Welcome to BOB. Good luck with the venues. I called around to a million places and they were all uber expensive. We actually ended up changing our date because the one venue we did find wasn't available on our wedding date. I am glad we did that first before we signed any other vendors or we would have had a big mess. So from my experience, book the venue, they start with the others. Best of luck with all your planning and we are here for any advice or opions you need. You might even snag a few good ideas from the boards here, I know I have.