Most people wouldn’t put the words “luxury” and “micro wedding” together in a sentence, but we’re here to assure you that the two are not mutually exclusive.

If you have expensive tastes (it’s okay to admit it!) but hope to exchange vows with just a select group of your nearest and dearest—or if you’re planning a micro wedding on a budget but still want to feel like a prince or princess on your wedding day—just know that you can still have an affordable micro wedding and say “I do” in an incredibly glamorous setting. How, you might ask, when wedding venues are just so expensive these days?! (Ahem: these top 10 Orlando and Central Florida area wedding venues under $2,000 might convince you otherwise.)

The answer: finding a luxury wedding venue that offers micro wedding or intimate wedding packages.

Trust us, it’s incredibly hard to find this information online (we would know: we had to do the grueling work to put this list together!), so save yourself the trouble with our top recommendations for wedding venues that bring on the glam without breaking the bank.

These 8 luxury wedding venues in Central Florida are surprisingly affordable for micro weddings and intimate weddings—keep reading for the full list!

‘Til debt do we part?

Recently the topic of going into debt to pay for your wedding has taken social media by storm. Countless TikTok videos and Instagram posts have flooded our algorithms with brides sharing the cold reality of paying off wedding debt once the honeymoon is over, with many taking on additional jobs and delaying their dreams of traveling or buying a home.

We personally avoid debt whenever possible in not only our personal lives but also our business, and we often speak this same value to our wedding photography clients. We never want a potential bride or groom to feel a need to go into debt simply to pay for our wedding photography services, nor do we think that going into debt to pay for a wedding has to be the new norm.

So is it really possible to get married without going into debt? We say yes—and we’re here to share a few helpful tips to saying “I do” without the debt.

Micro weddings have been around for as long as couples have been tying the knot, but they made a big resurgence in the post-pandemic era, and they’re not going away anytime soon.

Our 2025 wedding season prediction: micro weddings are IN—and they’re here to stay.

Now, we may be biased (speaking as a micro wedding photographer), but there’s a good reason we have a soft spot for intimate weddings. There’s a certain magic about smaller gatherings where a couple and their nearest & dearest gather together to celebrate their love and commitment to one another, and while we’re all for big weddings too, the unique beauty of a micro wedding is just in a league of its own.

If you’re thinking of having a micro wedding in 2025, we’re here to share the reasons why these intimate, small weddings are continuing strong in the new year’s wedding trends and why they’re here to stay—and most of all, why you should consider one, too.

In this economy, it almost feels like the cost of buying fresh fruit at the grocery store is about the same as booking your wedding venue.

As most of us are tightening our wallets and seeing our dollars stretch thinner and thinner, weddings are also feeling the pinch. Many couples are opting for a small, intimate or micro wedding as a means to tie the knot on a budget or even getting married in their own backyard. And finding the wedding venue of your dreams without breaking the bank? That feels more like a pipe dream.

However, finding an affordable wedding venue doesn’t have to cause undue stress. Whether you’re booking an Orlando-area wedding venue under $2,000 or just looking to pinch a few pennies, we’re here to share some creative ways to save a few extra dollars on your dream wedding venue.

Save your pennies for a rainy day and try these 9 wallet-friendly tactics to save money on your wedding venue (I guarantee you #8 will surprise you)!

We recently shot Lily & Ryan’s Asian-inspired wedding at the glamorous Tavares Pavilion on the Lake in Tavares, FL and had a wonderful experience with this wedding venue! Sitting majestically along scenic Lake Dora, this space is actually owned by the city of Tavares, which makes it an incredibly affordable wedding venue—yet without lacking any of the elegance and charm of a privately-owned wedding venue.

We truly enjoyed Lily & Ryan’s wedding at Tavares Pavilion on the Lake and so, in our quest to share the best wedding venues (and most affordable wedding venues for micro weddings!) in the Orlando and Central Florida area, we’re heartily adding this stunning wedding venue to our list. Keep reading for an inside scoop of what it’s like to get married at Tavares Pavilion on the Lake in Tavares, FL!

Lily & Ryan had a sweet, heartfelt Asian-inspired elegant classic wedding at Tavares Pavilion on the Lake in Tavares, FL! From the significance of weaving in Lily’s Asian culture to their Christian religious wedding ceremony, it truly was a special wedding and an honor to be a part of. View the wedding photography gallery of highlights from their intimate micro wedding day here!

They say every bride wants to feel like a princess on her wedding day, but some of us just want to be the Daisy Buchanan of our best Great Gatsby lives.

Nothing hits quite like holding your special day at a historic home wedding venue. Whether your vibe is Roaring ‘20s Glamour or Southern Belle of the Ball—or just quiet luxury—getting married at a historic home-turned-wedding-venue is a popular choice for many couples. Historic building weddings ooze charm and timeless elegance and allow the bride to really feel like the lady of the house in her very own Central Florida version of Downton Abbey.

