovely state, you can start planning your wedding in greater detail.

Budgeting for Your Big Day

Budget’s a significant concern for any couple and it impacts every aspect of your wedding planning. So, it’s the starting point for all your wedding aspirations.

Often, family members will contribute toward a wedding in place of a wedding gift, or according to tradition. Chat with all the parties involved so you can come up with a final figure for your budget at the outset.

Your wedding venue and catering will take up about half your budget, so set aside 50% of the total towards these major items. Often, hiring an all-inclusive wedding venue works out cheaper than paying per head or arranging outside caterers.

With your budget firmly in mind, start an internet search in your area of interest and start enquiring about prices for the venues you like. Try to get a price list for all their services rather than an estimate based on a particular number of guests.

Start Working on Your Guest List

Armed with your price lists from preferred providers you can start working on your guest list in earnest. Make sure you involve both families in compiling your list. You don’t want to start married life by upsetting your in-laws.

Be sure to highlight any not-negotiable guests on both sides of the family tree before you start the next phase.

Once you’ve got a preliminary list, you can start working out costs based on the price lists you have.

There’s a good chance you’ll need to trim your list according to your budget. Remember, most wedding venues have a maximum guest count too, so keep this in mind while working on your list.

You’re bound to go through many revisions before you settle on a final list that works with your budget and your list of venues.

Prioritize Your Wish Lists

Everyone has preconceived ideas of what they want for their wedding day. Chat with your partner about their priorities and come up with a list of three things you agree on.

Some of these items could include outdoor space for the ceremony, nearby accommodation for your guests, a variety of venues to choose from, or flexible catering options.

Based on these priorities, you can narrow down your final list of venues even more and come up with a proposed date for your big day.

Get in Touch With the Venues

By the time you’ve completed all the above steps, you’ve probably got a list of questions concerning your proposed wedding venues.

Now that you’ve got answers to the most common questions they’re likely to ask, you can get in touch and start planning in earnest.

They can offer clarity on their maximum capacity, availability of dates, and any extra costs. Most importantly, this initial contact will reveal the venue’s level of courtesy and helpfulness toward their clients.

If you like what you hear, you can draw up a shortlist of venues that meet your needs and book a site visit with each of them.

Visit The Wedding Venues

Apart from your actual wedding, visiting the various venues on your list is the best part of the process. During this exercise, you’ll get an overall feel of the venue and get to meet the people you’ll work with while planning your celebration.

It’s important to remember that each venue will look very different in it’s ‘naked’ state compared to when it’s set up for an event. Most venues will have a portfolio of previous events to help you visualize what they can offer.

An experienced event coordinator can offer you much-needed advice regarding every aspect of your wedding reception, so be sure to ask loads of questions. Most importantly, discuss their terms and conditions regarding payment while you’re there.

If you have any budget concerns, speak to the event coordinator, they might have some recommendations on how to cut down your costs.

Don’t fall in love with the first venue you see. Be sure to visit them all and decide on the final one as a couple. Once you’ve made the big decision, book your venue and pay your deposit right away.

Start Planning the Perfect Texas Wedding

If you’d like to enjoy a small-town wedding with all the mod cons at your disposal, Midlothian’s the perfect town for you, located just 25 miles from Dallas.

Our Midlothian Conference Center and wedding venue boast all the amenities you desire, a wide choice of function halls, and a hotel on-site for your convenience.

Get in touch today and start planning your dream wedding near Dallas, TX.

The post How to Choose a Wedding Venue in Texas appeared first on Midlothian Conference Center.

Things can be even more stressful when planning a military wedding, due to the extra layer of protocols and etiquette to be observed throughout the ceremony.

From the invitation formalities, seating arrangements, and displaying the national flag, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and worked up during the planning phase.

Furthermore, you have to keep in mind that different branches of the armed forces have varying wedding customs and rituals which ought to be respected. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that military weddings can be quite elegant and their sophistication sets them apart from the traditional wedding.

But how do you put on a memorable military wedding?

1. Book a Military Wedding Venue in Advance

A military wedding often takes place in a military chapel or on academy grounds, but many choose to have their military wedding in a more traditional venue such as the Midlothian Conference Center.

If you do want to use the military chapel, you’ll need to book far in advance, preferably a year ahead of time, by writing to the chaplain’s office.

