5 Tips for Choosing a Venue

One of the first and most important decisions you will make as a bride is choosing your venue. Your venue will determine your wedding day experience, what your pictures and video will look like, how your guests will feel, how many guests you can invite and so much more.

It can be overwhelming, especially when you don't know what to look for. To help you out, we have chosen to highlight one of Fargo ND's top wedding venues: The Pines Weddings and Events!

1. Location


The first thing to do is decide where you will be getting married. Will it be a local Fargo, ND wedding? Will you look for a destination wedding? Once you decide on a city you can begin to look at the venues that they offer. (Sometimes the venues that you find in an area determine where the wedding is.)

The Pines is conveniently located only 10 miles west of Fargo, giving you the advantage of a beautiful country setting without having to drive an hour. Your guests will thank you.

 

2. Wedding Size/budget

 

When it comes to the number of guests there is no one size fits all. Whether you’re dreaming of a giant celebration with all your friends and family or a small intimate affair, keep in mind that the size of your wedding is often influenced by budget. The more guests you have, the more you will have to plan to spend on everything. Keep in mind that many venues and vendors offer discounts for Friday weddings.

 The pines, being able to hold up to 400 guests, is one of the largest unique event venues in the Fargo Moorhead area making it ideal for large and small celebrations alike.

3. lighting

You’ve been dreaming of those photos and videos that you see on Pinterest and instagram. Did you know the venue you choose makes a huge difference in the end product? Videographers and photographers love venues with lots of natural light – that means windows! This is the most flattering light for you and will play a big role in your videos and pictures. We love how The Pines has beautiful natural light in the getting ready suites and the venue.

You should also avoid places that have flickering lights. When you are touring a venue make sure you ask them to turn on the lights. Flickering lights are just about impossible to edit out of your video and will affect the overall quality.

4. Style

When you’re thinking about the style of your wedding, you should consider whether you want your ceremony inside or outside. Do you love boho, country, vintage, modern, or city? Choose a venue that fits the vibe that you’re going for. 

The Pines has a lovely outdoor ceremony location but also has the room to move your ceremony inside in case of inclement weather. With its modern lines and sharp white with black aesthetic, the Pines is the perfect starting point for any direction that you want to take.

As a bonus, the Pines boasts 17 acres of beautiful land with trees and carefully curated photo spots like this swing bench to give you a nice variety of locations for photos and video.

5. Save your Date

There is no wrong time to start picking a date for your wedding. Most venues often book out 12 months in advance for the popular dates. Once you have selected a venue you can reach out to the coordinator to see their availability.  If there are any other vendors you know you have to have (i.e. someone who might have limited availability like a videographer or photographer) it is a good idea to make sure they have your date open as well. 

You can reach out to the Pines to check date availability here.