For a city best known for theme parks, beaches, and tourists, Orlando has a surprising number of stunningly-beautiful historic homes that now serve as sought-after wedding venues, and we believe they all deserve a chance in the spotlight. In this post, we’ve narrowed down the list to the top 10 most popular ones that we think are absolutely worth adding to your list.

In no particular order, we’ve compiled the top 10 best historic home wedding venues near Orlando, FL ideal for elegant luxe weddings—don’t miss this!

We at Author Made had the complete honor and joy to capture Vicky & Robert’s 50th (!) anniversary vow renewal and wedding reception this June at historic Tanner Hall in downtown Winter Garden, FL! Not only was this an incredibly special moment for these two lovebirds celebrating five decades together, but this moment, date, and location all held such significance. Not only did the celebration take place on the exact date of their 50th wedding anniversary, but Tanner Hall has actually been used as a wedding venue for 3 generations of vow renewal celebrations for their family. View the wedding photography gallery of highlights from their special micro wedding day here!

For the romantic countryside allure of an elegant outdoor wedding venue, the charm of Chapel Valley Farm is unparalleled. If you’ve ever wished you had your own private rustic estate to exchange vows in a relaxed setting amongst the beauty of nature, then a wedding at Chapel Valley Farm might be exactly what you’re looking for. More like celebrating your special day on your very own private farm versus renting a formal wedding venue, outdoor weddings at this elegant modern barn wedding venue trade stuffy ballrooms and formal chandeliers for towering trees, family-style reception tables, and dancing underneath the stars.

The team at Chapel Valley Farm invited us to take a private tour of their lovely wedding venue in Eustis, FL, and in this post we’re sharing our honest, unsponsored thoughts. We hope to capture a wedding at this gorgeous outdoor venue in the near future, but in the meantime, we took plenty of photos to capture the most important details of this Central Florida wedding venue review. We can’t wait for you to read all about it!

When you think “wedding reception venue”, you’re probably not thinking “coffee shop.” But why not? The local café became synonymous with cozy, atmospheric, relaxed ever since 6 famous F•R•I•E•N•D•S first sat down on an oversized orange couch on national TV in the ‘90s. And as a couple who held their own wedding reception on the floor above our favorite local coffee shop, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the idea of celebrating your happily-ever-after in the heartwarming atmosphere of a café. (Bonus: you can have a friend bring you your favorite latte during your wedding reception!)

Earlier this year, we had the pleasure to shoot Lucy & Alex’s classy urban micro wedding in downtown Orlando with their wedding reception at The Bynx Café, and we fell in love with the hip downtown vibe of this sweet little spot! If you’re planning a micro wedding in downtown Orlando and looking for a relaxed yet trendy wedding reception space, you really ought to put The Bynx Café on your list. Perfect for intimate gatherings of up to 60 guests, this incredibly affordable venue doesn’t lack any points for style!

Dreaming of a botanical garden wedding just minutes from the beach? If you’ve never heard of this wedding venue, then we are thrilled to introduce you to the stunning Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens in Port Orange, FL! One of the most picturesque and scenic places to get married near Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach in Central Florida, the historic grounds and botanical gardens of Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens are a must-see.

We recently shot our first wedding at this lovely wedding venue and are sharing our full scoop of what it’s like to get married at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens, including our full wedding venue review. Keep reading for our insider thoughts and photos from a real wedding at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens!

Esther & Caleb’s urban glam wedding reception might have been short, but made up for it with sweetness! Esther & Caleb reached out to us for wedding photography coverage for their intimate wedding reception at The Urban Loft by Trellis 925 following a brief, casual friends-and-family-only wedding ceremony. View the wedding photography gallery of highlights from their special micro wedding day here!

If you’re looking to plan a wedding in Orlando or the Central Florida area, your first Google search for “affordable wedding venues near me” will yield an overwhelming amount of results (trust me, I’ve looked). Orlando, FL is an incredibly popular wedding destination for locals and destination weddings or elopements alike, due to its theme parks, beautiful natural scenery, gorgeous weather, and proximity to beaches. From unique wedding venues to traditional wedding venues; indoor weddings to outdoor elopements—Central Florida has it all.

But when you’re planning an intimate micro wedding or elopement, it can take hours of planning and researching to find the perfect wedding venue that’s also affordable and inexpensive.

We’ve done the hard work for you: as a couple who struggled to find affordable wedding venues in Central Florida for our own wedding, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of the best wedding venues under $2,000 in the Orlando area in Central FL: proving that it is possible to have the wedding of your dreams without breaking the bank.