For your request to be accepted, you have to be either a graduate, dependent of a graduate or staff member in the military. Usually, there are no charges for using the chapel but a donation will be appreciated.

2. Wedding Attire

It’s customary for the service member getting married to dress in their official ceremonial suit.

If the groom is the service member, he must wear a saber or cutlass accompanied with white gloves. It’s important to note that when in the ceremonial suit, flowers or boutonnieres cannot be added to the suit. Nevertheless, after the wedding ceremony, the groom can change to the usual tux for the reception.

Brides in the military can choose to wear a traditional wedding gown or their ceremonial dress and still carry a bridal bouquet.

Also, the bride should stand at the right-hand-side of the groom in order to avoid the blade which is part of the groom’s ceremonial attire.

3. Seating Arrangement

Seating arrangement in a military wedding is done with respect to ranks of the attending service members.

The commander of the bride and groom should be seated with the parents of the couple. If the parents of the groom and/bride are not present, the commanding officer and their spouse should sit at the front pew.

Other military guests should be seated directly behind in accordance to their ranks.

This same arrangement should be honored even at the reception, especially when it comes to high ranking officers. Military guests can choose to be seated together at a table of their own or be seated among civilian guests as a noble act.

4. Research Available Officiates

Typically, a military wedding will be officiated by the military chaplain. But, this doesn’t mean you cannot involve your civilian clergyperson to co-officiate the ceremony.

Try talking to both of them in advance to discuss the possibilities of having them officiate your wedding.

5. Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance is essential for the couples given the unpredictable military life. And since planning a wedding takes almost a year, you may wake up to the news that your wedding date has to be moved due to the relocation of your military spouse.

Having wedding insurance will save you the frustration that comes with the ceremony being postponed. When buying the insurance, make sure you understand the terms of your coverage including coverage for military duty or deployment.

Also, consider asking your partner if they have military wedding policy covererage to avoid overpaying.

6. The Arch of Saber

This is one of the most anticipated traditions in a military wedding. If you’re new to this, you’ll want to consider practicing during the wedding rehearsals.

Basically, an arch is formed by ushers using the sabers, and the bride and groom pass through the arch symbolizing transition into a new life together. The last two ushers will then lower their sabers and one of them lightly ‘swat’ the bride and welcomes her into the army life. If the bride is a service member, this step is omitted.

For a Navy wedding, the arch must strictly take place indoors, while the Army and the Air force have their arch either indoors or outdoors.

In most cases, the military groomsmen participate in forming a saber arch, but guests can also be included to help create the arch.

Other Military Traditions

Consider these military traditions for your wedding:

Cutting the Cake

There can be a little spin put into this tradition, whereby the saber bearers enter the reception room and form a saber arch in front of the cake. The newlyweds pass through the arch again and approach the cake. The groom then hands his bride his saber, and they cut the cake with his hands over hers.

Consider Security

Security is paramount especially given the attendance of high-ranking military officials. For security reasons, the officials may not like the idea of being photographed. So, it’s good to find out in advance and let your photographer know who to avoid and what photos shouldn’t be shared publicly.

Be Careful with Written Materials

Military guests should be addressed according to their title. The person with the military title should be listed first, whether male or female and then their spouse’ name follows with ‘Mr. or Mrs.’ prefix.

This rule should be adhered to from the invitation cards all the way to the escort cards.

Displaying the Flag and Decorations

The flag should always be at the left-hand side of the officiant, as viewed by the guests, at the chapel and even at the reception.

As for the decorations, it’s best you choose colors that complement the official colors of the military. For example, use a red theme for if it’s an Air force wedding. The cake toppings should also be according to the branch of the military.

Planning a Military Wedding Has Never Been This Easy

While planning a military wedding can be overwhelming, with the sheer amount of protocols involved, it’s still possible to plan a memorable wedding without too much stress and hassle. To help you kick start your preparations, be sure to use the tips above.

Need some help with planning your wedding? We’ll be happy to, just request a proposal from us.

The post 6 Fantastic Tips for Planning a Military Wedding appeared first on Midlothian Conference Center.

So you look closer to home – and closer to airports, so that your loved ones and friends can actually afford to attend.

But that doesn’t mean you have to give up the romance or beauty! There are plenty of indoor and nearby venues that have everything you need.  Have some more wedding venue questions? We’ve got answers below.

