Venues — what and how did you choose?

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NICE! I've lived in Orlando for over 10 years (Orlando ladies rock!!) and never been to either space -- sounds like I need to make some weekend field trips. These venues look amazing!!

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Sounds like a pleasant surprise! I'm glad it exceeded your expectations!

Here's our venue! I fall more in love with it every time I see it!

We ended up choosing the first one we looked at, but I had done my research on several before touring! We'll be using the open air chapel for our ceremony, with the reception being inside. I don't have a picture of the inside, but there's a large open space with floor to ceiling windows that let in so much natural light! There's also a beautiful bridal suite, men and women's bathrooms with several stalls, AND the owners live on the property and have the renovated industrial groom's lounge in their basement!

We chose it because first, the owner offered us a $1k discount because our wedding is in January, which is off peak season for weddings. I asked her if they had any and she said they didn't but would be willing to take the $1k off for us! Second, it came with wooden farm tables, wooden round tables, wooden crossback chairs ,table linens and fine china at no extra cost, which was HUGE because renting all of that adds up quick! Third, it just felt right when we were walking through the tour. Everything matched what we needed, it's new (opened last summer), so none of our friends or family have seen it or gotten married there, and it fits our style!

Can't wait to get married here in January!!

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Thank you! I love the beams too, plus how light and airy it is.

View Quoted Comment Wow. It looks like a fabulous place to go, especially over the holidays.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! It was such a cool venue and I’ve never been in a wine cave before we started venue searching. Yes, it fit our pirate theme parrrgh-fectly. 🏴‍☠️

View Quoted Comment It WAS magical. Thank you.
Dang it. Your 1st venue choice was waaay cooler before they replaced the ferns and vines. Ooh, but that science center will be fun & different!

We ended up going with the first and only venue we toured in person. I had researched so many but loved the aesthetic of this one. As soon as we walked in, we were sold. I wanted something formal feeling but still fun. I adore the chapel soooo much.

View Quoted Comment Beautiful!! And when you know, you know!!

We are on a budget and are only inviting close family members and very close friends (20 ppl).
We are borrowing a cabin for the weekend. I am in love with the deck area which is where we will be saying our vows, and with all those trees too.

I initially wanted the rustic outdoor barn wedding aesthetic, but wedding barns here are REALLY pricey. There's an amazing Historic Village in a beautiful local park that has houses and buildings from the late 1800s, one of the houses has that exact rustic old wood look I'm in love with, and a BIG front porch. There's a little library directly across the circle from it, and a train depot building right next to it. Renting the entire Historic Village for 5 hours was only $500. We were thrilled. The women will walk out from the library (which has a little staircase and is perfect for a grand entrance), the men will come out from the train depot. The circle all the buildings face is big enough to fit a large number of chairs (provided by the venue! Bonus!), and there is ample, beautiful shade from large trees.


The reception is at a nearby all-inclusive banquet facility. VERY good price, $1,000 for the space, which includes the bridal "get ready" area, plus catering per person, which is only $10-$18 per plate, and we're doing the sit-down, plated meals. There will be a cash bar.
All together the ceremony and reception will cost less than $3,000.

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The venue is beautiful! Sounds like you hit the jackpot . . . and got it for a discount. That's even better!

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That view is gorgeous! The trees in the background can serve as your main decor with just a little highlights here and there (I'd get a couple of lanterns (I love lanterns) and line the railing with tulle and a few flower balls).

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Thank you so much!! It really is a steal for all we're getting!! Everyone thought we were crazy for booking our venue so soon after our engagement, but we def. had our reasons haha.

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How unique!! I've never heard of a small historic village being a wedding venue, but I love it! And it sounds like you got a true deal on the ceremony and reception costs!

I researched probably every single venue within a 50 miles radius of us haha! However, it was very easy for us to eliminate a bunch just from looking at them online (whether it be the vibe, the cost or if it was in the middle of nowhere). It seems every venue around me is either a ballroom, hotel banquet room, golf course, old house/inn or barn. We definitely knew we didn't want ballroom/hotel or golf course because we weren't going for elegant at all. The old houses/inns were a little too much like a grandma's house, not what we want for our wedding vibe. We ended up touring 3 venues and went with the 2nd one we toured. It was the best value, the best location and had what we were looking for vibe wise. Plus the caterer they use is the best in the area. The venue itself is a 200 year old refurbished barn. My fiancée loved the historical aspect of it. We both loved that it had the barn vibe without the barn problems lol (aka it has air conditioning, running water, electricity, an industrial kitchen for the caterer, nice bathrooms and not in the middle of nowhere). However, the barn itself will be the only 'rustic' thing about the wedding! There will be no tree stumps, no birch and no burlap! I am trying to combine a whimsical and vintage aesthetic with fairy lights (already up in the barn), lots of votive candles, vintage place settings and mauve, dusty rose and blush flowers in very small bouquets or single stems in vases.

We're getting married in a botanical garden! It's not an overly fancy venue, but it's very airy and lowkey. We're getting married on a Sunday, so it definitely fits for an easy breezy afternoon.

Not to mention, it was only $1900 for Sunday vs. $3500 for Saturday!

I chose the Barn at Back Creek Farm in Buchannan, Virginia. Not only is it affordable, but it is so beautiful and meet the vintage backwoods look we wanted for our wedding!

These aren't my pictures but I'm getting married at Kuipers Family Farm, I wanted an outdoor ceremony and something more rustic I guess, I don't like ballrooms personally. I'm going for casual elegance, there will be lawn games, good food/drinks, a firepit. FH and I aren't huge into dancing, we just want to hang out with our friends and family without forcing dancing - I've been to many weddings where the dancefloor was completely empty.