When engaged couples think of a Florida wedding, what first comes to mind are sandy beaches, seascape sunsets, regal palm trees, and yearlong sunshine. So for those dreaming of a rustic outdoorsy wedding venue for their special day, staying in the Sunshine State might not seem like a viable option—until now. Meet The Venue at Gentry Pines: a romantic lakefront wedding venue filled with that “Old Florida” charm. Exchanging beaches for lakefront views and palm trees for moss-covered oak trees, the rustic Southern wedding of your dreams is within reach, and no less for couples in urban Orlando, as The Venue at Gentry Pines is centrally located in sleepy St. Cloud, FL.

We were honored to be invited by the team at The Venue at Gentry Pines to take a private tour of this outdoor wedding venue in St. Cloud, FL, and we’ve decided to share our unbiased, unsponsored thoughts with you all. We hope to shoot a wedding at this gorgeous venue soon, but in the meantime, we took plenty of photos to capture the most important details of this Central Florida wedding venue review. Happy reading!

When you’re looking to hire a wedding photographer, you might see the phrase “micro wedding photographer” pop up during your online search. As a newly engaged couple who’s just trying to find someone who can hold a camera within your budget and with Insta-worthy quality, the last thing you need is one more complicated term to confuse your search efforts.

But what exactly is a micro wedding photographer, and what makes them different from the hundreds of other wedding photographers out there?

The answer might surprise you—and it might make a world of difference to your wedding day.

We’re here to share what micro wedding photographers do differently (including why we decided to niche into this very special type of wedding) and how hiring one—or not hiring one—could impact your wedding day.

Allison & John had the sweetest intimate micro wedding at the lush botanical Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens in Port Orange, FL this March! It was a joy and an honor to capture the intimate moments of their special day in this beautiful botanical micro wedding. View their wedding photography gallery and read all about their wedding day here!

Just because you’re throwing a small wedding doesn’t mean the planning process will be any easier. In fact, some might say that throwing an intimate micro wedding comes with even more to-do’s than planning a larger bash, simply because more of the details and decisions are on your shoulders. So when you’re juggling planning your own wedding, fending off decor ideas from your mother, and paying your bills, things are bound to fall through the cracks—either intentionally or unintentionally.

Worse, many couples treat planning their intimate wedding a bit too casually and discover all too late how a lack of planning can end up costing them their dream wedding day. Many of these mistakes are totally preventable, yet newly-engaged lovebirds can fall prey to entering their micro wedding planning season thinking that love is all they need.

In this follow-up blog post to our previous one, 9 regrettable mistakes couples make with their wedding photography, we’re covering common mistakes couples make when planning a small, intimate wedding or micro wedding. Keep reading for an intimate wedding day that’s stress-free, smooth, and everything you’ve dreamed it will be!

When newly-engaged couples think about hiring a wedding photographer, usually it’s just relegated to a single item on a checklist: “✅ Hire a wedding photographer.” Once that contract is signed, all that’s left is to tell your wedding photographer when and where to show up!

Right?...

As an intimate micro wedding and elopement photographer and videographer, I’ve seen so many beautiful wedding photo moments—tears, laughter, pure magic. But I’ve also witnessed some common mistakes couples make when it comes to capturing the most treasured moments of their lives. In short: there’s a lot more that you need to think about in regards to your wedding photography before you walk down the aisle.

Let’s chat about these 9 regrettable pitfalls couples make with their wedding photography—and how you can ensure your special day is captured in all its stunning glory.

When you think of eloping in Florida, the image of a sunset exchanging of vows on a sandy beach is often the first thing that comes to mind. Dreaming of feeling the sand between your toes as you stand hand-in-hand with your beloved? Oh-so-romantic. Creating lists of all the technical hoops, legalities, and logistics of planning a Florida elopement? Not-so-romantic.

No matter where you’re traveling from to elope in Florida—whether you’re a local to the Sunshine State or a traveler from abroad—it can be overwhelming to conduct research on getting married in another location. We’re here to share a Floridian wedding professional’s advice for planning your destination elopement right here in sunny Florida. Grab your sunglasses and get reading!

When adulthood hits and that ring finally makes it to your finger, planning a wedding looks nothing like our childhood imagingings. From finding out your dream wedding venue costs how much?! to late-night arguments *ahem, discussions* about wedding budgets with your soon-to-be-spouse, the reality of planning a wedding—especially in this economy—can be a bit…daunting.

So when you’re cozied up on the couch, scrolling through wedding venue options and feeling the sting of those hefty price tags, consider a thought: what if your dream wedding venue was just a few steps away?

Getting married at home might sound unconventional, but it’s an increasingly popular trend that’s not just practical but full of heart. As a micro wedding photographer, we at Author Made have witnessed the rare beauty of home weddings, and we’re here to spill the beans on why you should consider this heartfelt option.