6 October 2022

I spent months planning and just hosted my daughter's wedding. At the firm, we are in the process of designing a luxury wedding venue. For this months journal I want to discuss venue design — what we love and what makes a venue high end or luxury, all through the lens of architecture and interior design.

The Grand Gimeno — Orange, CA

When searching for the wedding venue to hold my daughter’s wedding, I was looking for a space that checked all my boxes regarding both architectural beauty and the functionality to suite what we needed for all of our events on the day. Budget was also an important factor for us. My daughter wanted a Tuscan vineyard, but it was during the time of covid and with the restrictions, travel was limited and uncertain.

We fell in love with The Grand Gimeno in Orange, California. Its outdoor landscape felt similar to the vineyards of Tuscany, what my daughter dreamed of. The vineyard was also paired with a beautiful open concept outdoors, perfect for the large and long table set up we wanted. The architecture of the building was beautiful and unique but still the perfect canvas for a variety of wedding styles. The terra cotta tile floors inside were stunning, adding texture and organic color. The bride and groom rooms were well styled and thought out with no detail forgotten, making the long day comfortable for the bridal party. The overall flow and thought clearly put into function and form were perfect for our wedding event.

Tuscan Venues

I’ve always had a love for Tuscany and its venues, likely the reason my daughter is fond of them as well. They hold a timeless beauty in the aged and historic architecture through the stone, arches, and over-grouted pavement. I love how the natural colors in the stone and incorporation of greenery make for the perfect setting and backdrop. These venues are generally villas or homes converted into hotels and venue spaces, because of this there are comforts of a home included with the venue such as bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and that cozy home feeling. Of course the location and grounds are what makes these venues so desirable and dreamy, the view, the hills, and the vineyards with those iconic trees. This old world charm and character combined with simple and impactful details creates this timeless beauty. I would absolutely love to take on a project updating a villa in Tuscany, into a venue or home, some day in the future. For now, it remains an inspiration for the exciting projects we currently have.

Venue Design Process

In our venue designing process the design and the project goals need to be well thought through. This includes, what you want your guests to be doing there and the desired design and function of each space. Decisions need to be made regarding all functions of the venue such as a warming kitchen or full kitchen, ceremony area and reception area. How all of these rooms flow as to their individual uses or multiple uses, is important to think through well. The bride and groom rooms are sometimes over looked, I have seen venues who provide only bathrooms to get ready in, but they are very important.

We start design with discovering the goals of the client, then we look at the lot and discover how we can achieve those goals. We look into the codes and regulations of the location/lot for building or renovation. Weather and the surrounding area are taken into consideration as well. We then start designing, taking the client with us through the process, updating as we go, to ensure realization of the clients goals, We utilize the building lot, capitalizing on the surrounding area and honoring the location. I am one who loves both indoor and outdoor events. I like to utilize the whole property for all aspects of the events, with a wedding I prefer the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception to be held in different areas.

Vision

Venues are the structures to facilitate a greater purpose than just shelter, they facilitate the expression of various emotions. Our vision in venue design is to be aware of these emotions. The emotions that owners and hosts want the attendees of the events to feel. We design to leave a lasting and wonderful memory with all who spend time in that space. Photos are a natural aspect of events now and we are aware of this. With photography in mind as well, we design to support beautiful clear images to be taken and remembered for lifetimes.

Purpose

Our purpose in luxury venue design is rooted in the events that will be held there. How the space functions to support these events is the most important aspect of our design process. Making the purpose of the event work with the details and designs to enhance that event, is the key to making a venue successful. Branding a venue is often overlooked in design as it doesn’t seem to be part of or considered in design, In our architecture and interior design, branding is a central guide to how and what we design. Ask what sets this venue apart from other competitors that potential clients are choosing between? What is the niche? What kind of event is the ideal, and plan for that. Invest in the right architect and design firm to accomplish goals and design according to the answers to those questions, it is their job to help bring your concepts to reality.

We have more amazing projects such as this that we are working on, and cannot wait to share more of the progress.

Thank you for reading.

— Elizabeth

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