As our venue hunt progressed past the ?whoa, this is an awesome space!? phase to the ??but what does it mean to have our wedding here"? level, I started making a mental list of qualities our ideal venue would have. It?s not all-inclusive, and again, these are more like guidelines than hard rules.
Our perfect venue?

is unique and intimate
has indoor and outdoor space
allows guests to mingle through separate rooms
is within our budget
offers a contingency plan in case of rain that would keep our guests comfortable
accommodates 70 guests seated
doesn?t require much decoration
is close to public transit and hotel/AirBnB options for every budget.

The first difficulty was finding that unique, intimate space in a sea of huge ballrooms and wedding-themed farms. Many of the venues I looked at could seat up to 150 guests, which didn?t really scream intimate for our relatively small crowd of ~60 people.
And unique" Well, it?s hard to find a venue that isn?t solely used for?well, weddings. Yes, wedding venues where everything is designed around hosting weddings are convenient, but they?ve always lacked a certain special quality for me. I wanted a space that reflected me and Mr. Feather, somewhere we could go back to later and say, ?This is where we began.?
Many of the other criteria on the list were put there out of respect for our guests. I?ve already mentioned that my parents are divorced, so giving them separate spaces to mingle in will help everyone feel more comforta...