The Venue at Gentry Pines in St. Cloud – Central FL Wedding Venue Spotlight
The Venue at Gentry Pines, St. Cloud, FL | Wedding Venue Review | Best Affordable Central Florida Wedding Venues
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!
Important note: our tour of this wedding venue only covered the amenities offered in their Intimate Weddings package, so photography below is limited to the overall grounds, the lakeside ceremony site, and the groom’s suite. However, we’ve described the full features of this venue in our review following our overall experience visiting the site and our own research. We encourage you to visit this beautiful venue for yourself to see the full scope of offerings!
What it’s like to get married at The Venue at Gentry Pines in St. Cloud, FL — Wedding Venue Review
Outdoor rustic estate wedding ceremonies at The Venue at Gentry Pines
For the perfect blend of romantic outdoor charm and modern conveniences, it really doesn’t get any better than getting married at The Venue at Gentry Pines. Dotted with sprawling moss-covered oak trees and lakeshore cypress trees, the crown jewel of The Venue at Gentry Pines is its modern barn-style wedding reception hall. This 12-acre private property holds up to 200 guests comfortably for weddings and receptions.
When you get married at The Venue at Gentry Pines, the bride will have access to the complimentary bridal suite while the gentlemen can prepare in the separate groom’s suite (depending on your wedding package—more on this below). Both are indoor, air-conditioned suites with full bathrooms and kitchenettes, and the bridal suite includes an additional private bride’s room (perfect for stepping out for a “first look” with your bridesmaids!).
The lakeside wedding ceremony site is about 1/4 mile from the main area of the wedding venue where the reception hall, bridal suite, and primary parking are located. While this short walk can easily be taken on foot, your wedding at The Venue at Gentry Pines includes the use of their golf carts to help transport less-mobile guests to your wedding ceremony—a thoughtful bonus! Meanwhile, the groom’s suite is located just at the back of the wedding ceremony site, ensuring ample privacy for the two separate bridal parties.
One of our favorite details of a wedding ceremony at The Venue at Gentry Pines is their “bride reveal” gate—a tall set of wooden barn doors that fully close off the back of the wedding ceremony site. This allows brides to make a grand reveal at their wedding ceremony without being spotted coming down the from the bridal suite! This is a lovely little detail that most outdoor wedding venues don’t consider, yet it really makes your big bridal moment all the more special.
Indoor modern rustic barn wedding receptions at The Venue at Gentry Pines (Classic Wedding package only)
Now that you’ve said your “I do”s, it’s time to party! Your entourage can make their way up to the modern barn reception hall following your lakeside wedding ceremony. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres in the covered cocktail hour area underneath a large oak tree before dancing the night away in the expansive air-conditioned reception barn. Your wedding reception includes full set up of all tables and chairs for up to 200 guests, including a mix of round tables and family-style farm tables for that perfectly romantic rustic-yet-elegant feel. Guests can also enjoy the full bar area inside the reception hall so the party never has to stop!
What we most love about having a wedding at St. Cloud’s The Venue at Gentry Pines
The natural beauty of an outdoor wedding with modern indoor conveniences
One of the major challenges to holding an outdoor wedding especially in Florida is that modern conveniences are often lacking. The more rustic outdoor wedding locations may lack air-conditioned restrooms, a place for the bridal party to get ready, or convenient parking. However, The Venue at Gentry Pines strikes a perfect balance of allowing you to exchange vows in the beauty of nature while enjoying comfortable spaces to prepare for your wedding or to celebrate with your guests into the night. Ensuring both you and your guests are comfortable for the entirety of your wedding day, The Venue at Gentry Pines has carefully thought out how to provide the best of both worlds.
Flexible wedding packages
We’ll go into further detail below, but one perk to hosting a wedding at The Venue at Gentry Pines—especially for our clients—is their option for an Intimate Weddings package. Most wedding venues of this caliber are quite out of budget for smaller intimate micro weddings, yet the team at The Venue at Gentry Pines has made a way for couples to experience the wedding of their dreams at an affordable rate. This is actually an option that very few wedding venues offer, so it’s a rare treat to discover that an outdoor wedding at The Venue at Gentry Pines can be possible for smaller weddings, too.
Expansive grounds for wedding photography
We absolutely love a wedding venue that makes taking bridal photography a breeze, and The Venue at Gentry Pines is an incredibly beautiful place to get married. You can steal away during your wedding reception to take dreamy golden hour photos among the sprawling oak trees or along the shores of the quiet waters. While boating is permitted on the lake, we’ve been told that it’s normally very quiet - perfect for an intimate micro wedding or small wedding!
Attention to those little details
The team at The Venue at Gentry Pines really have thought about every detail, and it shows. From the separate bridal and groom getting-ready suites (with the groom’s suite located right by the wedding ceremony location, another well-thought detail) to the bride reveal gate to the complimentary golf carts, every tiny element of the perfect wedding has been thought through.
