Venue Confusion

My brother got married at a church and their florist provided all decor for the ceremony. The reception was held at a separate venue and she also provided the decor for that as well. They made a donation to the church in order to use the church for the ceremony. I think it is pretty common that the bride and groom provide decor for church ceremonies.

Unfortunately, not all venues provide decor. Ours would have provided centerpieices, but we would've had to pay extra. I wanted to also add that every church wedding I've been have only hosted the ceremony at the church and then had the reception at a separate location. I think the decision has to be made based more on feelings than money. I think the question that needs to be asked is just how important is getting married at the church to your fiancé? If you'd get married somewhere else would he later regret not having at least the ceremony at the church?

If you go with a church know they have a lot of restrictions. They generally don't allow alcohol for one, so if you're wanting to have any alcohol you wouldn't be able to more than likely (which it sounds like you do). That's the most common complaint I've heard about for church weddings. Is there one you're liking more than the other and does it fit in your budget for whichever you choose?

You should ultimately do what you feel is best. If you're worried about doing the planning, you could always look at having a wedding planner as they'll take care of details for you like coordinating with the decorating and clean up staff, helping with coordinating day of such as appointments, etc. Their prices will generally depend on how much you're wanting them to help you, some will even do just day of if you want to take care of everything yourself and just let someone else take the reigns day of.