Hi everyone! My fiancé and I spent the month of January searching for and touring venues in our area. We toured several and narrowed down our favorites based on which ones do only one wedding a day (so we have plenty of time to get married on-site), which ones are within our budget, and which ones fit our style (garden/outdoors theme that would allow for an outdoor ceremony and reception with the option for indoors if it's raining).
Now, we've basically narrowed it down to 2 final venues. They're both available for the date we want (8/13/2022) but I'm so conflicted. I think just because we're focused on budget and wanted to make sure that whatever venue we pick works for our event requirements, I didn't have that "aha" moment with any venues we looked at, except for one that unfortunately was about $7k over budget. So, anyway, I can't use the "aha" moment to select which of the final two I prefer.
Option #1 is about $2000 cheaper (after catering is factored in) and technically has more land space. It's a more unique venue and I think lesser known for the area. The reception hall feels a bit more small and outdated, but there's also the option to do an outdoor reception which would be beautiful. They've been fairly slow to respond but I think it's because they aren't hosting weddings right now due to COVID, so they likely had to furlough their events team (I work in the events industry so can totally understand this). My fiancé loves this one and has an easier time making decisions on his favorites right away.
Option #2 is more expensive, but still workable in our budget. It's more well-known for our area. They do already include a coordinator so that's a plus, and they seem to be quicker to respond. But, they are a bit "snootier" for lack of a better word. They require us to pay for each tablecloth and napkin, have a preferred DJ that we would be pressured to use, and would require us to buy some chiffon decor. They're also a bit more picky about the food we choose and seem to be less flexible in that area.
I feel like this decision should be easy, but every time I think I've decided on one, my mind wanders to the other and wonders if that's actually the better choice! My logic says to go with the cheaper one but I don't want to make a decision solely off of budget. While my fiancé loves Option #1 more, he did say that he's happy with whatever I choose. I've showed pictures to a couple friends and one of them said that Option #1 goes with our theme more.
On top of this, I also don't know if we should just keep looking? Sorry for the long message and thank you so much to anyone who actually made it to the end haha 
