Archive for the ‘Venue’ Category

Happy Monday Brides and Grooms!

A few months ago we discussed the top three decisions that need to be made when you start planning a wedding. Venue was on that list and it’s still on that list for so many reasons. The venue will determine your budget for other things or, in some cases, your budget for other things might determine your venue. Central Florida has so many gorgeous venues. Whether your the fairy-tale open air Villas of Grand Cypress type, An eclectic Grand Bohemian pair or a Lake Nona Country Club couple, Central Florida has options for you!

(Rows from top to bottom: Lake Mary Events Center, Celebration Golf Club, Omni ChampionsGate Resort, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Portofino Bay)

Choosing a wedding wedding venue in Orlando can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of hotels, event centers, country clubs museums and more. Unless you plan on spending many years planning your wedding, you’ll never be able to see them all. Here are our tips for narrowing down all of the wedding venue options in the Central Florida area.

Have a food and beverage budget. We know that many couples don’t want to limit themselves to a food and beverage budget because they want to be able to choose the perfect venue. You don’t have to give yourself a strict budget, but have an idea of what you want to spend. It will help you reduce the number of options that you have. Realistically, if there’s a venue that you think you’ll really love that’s out of your anticipated budget, nothing is going to stop you from going to a site visit. However, setting a budget will definitely cut a few hundred wedding venues out of the picture and that helps everyone rest a little easier.

Request wedding packages in advance. While almost all venues will customize their menus and their pricing (to an extent) to suit your needs, getting an idea of what they have, how much it costs and how it’s presented will give you an idea if it’s worth making a trip out to the wedding venue for a site visit.

Figure out what you like before you start going on site visits. Check out wedding magazine– or even tourist publications. If you don’t already know, you’ll be able to get an idea of whether you like country clubs, hotels, event centers, parks or historic venues.

When you’ve found 3 venues you love, don’t add more venues to the mix. It’s torture! We can almost guarantee that if you choose one of three places you love, instead of seeing those 5 other places that you might love that you’re not going to spend the rest of your lawfully wedded life wondering how things would have turned out if you had been married at Mission Inn instead of the Villas of Grand Cypress.

If you get frustrated, sick of it or generally upset, give it a rest. The wedding planning process may be stressful at times, but anything beyond slightly stressful means you’re doing it wrong. Give yourself some time to breathe and look at the venue search through new eyes.

Happy Wedding Wishes!

Orlando Wedding Team has a busy week ahead of us this. The All About Weddings series is taking a little break this week, but please enjoy some of our virtual site visits on YouTube. (We are not videographers, we’re just trying to help our destination brides out in their venue search!)

This past Monday one of Orlando’s best kept secrets, The Villas of Grand Cypress, hosted a Christmas in July Event. While the Villas of Grand Cypress have been around for quite some time, they are often overshadowed by the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, which, though love, is not nearly as picturesque. Christmas in July was held in the Executive Meeting Center at the Villas of Grand Cypress and it shed some light on this often-forgotten venue. In the past, the Villas have not focused on Orlando’s wedding market, but they have a new Weddings and Special Events team with professionals who are well-versed in the business– not to mention they have Orlando Wedding Team on their preferred vendors list. You get a discount on your ceremony fee, if you have a coordinator. Just sayin’!

There were so many wonderful vendors who contributed to this event including many of our favorites! The Orlando Wedding Team girls worked the registration desk. (We’re looking forward to that prize drawing…ok Villas?)

If you’d like more information visit The Villas of Grand Cypress Website. Without further delay, I present to you the photo documentary of Christmas in July.

Seating area overlooking ceremony site, great for cocktail hour

Very private ceremony site on the water - seats 100 guests

Snowman courtesy of Get-Lit-Productions (DJ Ricky Vazquez and Laura of OWT pictured)

Holiday Centerpieces by Greenery Productions

A spread of cupcakes by Frosting on the Cake

OWT and The Villas of Grand Cypress Crew

A very special thank you to the Villas of Grand Cypress and their phenomenal staff. It was a great even and OWT can’t wait to start coordinating wedding at this newly bride-friendly venue.