When brides and grooms start looking for wedding venues, too often they fall in love with the beauty of the place and sign a contract before they’ve considered the more practical things. It makes sense — who wants to look back and say only, “Well, it was practical”?

But unless the place is so magical that you’re willing to plan your whole event around it, your shouldn’t choose between wedding venues until you’ve decided approximately how many guests you’re inviting and the size of your budget. You’ll also need to decide if you want to have your ceremony and reception in the same place, or if you want an all-in-one wedding venue.