But we haven’t even shared the best one of all, and all you local Floridians will have already been asking this question: Where are the bugs?! That’s right, The Venue at Gentry Pines actively controls pests, and we did not see a single mosquito during our tour of this outdoor wedding venue. Perhaps this is standard fare for more upscale outdoor wedding venues like this one, but it’s not something we have experienced before, and it is just another way that The Venue at Gentry Pines really thinks through everything necessary for a comfortable, smooth, and picture-perfect wedding day.
Weather contingency
We would be remiss to not call out the potential for concerns over poor weather. If you’re planning both an outdoor wedding ceremony at The Venue at Gentry Pines and an indoor wedding reception, should rain come your way on your wedding day, the capable team at The Venue at Gentry Pines have several back-up plans for your wedding ceremony. You can either have your ceremony either lakeside under a tent, under the covered cocktail area, or have the ceremony inside the reception space. Speak with the team at The Venue at Gentry Pines to learn more about their weather contingency options, but we have full confidence that they will cater to the unpredictable weather that is Orlando, Florida!
Potential setbacks to having a wedding at St. Cloud’s The Venue at Gentry Pines
Walking distance to/from the outdoor wedding ceremony site
We’ll be honest: there really aren’t many concerns we can think of to getting married at The Venue at Gentry Pines. However, if walking isn’t your thing, the distance between the main area (wedding reception hall, parking lot, and bridal suite) and the lakeside wedding ceremony location might be a drawback. Do remember that The Venue at Gentry Pines provides complimentary use of golf carts to shuttle guests and bridal party to and from the wedding ceremony, so this really isn’t much of a concern for most weddings. However, if you have a significant number of mobile-challenged guests or bridal party members, this may be an issue to plan additional logistics around (such as scheduling golf cart rides or allowing a select few cars to park in the grass outside the ceremony site).
Wedding receptions are for full wedding packages only
If you’re planning to book The Venue at Gentry Pines’s affordable Intimate Package, you’ll want to find an offsite location to hold your wedding reception. The venue’s discounted rate is for wedding ceremonies only (though it does include many of the site’s other features—see below). However, hosting a wedding reception in a separate location is a common element to many weddings—including our own—so guests won’t mind taking the party elsewhere. Looking for wedding reception inspo? Check out our recent client’s urban wedding reception at Bynx coffee shop & cafe in downtown Orlando, FL!
How much does it cost to get married at The Venue at Gentry Pines in St. Cloud, FL?
Your dream wedding at The Venue at Gentry Pines will prove to be an incredible value for your money. The wedding venue offers two packages, a more inclusive Classic Wedding package and a simpler affordable Intimate Wedding package. As big supporters of micro weddings and intimate weddings, we are a HUGE fan of this second option!
The primary difference between the two packages is the inclusion of an onsite wedding reception and hours of venue access. The Classic Wedding package includes your indoor barn wedding reception, use of the property for 12 hours, and the bridal suite (among a few other perks); while the Intimate Wedding package is for outdoor wedding ceremonies only, property use for 4 hours, and the groom’s suite for getting ready (which you can use as a bridal suite). Both packages do include the complimentary use of golf carts for guest transport to the lakefront wedding ceremony site. Understandably, the Classic Package is more inclusive than the Intimate package, but the fact that The Venue at Gentry Pines has even made intimate weddings a possibility is a huge plus in our books.
Classic Wedding Package: starts at $6,000
Intimate Wedding Package: starts at $1,500
Prices taken from The Venue at Gentry Pines website and reflect the venue’s Spring 2024 pricing.
Final thoughts – The Venue at Gentry Pines Wedding Venue Review
We honestly cannot recommend more highly that couples in the Central Florid and Orlando area consider a wedding at The Venue at Gentry Pines in St. Cloud, FL. From the stunning natural beauty of this lakefront property to the thoughtful details of modern conveniences, this rustic yet elegant wedding ceremony and wedding reception venue truly is a must-see for any engaged couple. There are just too many things to love about The Venue at Gentry Pines: from the separate getting-ready suites to the bride reveal gates; from the active pest control to the complimentary golf carts; not to mention the affordability of their Intimate Wedding package—this truly is everything you could ever ask for in a wedding venue.
Rest assured that while we did tour The Venue at Gentry Pines by invitation, our thoughts are unbiased and we have not been asked by the venue to write this review, nor have we been compensated for providing a positive review. We encourage you to read the venue’s numerous positive ratings online as further proof!
Our rating: 5/5
Hi, we’re Author Made, a husband & wife wedding photographer / videographer studio based in Orlando, FL specializing in wedding photography and videography packages for small, intimate, micro weddings and elopements throughout Central Florida. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer or wedding videographer near you who understands and values the unique needs of smaller-scale weddings (we had a small wedding, too), we’d love to have the honor of capturing your wedding day.
If you’re interested in capturing your wedding photography or videography with us, please contact us - we would love to help your special day be all it can be!
