Evaluating Wedding Venues in Miami and South Florida

CHOOSING THE PERFECT WEDDING VENUE

Choosing the perfect wedding venue can be stressful. We have put together some helpful guidelines to organize your approach to finding your perfect wedding venue. Our follow up post will be a summary of our favorite wedding venues in Miami and South Florida. You will find plenty of links to our Real Weddings Galleries to see what other couples have done and what worked well in different types of venues. We hope to stimulate your imagination and help you visualize what you want your wedding day to look like. Looking at real weddings will further help you grasp the logistical elements of the venue, as well as give you some winning photography ideas.

The next step is to evaluate the location, logistics and cost of the wedding venue to make sure it falls in line with your criteria.

WEDDING COST

Miami is a goldmine when it comes to unique wedding venues and its tropical climate makes it one of the top wedding destinations in the world. First and foremost, make sure the wedding venue fits within your budget. The fees range dramatically, from $6,000 to $15,000. Try not to set your heart on a venue that is too expensive. Keep in mind that if you blow your budget right out of the gate, you will not have enough left to actually fill the space to create your dream day! Costs such as rentals are often overlooked in the early stages of the process. You must rent every fork, knife, glass, linen and chair. Do not let this scare you away from choosing a non-traditional venue. While this composite list of rentals might seem scary at first, the cost ends up being similar to the cost of a hotel. Oftentimes, a full-service caterer like Eggwhites Catering will handle procuring all the rentals for you. When you inquire about venue pricing information, make sure you get a list of all the potential fees and charges on top of the basic package pricing.

WEDDING VENUE SPACE

The wedding venue capacity is a big factor in your wedding venue selection. Whether you are planning an intimate affair for 30 of your closest family and friends or a lavish fete for 300, it is imperative that the size of the wedding venue event spaces can comfortably accommodate your guest list at your ceremony, cocktail hour and your reception. Give yourself a little wiggle room. Remember, everything starts with the space!

CATERING AND VENDOR RESTRICTIONS
Ask if your venue has a “preferred” list of vendors or if you can use any vendor you like. Find out if there is a fee to use vendors outside of the venue’s preferred vendor list. If your venue offers in-house catering, find out what restrictions they have when it comes to menu design, food and beverage. You are often limited to specific menu packages whereas you tend to have more flexibility in creating a custom food and beverage program when you choose an off-premise caterer.

LOGISTICS
Some other very important specifics to consider include:

Accessibility for your guests
Exclusivity – will your wedding be the only event hosted at the venue that day? If not, how will your guests be guided to the right place? How will your vendor load-in and load-out be affected?
Rules & Restrictions in terms of noise, vendor timing and curfew, permits and cleaning fees

WEDDING VENUE STYLE

The wedding venue you select is a key element of your wedding. The type of space you choose will be a part of every aspect of your celebration and will make an initial impact first thing upon your guests’ arrival. The venue will be the backdrop for all of your wedding photos so it is no surprise that couples are choosing a venue that really reflects their individual personalities and what they love. This is why more and more couples are choosing to have their ceremonies and receptions at the same venue. Couples are choosing to say their ‘I do’s” in unique venues and locations in lieu of a traditional church ceremony.

Let your personal wedding vision lead the way. Create a list of your priorities and characteristics you are going for when creating the overall feel of your wedding day. Your wedding vision is a great starting point to narrow down your list of wedding venue possibilities.
We have rounded up some of our favorite wedding styles from weddings we have catered in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, the Florida Keys and more!

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE WEDDING THEMES

CLASSIC WEDDING

Lovers of tradition tend to gravitate towards a classic wedding style. A classic wedding is understated yet quite formal. A truly classic wedding is a timeless, white-on-white, black tie affair. Some family traditions may be incorporated into the wedding details. This grand style is reflected in elaborate floral arrangements and wedding cake, a full sit-down dinner with elegant tableware.

GARDEN WEDDING

A garden wedding allows for limitless ideas for your ceremony and reception. With lush tropical plants, sprawling greenery and breathtaking vistas, nature becomes your best backdrop at a South Florida garden wedding. The setting and the details of a garden wedding tend to be incredibly romantic.
An outdoor garden wedding reception space allows couples more flexibility with their table configurations. Incorporate blooms into all of your wedding details. Bloom filled tablescapes and bright pops of color contrast beautifully with the greenery. Wooden farm tables let your flowers do the talking. Keep things light and airy with pale green or blush bridesmaids dresses. Keep your menu “garden” fresh with bright and delicious salads.

GLAMOROUS AND LUXURIOUS WEDDING STYLE

Lush and lavish grand fetes are thrown by couples who consider this a once in a lifetime celebration with all their loved ones together at one time. Glamorous and luxurious weddings tend to be black-tie, formal affairs and are extravagantly decorated. Whether you are going for Old Hollywood or modern day luxury, drama is the name of the game. Silver and gold add a bit of sparkle to any color palette. Color palettes may range from all white or pale blush to deep, rich jewel tones. Incorporate opulent, luxe décor elements into your design. Create tall arrangements or hanging florals to draw the eye upwards. Dozens of candles of varying heights creates a romantic ambience.

Consider choosing a venue that’s more on the formal side like Miami’s Vizcaya Museum & Gardens or the Ancient Spanish Monastery.