Fabulous Phoenix Wedding Hotspots

The rugged beauty of the Valley of the Sun, in which the city of Phoenix sits like some vast, gleaming jewel, makes it an especially attractive place in which to tie the knot. Naturally, Phoenix also offers certain charms when viewed from a purely urban perspective. As the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States, hundreds of businesses, facilities, and vendors are available locally to help you with every aspect of your wedding planning, from finding lovely informal wedding dresses to choosing the ideal matrimonial venue.

In fact, the Phoenix area offers well over one hundred and fifty of the latter to choose from. They range from the plainest of the plain (including Justice of the Peace offices, if that suits you) to the most extravagant manor houses -- and even a castle. The best and most popular venues are those with close relationships to other vendors, who will gladly arrange your wedding photography, provide your flowers, or help you find that perfect designer wedding gown.

One of the Phoenix's more popular wedding/reception venues is the quaint Chapel at the Farm, a fully-restored 1930s farm located in Gilbert. The Chapel offers a variety of wedding packages from the cozy to the opulent, officiated over by the Reverend Amy Miller (though your own officiant is welcome). Those who've been married at the Chapel on the Farm give it high marks for its warm ambience and Reverend Miller's helpful nature.

Villa Sienna offers a completely different sort of experience: a Tuscan estate seemingly transferred intact from Northern Italy to downtown Gilbert, complete with elaborate reception halls and an exquisite ballroom capable of handling up to 250 guests. Then there's the 6,500 square feet of beautiful outdoor gardens to stroll in. Villa Sienna wedding packages tend to be pricy, but those married here speak glowingly of ceremonies held outside, before the fountains and outdoor fireplace.

Like Villa Sienna, Ashley Manor in Chandler is toward the top of the matrimonial venue food chain; however, it's also two venues in one. The first is the Manor itself, a lush continental-style estate complete with elaborate landscaping, fountains, waterfalls, and lush gardens -- not to mention romantic lighting. The Castle at Ashley Manor is an honest-to-goodness English-style castle, complete with rich gardens, fine furnishings, and luxurious appointments, that you can make your kingdom for a day. Both facilities offer unforgettable settings for both ceremonies and receptions.

Now, these three charming facilities represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Phoenix-area matrimonial venues; it would take a book to cover them all. We hope, however, that our little list offers a good starting point for your own research. Once you've gotten this task out of the way, you can go on to other vital matters -- like choosing the right shade of lavender for your bridesmaids' gowns, or finding a source for the personalized address labels you'll need for all the bridal shower notices, wedding invitations, and thank-you notes you'll be sending out.

Published with permission (FCDMInc)