Page 24 - Valley Table - Spring 2024

SET YOUR BUDGET
First things first: Before you begin touring those venues you’ve been swooning over online, you’ll need to know how much money you can spend. “A lot of times, couples think the first step is to run out and find a venue, and
they don’t really sit and think about what the wedding costs or their overall budget,” says Christoforo . “Finding a venue first and then establishing a budget based on the venue can become a roadblock.”
Another important budget consideration? Figuring
out who’s contributing to it—and what that means
for the planning process. If multiple people are chipping in, Christoforo recommends setting some ground rules about who the ultimate decision-makers will be. “If there are other people making financial decisions, you need
to set up the boundaries or roles for everyone ahead of time, otherwise it can get really stressful,” she cautions.
MAKE THE GUEST LIST
Whether you’re interested in an intimate celebration with 50 or even fewer guests—an option that, Christoforo
notes, continues to appeal to Hudson Valley couples post pandemic—or a grand soirée for 300 of your nearest and dearest, compiling your guest list is a crucial early-stage step. “Start discussing your guest list and how many people
you ideally want to invite,” the pro explains. “You might go looking at venues and find one that can hold 150 people maximum, but then when you book it and you write your guest list, you realize, ‘Oh my god, we have 250.’”
As for who to include on your list of VIPs, Christoforo recommends consulting with
people who are contributing financially to the big day.
“It might be a good idea to
sit down with those family members and have them write out who they would envision inviting to the wedding,” she says, adding that a couple should make their own
guest list, too. “Once you see everyone’s lists, you can come together and say, ‘OK, let’s set some standards for how we’re going to create the master guest list.’”
Pro tip: After you’ve finalized your roster of invitees, start collecting addresses for everyone who made the cut. Chasing down up-to-date address info and ensuring each guest’s name is spelled properly “seems to be one area that really stresses our clients out,” says custom stationer Caitlin Henderson, who co-owns Warwick-based Paper Heart Company with Tomai Maridou. The sooner you can begin compiling and confirming these details, the better, she adds.
CONSIDER HIRING
A PLANNER
Of the many pros you’ll enlist to bring your wedding-day vision to life, a planner— should you choose to work with one—is the expert you’ll want to hire first. In addition to helping you fine-tune the look and feel of your event, these wedding whisperers often take the reins on everything from managing schedules and timelines
to coordinating with your extended vendor team on (and in advance of) your big day. From a vendor’s perspective, “It’s nice to have a planner involved from the beginning,” says Tammy Basten, catering coordinator at Accord-based Fig & Pig Catering, which specializes in weddings throughout the Hudson Valley
and beyond.
Christoforo, who has been
dreaming up local celebrations for 10 years, agrees, noting
that a planner can also prove very helpful during the venue selection process. “I always say you should hire your planner before you book your venue,” she explains. “It’s like searching for a house; you’d hire a real estate agent to help you. So when you go to scout a venue for your wedding, you would want a professional planner to help you.”
CHOOSE A VENUE
From bucolic estates and farms to converted industrial spaces, there’s no shortage of Hudson Valley celebration spots. So how can you narrow the field? Along with practical considerations like date availability, budget,
and head count, think
about your guests’ needs, says Christoforo. Are there enough onsite restrooms, for instance? And are they—and the venue in general—ADA- compliant for guests with mobility challenges? “You don’t want to choose a venue where you have to hike a mile into the woods for this beautiful, wooded ceremony and Grandma’s in a walker,” she says. “You want to make everyone around you feel comfortable so that they can enjoy the day together.”
Of course, a venue should reflect your tastes as a couple, too. “Think about weddings you’ve been to” and what you did (and didn’t) like about them, suggests Christoforo. “The more I know, the more
I can narrow the search and [eliminate] the venues that are not a good fit.” The pro also recommends beginning your venue search 12–18 months before your wedding to ensure you have your pick of the lot. “Venues book their prime
22 TheValleyTable | March–May2024
PHOTOS (TOP TOBOTTOM) COURTESY OF MAIN COURSE CATERING/ BY LISA WOODWARD; SAMPAIO WALZ WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY; AFTER IT ALL; COURTESY OF PROMISES KEPT