The rolling hills, the lush vines, the incredible wine — there are a lot of reasons why you might want to get married in a vineyard. But you don’t have to travel to Napa Valley to plan a vineyard wedding. Providence Vineyard brings every ounce of Italian wine country charm to our 30 acres in Chicagoland. Here’s our best advice on how to plan a vineyard wedding in the Chicago area.
12 – 18 Months Out
Most couples start looking for a wedding venue as soon as they get engaged, but at minimum, we recommend starting the planning process at least 12 – 18 months before your wedding date. It is possible to plan a wedding in a shorter timeline, but be prepared for certain dates or vendors to be unavailable because of other bookings. For example, our clients get to use the property for a full day when they book with Providence Vineyard, which means we can only accept one reservation per day.
Around one year out from your wedding date is the best time to:
- Tour and book a wedding venue
- Interview and hire a wedding planner
- Develop design ideas and start interviewing vendors to help bring your vision to life
As you begin looking at venues, make sure you look to see when tours are available. At Providence Vineyard, we offer tours every week by appointment only. This is because our property is large (30 acres!) with multiple ceremony sites and other amenities to show you.
We have witnessed hundreds of stunning weddings — some that used a wedding planner, and some that didn’t. Your rental at Providence Vineyard does include an onsite venue coordinator who will make sure you have everything you need while using the property. This, however, is not the same as a wedding coordinator. If you want experienced help planning the details of your vineyard wedding so that the design and logistics all flow seamlessly, we recommend hiring a wedding planner or month-of coordinator. We have month-of wedding coordinators on staff whose services you can book separately from the venue reservation. Please contact us for pricing.
6 Months Out
By the time your wedding is six months out, you should have hired all of your wedding vendors, ordered your rentals, purchased your rings, selected a dinner menu, and revisited your budget.
Your Providence Vineyard rental includes the use of our round tables and cross-back chairs. We also have rustic farm tables available for rent; by six months out, please let us know if you’d like to add the farm tables to your invoice.
4 – 5 Months Out
As your wedding gets closer, you’ll start to enjoy more pre-wedding activities like:
- Cake tasting
- Dress alterations appointments
- Trial hair and make-up appointments
- Bridal portrait session
2 – 3 Months Out
Two- to three-months out from your wedding date is when things start to get busy! There will be a lot of details to manage, such as:
- Paying any final vendor invoices on or before their due date
- Mailing your wedding invitations
- Meeting with your officiant to help them plan your wedding ceremony remarks
- Ordering any gifts, such as wedding favors and gifts for your wedding party
- Developing a wedding day timeline
If you work with a wedding planner, luxury stationer, or other vendors, they may take care of many of these details for you.
1 Month Out
Are you excited yet?! Your wedding is almost here!
Around one month before your wedding is when we recommend:
- Securing your “day of” liability insurance policy
- Uploading vendor certificates of insurance to our client portal
- Confirming details with all of your vendors
- Getting a final headcount of guests, and giving that number to your venue and vendors
- Completing your seating chart
- Preparing vendor tips
- Make arrangements for the installation of your personal decor
- Look at the weather forecast for your wedding day and make any necessary adjustments
- Make plans for your ceremony rehearsal
Pro Tip: Tour Your Venue Again
Don’t forget that Providence Vineyard hosts monthly open houses for all of our clients (and your vendors) so you can come see the venue, measure, take photos, and finalize your plans. We hope having this extra opportunity to tour the venue brings you clarity, inspiration, and confidence that your day will be perfect!
Not a Providence Vineyard couple yet? Schedule your initial venue tour and explore our 30 acres of stunning vineyards and our 10,000 square-foot wedding barn.
Photographer Credits: Feature Image and Image 1: Lindsey Taylor Photography | Image 2 & 3: Taylor May Photography
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