What Questions Do You Ask a Wedding Venue?

Your wedding venue is the backdrop for your day. It serves as everything from a reception to a wedding space to a getting ready space, or all three!

Here’s what you should look for:

• Availability on your wedding date/weekend
• A ceremony and reception space
• The right capacity for your guest list
• A budget-friendly cost
• A sound system
• Restrooms
• A catering service (or the ability to bring in outside catering)
• Tables, chairs, linens
• Proximity to you and your guests
• Ample parking
• Photo-friendly spaces
• ETC

The list goes on and on, but a list is only half of it. You really have to fall in love with the space too.

Your Wedding Venue Questions, Answered

Are you ready to learn if our venue is right for you based on the list above? Get those exact questions answered below.

What’s the Availability Like?

It’s still early spring, which means we have a good amount of summer wedding availability still open. We’re talking about the good dates, even Sundays.

As with any venue, the quicker you lock down your date and deposit, the better chance you have of actually finding somewhere with that date free.

We’re located in Midlothian, just south of Dallas, which has a very large population. Come get your date booked before one of the other thousands of to-be-married couples beats you to it.

What Spaces are Available?

At Midlothian, we have one large ballroom that split into two seperate ballrooms. Then there’s also our Chapparal and Wildflower rooms, for smaller affairs.

Let’s start with the Bluebonnet Ballroom.

Bluebonnet I is the smaller of our ballrooms, though it still fits up to 174 people for a reception. There’s space for everything in this room, it sits at a whopping three thousand square feet.

It has a beautifully curved edge stage and neutral colors that go with any color palette. The bathroom is right down the hall and the dressing rooms are around the corner.

The Bluebonnet II

Bluebonnet II is our bigger ballroom space, that sits at 4,800 square feet. That’s bigger than most five bedroom homes!

It has a beautiful high ceiling and can fit up to 250 guests for a large reception.

The Bluebonnets (I&II)

If you have a truly huge party planned, then you can combine the Bluebonnet I and II for a giant room that seats up to 500 people.

The combined space is over 7,000 square feet which is enough for dancing, eating, resting, and then some.

Chaparral

If you’re looking for a smaller but just as gorgeous space the Chaparral Room upstairs fits up to 80 people. It’s still a sizeable room, at 1,300 square feet.

Wildflower

For an even smaller group, the Wildflower Room can fit up to sixty guests, though you can have access to the lounge as part of your (additional) reservation as well.

Is Midlothian Conference Center Affordable?

Absolutely. If you try to rent out something in downtown Dallas, you’ll easily pay five thousand dollars. It doesn’t even cost that to rent out our entire building!

To rent our whole building for the six-hour minimum, it’s around $3,000.

You can check out the costs of the rooms on weekends/weekdays and what the deposits are here.

If you scroll down, you can see the cost for linens, tables, and other such accessories. We have everything from wedding arches, to dance floors, to China settings available to add on to your pricing package.

Do You Cater or Allow Outside Catering?

Yes and yes. We do have a catering service that you can employ for your party, but we don’t force you to stay in-house. Our staff will work with you to select one of our preferred caterers if you would like our assistance.

If you’re having someone come in, you may still rent china and settings from us for your tables.

In fact, you can even hire an in-house bar server, DJ, and security guard for your event. Those are available a la carte or with our wedding package, which is a steal of a price.

Location, Location, Location

Not only are we a short drive to Dallas and two airports, but we also have an on-site hotel. That means you won’t have to get buses or expect your loved ones to rent cars/uber to get you to your wedding site.

Our conference center and combined hotel have plenty of parking for in-town friends.

Photo Venues

We built our conference center specifically for special events like weddings, so you know that there are gorgeous photo opportunities all over the building.

Stair photos? Check! Dressing rooms for getting ready pics? Check! Big windows and natural stone? Check and check!

Get a Personalized Quote

The best thing about our venue (other than . . . okay, everything is great!) is that you can build your perfect package. Don’t need a dance floor but do want cocktail tables? We can make that happen for you.

But we can only give you a quote and answer your wedding venue questions for you if you contact us. Get your personalized quote here.

The post Got Wedding Venue Questions? Midlothian Conference Center Has Answers appeared first on Midlothian Conference Center.