Six and a half years ago, Christina and I were exactly where you might be right now—typing “Best Wedding Venue in Florida” into a search bar with equal parts excitement and exhaustion.

We toured beautiful properties across Florida. Grand entrances. Polished floors. Perfectly staged showrooms. But somewhere between the printed packages and the pricing breakdowns, something felt… off. We weren’t being welcomed into a story. We were being processed through one.

The venues that seemed affordable came with hidden layers—trash pickup fees, mandatory 20% gratuities, deposits that mysteriously didn’t apply to the final balance. Preferred vendor lists that weren’t suggestions but requirements. Caterers charging $100 per person just for food service alone. Rules stacked on rules. It began to feel like our wedding day would belong more to a contract than to us.

And the hardest part? We didn’t feel seen. We felt like a transaction.

Christina would squeeze my hand after each tour, and I could tell she was trying to hold onto the joy of being engaged. That’s when we started asking a different question: If we could build a place ourselves… what would it feel like?

That question became The Pinery Forest & Garden.

Today, The Pinery Forest & Garden sits on five acres where a pine forest seamlessly intertwines with a tropical garden. It’s not a ballroom that needs to be dressed up. It’s not a blank canvas waiting for you to spend thousands just to make it feel alive. Nature already did the heavy lifting. The towering pines, the filtered golden light, the garden textures—they create a setting where décor becomes an accent, not a necessity.

When we designed the space, we thought about everything we wished we had experienced. The ceremony, the reception, the party—yes, those essentials are here. But what sets The Pinery apart is its layout. Your wedding isn’t confined to one room. It unfolds.

Guests dine beneath a canopy of lights suspended in the forest, surrounded by the quiet hum of nature. They wander to different common areas, discovering moments from their own perspective. No one is stuck at a table for hours. No one feels boxed in. Every corner invites exploration, conversation, connection.

We wanted your guests to leave telling different stories about the same night—because they experienced it uniquely.

Most of all, we built The Pinery to feel human. Transparent pricing. Freedom to choose vendors you love. Space to celebrate without feeling restricted by unnecessary rules. A place where you are treated like a couple in love—not a line item on an invoice.

If you’re searching for the best wedding venue in Florida, I hope you’re really searching for something deeper: a place that feels like it was built with you in mind.

Because in many ways, it was.