Wedding Venue Tip #.1

How to Choose a Golf Course Venue that Isn’t Awful

All images appearing in this blog were photographed by The Northern Story Photography at the Lapeer Country Club in Lapeer, Michigan.

You’ve probably heard it said before that golf courses are like barn venues - we’re ready to be done with them. And to my couples out there searching for the perfect wedding venue, know that this is often true.

They kill creativity… a photographer’s nightmare. Unfortunately, so many golf courses or country club venues are just… not it. BUT, not all of these venues are created equal and there is a way to find one that is absolutely beautiful. Let me tell you how.

To explain how to find a good golf course wedding venue, let’s talk first about some common reasons many of these venues are less than wonderful. It usually boils down to lighting, updates, and ceremony spaces.

So often, country clubhouses where they will host your wedding reception is dark, dingy, lacking in windows and covered in orange wood with poor lighting throughout. This scenario is no one’s friend! Yes, your photographer might know how to use flash like it’s nobody’s business, but the photos will still look like flash photos. Those photos won’t look light, airy, and natural. So many couples want a look like that, but (and this goes for any wedding venue) what they often don’t think about is that photographers capture a place for what it is. We can’t give you bright and airy photos in a dark and dingy place and so considering the lighting in your venue before booking is a big deal. Step one in choosing a country club venue that will give you absolutely gorgeous photos is choosing one with good light.

I’ll call out the Lapeer Country Club to further this point. I mean look at all those windows in this image or the image above! It has a whole wall of windows in the main room with the vaulted ceiling letting in a ton of natural light and giving you a view of the rolling hills and lake below. It’s beautiful. I didn’t need to use my flash at all until it got dark outside which is a dream and it was only possible because this venue incorporated great natural lighting into their design. This is one golf course venue I don’t dread shooting at.

The second reason these venues tend to be challenging is that they’re usually outdated. People are mostly there to golf right? They don’t care about the aesthetic, but on your wedding day, you do! Believe it or not, there are some that keep their interiors updated and those are the ones that can make for great venues.

Now maybe you like the dark wood and vintage golf club look - that’s totally fine! I just know that I have sat down and talked with couples, I’ve heard what style they like and see what their preferences are, but then they choose an outdated golf club because it’s cost effective and they don’t realize it’s going to dictate the look of their entire wedding day which is not the ideal look they said they wanted.

You can see that this country club has updated chandeliers, more modern chairs, bright walls - all of which show updates and modernization which really makes the overall look feel new and classy.

The last thing to consider when picking a golf course venue is what does the ceremony space look like? Are there multiple options of where you can have the ceremony? Is there any shade? Where will the ceremony be if it’s raining? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve attended or photographed a wedding at a golf course and the ceremony space is just a random open space, in full sun, with nothing but some folding chairs and maybe a basic arbor set up. It’s nothing thoughtful or well suited to a wedding ceremony. The ceremony IS the wedding and it’s one of the most important moments of the day. You want it to be special and well thought out. If this is all there is for your ceremony location option, choose a different venue.

I love it when at a venue like this, there is a space intentioned for ceremonies with landscaping, decorative chairs, shade for guests, and a structure of some kind for the bride and groom to stand by whether it’s a unique arch or a cute gazebo - even a big beautiful tree to mark the place of marriage. That is always a treat! You don’t want your ceremony to be thrown together and so finding a venue that has put thought into their ceremony locations is key.

To sum it all up - a golf course wedding doesn’t have to be the worst! It can be cost effective AND a place that you and your photographer will love. You just have to look at the natural lighting, the updates, and the ceremony space to see if it’s going to be a good fit for you and for the way you dream your wedding day will look.

Images captured by The Northern Story Photography. Venue is the Lapeer Country Club in Lapeer, MI. You can see more images from Kylie and Matthew’s wedding day here.