Searching for a wedding venue is all about finding a spot that matches your personality and style. We’ve interviewed hundreds of brides over the years about how they found their wedding sites, and wanted to share a few of them with you to provide some inspiration as you begin your venue hunt.

Photo by Evin Photography

“We chose to have our wedding and reception at my parents’ home because of the beautiful backdrop and landscape that was already present. We wanted an intimate setting with all our close family and friends , so it was absolutely perfect,” -Ashlie, married May 19 in her parents’ backyard in Tennessee. View more photos from this wedding

This year, we published over 200 real weddings on this blog – from glamorous affairs to laid-back celebrations, we’ve truly seen it all. But some weddings and details really stood out, and we wanted to share them with you.

Modern and Cheeky Wedding Stationery

The wedding of two graphic designers in Palm Springs, California featured some of the coolest details we’ve ever seen. In particular, we loved the paper goods – from the aisle markers to the menus, the contemporary design and informal language really sets the tone for a totally relaxed affair and showcases the couple’s sense of humor. See more of Tiffany and Mark’s completely creative wedding here.

Photo: Mike Arick Photography

Taylor & Ryan 

December 17

Miami, Florida

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Q &A with the Bride: 

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

Ryan and I love history, and after deciding to get married in Miami at the beautiful and historic Plymouth Congregational Church, we wanted to find a reception venue with old-world, Miami charm to match. The Biltmore Hotel is not only stunningly beautiful but also incredibly historic with numerous lives as a grand hotel, war hospital and now restored Miami landmark. The Alhambra room where our reception was held is enchanting, and its outdoor terrace overlooking the pool allowed our guests, most of whom were from out of town, the opportunity to enjoy cocktails with a backdrop of one of Florida’s beautiful winter nights. Our gangster-themed after party, the groom’s 30 th birthday party, was held upstairs in the historic Everglades Suite where Al Capone once infamously ran a speakeasy.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1) The music: Coming from a very musical family, I wanted to make sure that the music for the entire day was fantastic. Jeff Kaye helped program the most magical music for the church, and the Soul Survivors kept the dance floor packed with guests of all ages all night long.
2) The flowers: When I decided to wear a beautiful but non-traditional Carolina Herrera dress with seven colors, I knew finding the right flowers for the wedding would be a bit of a challenge. David Johnson of A Basket Affair made the process incredibly fun and entertained all of my crazy ideas. We ended up with a beautiful neutral color palate with a special Florida surprise, calamondin fruit from my family’s backyard trees in all of the arrangements for a pop of color and little piece of home on each table. It was priceless hearing how surprised my brothers were when they saw their calamondin boutonnieres and instantly recognized the source.
3) The wheels: I kept a number of details from the groom during the wedding planning so he would have fun surprises throughout the day. His favorite was the beautiful white vintage Phantom Rolls Royce waiting to take us to the reception after a post-ceremony champagne toast.

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding day that you can’t stop thinking about. 

One of our favorite memories from our wedding day was the time the two of us had together during our post-ceremony photo session at the Biltmore. Our fabulous photographer, Cindy of Cuppa Photography, facilitated the most delightful quiet moments for Ryan and I to spend together before we rejoined our guests for cocktail hour. 

Mandy & Christopher 

August 24

Tampa, Florida

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Q & A with the Bride: 

1. Which four details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. Table Numbers: each table number was a significant date in our relationship for example, 27 was the day in January Christopher and I met.

2. Cake: I wanted it to really stand out. My girlfriend, Elise, made the whole thing and designed it. When she showed it to me, I think my jaw dropped. I was so excited and thought it was perfect!

3. Guests couldn’t see this, but Christopher had a picture of us when he asked me to marry him and wrote on the back to use this as my something old. It was “old” because we were no going to be husband and wife. It was so sweet and thoughtful! 

4. My husband and the lead singer of the band wrote a song for me and sang it to me as a surprise at the reception. It was called, “Southern Belle.” Not only was I in tears, but the guests as well! 

2. Give us the one moment from your wedding day that you cannot stop thinking about. 

I can’t stop thinking about the moment I saw Chris waiting for me before the first look. He looked so handsome and nervous, which he NEVER is! When he took off the blindfold, and we looked at each other, it was the best moment any bride could ever ask for. We were both speechless and had tears in our eyes.

Heather & James

March 24

Dade City, Florida

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Q & A with the Bride: 

1. Which three details from your wedding were your favorite?

1. The altar: We wanted a “sweet country” feel, so we stacked 3 large round hay bales on top of each other and adorned each one with a white and yellow floral wreath in the center.
2. The favors: We created “make your own butter” favors by providing each guest with a mason jar with a marble in it (for better mixing); and preset the tables with cream and mixed herbs. Our guests had a good time watching the butter form (and the noise created a fun atmosphere).
3. The escort cards: We took 150 small wooden cows, painted them white and used tracing paper to transfer the names in a cursive font onto them. We painted a picket fence yellow and
gave it a rustic treatment to rest the cows on. We had unique cow table numbers to coordinate (each one was printed in a different pattern for an eclectic feel).

2. Give us the one moment in your wedding that you can’t stop thinking about. 

I can’t stop thinking about the moment when the horse and carriage pulled up to the start of the aisle and my dad helped me down. The aisle was so beautiful with yellow rose petals in the shape of hearts, buckets of babies breath lining the white wooden chairs and the large hay bales with gorgeous wreaths–all of which faded into the background as I was walking towards my future husband.