This is Part Two of a four-part series on planning your wedding day. If you missed the first one, you can see that here.

Choosing a venue might be the most important decision you make about your wedding day. Most often, the driving force and limiting factor in planning is venue availability. Finding a wedding venue in Cheyenne can be really difficult.

1. Decide on the Look and Feel You Want

Your venue will also determine the majority of the look and feel of your wedding day. For example, if you want to incorporate a natural feel with lots of floral and greenery, a hotel ballroom may not be the best venue for that look. Conversely, if you know that you are absolutely having your ceremony or reception in a hotel ballroom, you may be pretty limited on the colors you can use in your decor (someone please tell me WHY hotels and conference centers decide that they must decorate in giant/bold patterns on the carpets and walls, along with super weird color schemes and bizarre fixtures?).

Let's face it, we don't have an abundance of wedding venues in the Cheyenne and Laramie areas, and they get booked up super fast. I've seen brides panic about securing a venue and rush into booking whatever is available in order to avoid losing it, without really thinking through all the options in the context of how they want things to look. My biggest recommendation is to start thinking about venues early so that you have time to think through all the factors that will play into the final look of your wedding day (and obviously, so you don't miss your chance in booking it before it's gone to another couple). Let's walk through a few popular wedding venues in Cheyenne.

2. Determine the Venue Capacity You Need

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Conservatory

Venue capacity may be the number one thing to think about as you scroll down your list of venues. How many people do you plan to invite? We love the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and the Conservatory, but at the moment, many of the indoor spaces are limited to smaller guest lists. However, the solar patio, just outside the Orangerie and Gathering Room, has tent anchors and could accommodate a larger event. A wedding in the gardens, near the Peace Garden, combined with the solar patio for the reception, should accommodate most wedding sizes. During the winter months, there may be restrictions on ceremony times as well. This wedding venue in Cheyenne does have tables, chairs and linens available for use. For more info on weddings at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, click here.

Cheyenne Hotel Wedding Venues

Hotel/conference venues tend to be the first stop for brides hosting large weddings. Check with your venue about other events and ceremonies happening on the same day as your wedding. Often there are multiple events happening at these locations each Saturday during the high season. One place in town has been booking ceremonies in the same outdoor spot (and I mean the same outdoor spot....same chairs, same archway, same aisle) just a couple hours apart, making for some awkward timing for everyone.

If a venue is telling you that you will have to be cleared out of that spot right away for another wedding ceremony, I would be asking specific questions about how that transition will take place. You should be able to use your ceremony site for awhile after your ceremony for photos, for example.

We've had a DJ come and set up really loud music for the next ceremony while we were finishing up family photos right after our couple's ceremony. I'm really hoping this venue adds another outdoor spot for ceremonies so they can be more staggered throughout the day. I also hope that having two spots will optimize shade during the hot summer months.

For indoor receptions, ask the venue coordinator what else is happening the day of your wedding. We've seen huge city galas, agriculture conferences, live auctions, and even a "celebration of life" next door to some of our weddings and receptions. While I'm not sure you can control any of this, it might be worth asking the questions. You may be able to choose a room a little out of the way and further from other events taking place.

For outdoor wedding venues in Cheyenne or Laramie, one really important thing to consider is time of day, along with adequate shade and filtered light. Just because a venue may set up a ceremony site next to a bunch of big pine trees, that doesn't mean you or your guests will necessarily benefit from the shade of those trees. We've seen a venue set up the ceremony on the opposite site of the trees from any shade. In July, a 2pm wedding may be miserably hot. In general, during high heat summer months, you may want to push for early evening ceremony times. I'll go into more specifics about sun positioning and lighting outdoor venues in the next post.

One wedding venue in Laramie that seemed to be perfect in terms of shade and light was the Territorial Park. As you can see here at McKenzie and Kyle's big day, the stage is lined with giant pine trees that curve around it, and the ceremony seating was also protected by trees all around.

Outdoor venues like rustic barn or ranch locations also tend to have more space. One word of caution about Laramie's Territorial Park: the bugs could be really bad mid-summer. McKenzie and Kyle had their ceremony there, and I believe the ceremony area had been sprayed for bugs, but the surrounding areas were definitely still pretty buggy.

Another possible setback for ranch weddings or outdoor venues is that you may have to rent tables, chairs, and/or tents and restroom facilities. One dedicated wedding venue outside of Laramie, however, is taking care of all of those logistics for you.

Deerwood Ranch, located on the road out toward Centennial, will be a dedicated wedding venue complete with restrooms, tables, and chairs in a mountain setting that also serves as a BLM wild horse sanctuary. A large barn will be converted into a gorgeous venue complete with a serving area and kitchen for a caterer of your choice. It's looking like they prefer a maximum of 150 people but have enough tables and chairs to go to 200 people. I'm really excited to have an option in the area that is made for hosting weddings can accommodate a decent sized guest list. Deerwood Ranch is hosting an open house on June 9th from 10 am to 3pm, so you could go check out this new venue.

Ok, happy planning, friends. I am always happy to chat about venues, so send me a note or give me a call if I can answer any questions for you during your planning process. Also, don't forget to book your photographer early ;-). We are starting to book up 2019 dates and I am anticipating our schedule will fill up early for next year's season.