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Whether you’re looking to tie the knot in front of all of your friends and family, a more quiet and intimate affair, an exotic and romantic getaway, or even looking to renew your vows and keep your love going strong, choosing the right venue is one of the most important aspects of planning such an event. As such, here, we’re going to look at a host of venue types, why people choose them, what kind of wedding they suit, and which might be the best fit for you.
The Church Wedding
If you’re looking at the truly classic approach, then you might want to start things off in a well-located church that’s able to fit you and all of your guests. There is a timeless and traditional aspect to getting married in a church and, for those who are on the religious side, it might be a very important aspect of the wedding for you, indeed.
However, that said, you typically have to get the permission of the religious authorities who are running the church and sometimes this can mean going through an interview to ensure that you fit their standards, as they often want to cater to those who are of the same faith of them, or at least something close enough.
Getting rustic in the barn
The idea of getting married surrounded by nature, by greenery, sunlight, and plenty of open air, has been becoming a lot more popular as of late. To that end, there are plenty of great barns that you might be able to find that are likely to rent themselves out as wedding venues.
Usually, these have long stopped operating as actual barns and have been updated to suit the wedding aesthetic, so you don’t usually have to worry about any animals getting in the way. The rustic charm of wooden beams, open barn doors, and old-school features can make them the perfect fit for a more simple wedding, not to mention offering some great settings for photos against the landscape.
Class it up with an estate wedding
If you like the charm of being out close to nature and being in a building with some history, but you don’t want to host your wedding in an actual barn, then you might want to look at venues that are a little more upscale. Estate venues, such as St Osyth Priory, offer real luxury to go with the open air and old-fashioned charm of the barn wedding.
Except, in this case, you have the gorgeous architecture and landscaping of a carefully maintained estate to make your wedding feel much classier and, to some, a lot more fitting the gravity of the event. With both captivating interior settings as well as gorgeous maintained gardens and exterior backdrops, these can really bring a drop of that fairytale magic and beauty to your event.
Swing for the golf clubs
Similar to estates, golf clubs tend to have a fantastic offering of beautiful grounds to take your wedding photos in. They are also service businesses, so they tend to make it easier for wedding planners to get all of the catering and dinner settings done.
Great if you’re looking for a quiet escape away from the city, and they can vary from very modern or historic in their decor, depending on the club.
However, the vast majority of golf clubs don’t have any means of accommodation, so you might have to look at getting that sorted out separately, which can also mean putting a little extra effort into your guests.
A night at the hotel
If you want to keep your wedding closer to the city, especially if you’re having the actual ceremony at the church, but want somewhere else for the reception, you’re usually going to want to look at hotels.
There are options all across the board, in terms of budget, but the better hotels tend to be some of the most expensive venues simply because of the high-demand, especially during wedding season, so you may want to take care to plan your wedding date when you can save a little money.
Hotels tend to offer all-inclusive deals to help cater for and serve your wedding, but these can also make it harder to customize as hotels can also be a little more restrictive with their options. Furthermore, it doesn’t always offer the privacy of some of the other venues mentioned above.
Get lofty with it
If you’re someone who has a much more modern sensibility, and you don’t particularly want to be surrounded by all manner of old-fashioned architecture and design, there has been a much greater increase of modern wedding spaces, such as lofts, that can be a little more affordable than many of the options mentioned above, but they can also be a lot more customizable.
This way, you can decorate your wedding however you want, but if you’re not willing to do the work, you can find these spaces a little empty of charm all on their own. They also typically do not offer as much room for bigger wedding parties, but can be perfect for smaller weddings.
Pick a destination
The destination wedding is a tricky one to pull off but when you get it right, it’s hard to argue against them. This might find getting married against a beach backdrop with the sun shining or a gorgeous ocean sunset in the backdrop.
It might mean finding a traditional and spiritual place that really brings out the sentimentality of the event. It might even mean glitz and glam in some of the party capitals of the world.
The one thing about destination weddings abroad is that they take a ton of planning, especially in terms of getting out all of the guests that you want to attend.
Of course, there’s no one “right” venue, you simply need to decide what kind of wedding you want, and to find the venue that can fit it. Hopefully, the examples above give you some idea of the options available.
