Karina & V.J.

October 20

St. Petersburg, 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?

We love downtown St. Petersburg, and we were looking for an outdoor waterfront venue. When the Dali Museum opened, we knew it was the prefect venue not only because we got engaged in the city, but because of my love of Dali art and my family being from Spain. We have eclectic taste, and the Dali’s unique space gave us beautiful architecture, an outdoor garden with waterfront views and great art!

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

1. The live flamenco band.
2. The candlelit reception in the garden, and the gorgeous centerpieces with beautiful, bright circus roses against the eggplant linens and copper and gold accents. We even had FIREWORKS, perfection!
3. Wedding stationary.

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

V.J. and I exchanged wedding arras, which are Spanish coins during our ceremony. The coins were from my Abulea’s (grandmother) hometown in Valencia, Spain. Each coin symbolizes the commitments we made to each other: love, trust, respect, joy, happiness, harmony, wisdom, wholeness, nurture, care, cooperation and peace. It was so meaningful for us to carry on this tradition for our family and have these coins as an heirloom.

You can find inspiration for your wedding theme and decor anywhere – and we mean anywhere. You can even look to your favorite addictive app for ideas. Yes, you read that right – a group of talented North Carolina vendors created wedding decor completely inspired by Angry Birds. A few of our favorite details from this – the slingshot pens, the adorable cake pops, the abundance of feathers and eggs (check out those nest escort cards!), and the colorful origami ceremony backdrop. It’s witty and whimsical – but feels modern and, yes, even romantic all the same. Would you create a wedding like this? Let us know in the comments!

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

Lindsay & Colin

July 28

Portland, Oregon

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Q & A with the Bride:

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

Colin and I met in Portland, Oregon, and even though we had moved away, we knew we wanted to get married in the city.  An outdoor wedding was also very important to both of us so we created a list of outdoor event spaces within Portland’s city limits and visited them all. As soon as we stepped out onto the DeSoto Rooftop, I knew it was the perfect place for our reception. It had a relaxed Pacific Northwest feel to it.  I loved the view of downtown buildings filling the skyline in one direction and the backdrop of trees from the neighboring park in the other direction. Our ceremony was held at Mt. Tabor, a city park where Colin and I spent many weekend afternoons.  The summit offers beautiful views of our favorite city and we knew we wanted to exchange vows at this special place with our family and friends.  I was also very fond of the juxtaposition of a wooded park for our ceremony and an urban outdoor scene for our reception. It was a perfect cross section of all that Portland has to offer.

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. My Bouquet:  Flowers were the last thing on my mind as I was getting ready, but once the gorgeous bouquet’s were delivered I couldn’t take my eyes of them.

2.  Sparkling Wine Bottles: My step-dad makes wine and he served one of his sparkling varieties at our reception.  In lieu of labels, he hand wrote our names on each bottle.  It meant a lot to me that he spent time on this project and I loved the look of the bottles on the tables.

3. Chamomile toss:  I heard of a couple giving dried chamomile to their guests to toss as they left the reception because it looked like gold dust in photos taken with a flash. After I saw the pictures, I wanted to do the same at our wedding.  The chamomile in the air smelled fantastic and I adore the way our departure photos turned out.

Looking for a wedding venue that fits your needs can be one of the trickiest (and unfortunately, stressful) parts of wedding planning. Happily, once you’ve booked your venue, the rest of the planning process will fall into place easily (we promise!). But how do you even start searching for a wedding site? First, you’ll need to pick what venue “style” most suits your personality. Here’s a mini-glossary of wedding venue types to help you get started. And don’t forget to check out our Vendor Reviews to find the perfect wedding locale near you.

Photo by Anna and Spencer Photography

Ballroom: Want a wedding that’s grand, elegant, and formal? There’s nothing like a richly appointed ballroom. Ideal for black-tie weddings with a big guest list, ballrooms (either in hotels or other historic sites), often have in-house catering and rentals to make the planning process a snap. But it’s important to note: When choosing a color scheme for a ballroom wedding, you’ll have to take the room’s permanent fixtures into account – from the carpeting to the chandeliers to the wall color. You wouldn’t want your flowers and other decor to clash with what’s already there.