Quick Guide to Getting Married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Getting married in the Philadelphia area offers you a range of selections when it comes to vendors and the locations of your wedding ceremony and reception. Variety is useful when it comes to selecting vendors within your budget and cultural or religious preferences.

The Urban Venue and Budget Management

Budget is a primary concern for anyone financing or planning a wedding. Whether you're planning it yourself or hiring a wedding planner, you'll quickly find that Center City and Old City venues cost more than those in outlying areas of the city (and many suburbs). Dates at urban venues also fill up rather fast. If you're unable to have your wedding celebration at your first choice location due to budget or conflict of date, consider a venue in South Philadelphia or the Northeast. These are safe and classy sections at the city; depending on where you go, they'll be less expensive than Center City hotel locations.

Start With the Spiritual

When considering a location for your wedding ceremony, start with the spiritual. If religion or spirituality is important to you and your partner, you'll want to reserve your selected wedding date right away. Some couples choose to attend a new place of worship with the goal of getting married there, so this is something you'll need to work on fast. Urban religious centers are in high demand for weddings, so it's best to work one-on-one with your spiritual advisor to secure the right location.

Unconventional Urban Venues

Libraries, parks and historic sites are often overlooked by brides and grooms looking for an affordable place to get married or celebrate. These sites and services are also in need of funding, so spending your money at a library to rent the facilities can benefit the people of Philadelphia (especially after so many library closures due to budget constraints). With hundreds of museums, libraries and historic sites in Philadelphia, you'll be able to find an unconventional venue.

Don't Go Google

The Internet is a seemingly unending source of information. Companies produce hyperlocal content at an increasing alacrity, so you will get results if you need to find a specific product, venue or vendor in your area. However, many of Google's top results are local but overwhelming pages of ads. It's nearly impossible to sort through them by budget-this is where your own investigative skills come in handy.

Word of mouth is still one of the best and most cost-effective way for a business to increase patronage, and as a customer, it's also your best way of finding out about vendors in the Philadelphia area. Instead of a basic Google search, post a message on Facebook asking your local friends for suggestions and check out the Philadelphia Yelp boards. You'll find tons of honest and up-front information about wedding vendors here.

Wedding planning is an extremely stressful process regardless of your location, but Philadelphia is a great place to do business-especially when it comes to matters of the heart.