Brides doing it outside.

We know we wanted to find a venue that was able to provide everything we needed. We did not want deal with additional vendors, which would only make the planning much more tedious. We found the perfect venue just by looking around our area. Tour everything you can so you don't feel like you are "settling" If you pick a nature park make sure to ask if they supply tables, chairs, linens, place settings. . .all the things you need to host your wedding and take this into account in terms of time and money when considering the location.

Our ceremony is outdoors in our venue's landscaped court yard. It has a cover gazebo area we will be standing under, as well as manmade fountain.

Agree with finding something that has most rented items included unless you are into handling all that yourself. We are doing a micro-backyard-wedding, so we had to rent tables, linens, chairs, etc. You will definitely get a better deal tho if you go with parks or things that aren't marketed towards weddings only.