Pros and Cons

We were very excited about our venue and the fact that we were working with empty space. However, we quickly discovered that with the plusses...also come minuses. For those of you brides considering a similar path, let me break out the yellow legal pad (HIMYM, anyone?) for some pros and cons.

PRO: Make it your own

Everyone wants their wedding to be their own and never hear things like: "oh - so and so did that too" or "that looks just like so and so's centerpieces". Especially if you share a venue.

Our hope was to reduce the chance of hearing those dreaded words about our reception. As you can see from these two photos below, despite sharing a space, these two weddings have very different feels - one simple and elegant, one fresh and rustic.

A nighttime wedding at the Hamilton Garden at the Kimmel Center
Photo from Faith West Photography 

A daytime wedding at the Hamilton Garden
Photo from Sophia Negron

PRO: Keep it simple, stupid

Many blank slate spaces also have a lot of character. You have the ability to utilize that uniqueness as part of your design, potentially even pairing down other elements like flowers.

The photo below shows how the venue is really the focal point of the decor and there isn't as much other "stuff" required to snazz it up.

The Phoenixville Foundry - a former steel plant
Source

PRO: Clash free!

The biggest benefit for me was the lack of colored carpets or walls to cramp our style.

As I mentioned, it was tough enough for me to pick colors...can you imagine if I had to try to match or coordinate with a complicated carpet pattern? Disaster for someone like me.

That's a LOT of colors...
Source

Now onto the downsides...and, there are downsides.

CON: Ex.pen.sive.

Depending on your contract, you can quickly rack up a bill the length of your wedding dress train. Many spaces come with nothing. Besides space.

This means you bring in every fork, knife, napkin, glass, chair, etc. etc. etc. Sure, $5 isn't that much money for a napkin, but multiply that by 200...and then by 15 for all the other necessary accouterments for eating (and sitting)...eekkkk.

How I feel about paying for each individual fork
Note: this is a real photo of me and my brother on the Hollywood RockIt Roller Coaster

CON: Contracts, contracts EVERYWHERE

Source

See prior con about having to bring in everything.

In the case of our venue, they had some recommended vendors for rentals and design so we weren't flying completely blind. However, it meant that many more meetings: a rental company, a florist, a caterer, a designer, etc. With a lack of free time, this wasn't optimal.

However, even more concerning was that with many contracts come many points of view and visions. How to manage it all?? More to come on this later...

I share with you all these pros and cons not to reduce in any way our decision, but rather to present a realistic view of what we're dealing with and help any other brides who may be considering a similar path. These cons were not things we originally considered when choosing our venue, but would have been good to know!

Did you find that your venue came with pros and cons? Did the pros outweigh the cons?