Tying The Knot? Try A Miami Mansion Or Historic Hot Spot

Greater Miami & Miami Beach is home to many historic wedding venues, each offering unique character, charm and beauty that reflect the destination’s rich culture and history. If you’re looking for a memorable setting, these places will help make your big day special.

Enchanting Events at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

A staple of Miami’s history and culture, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is an architectural marvel overlooking Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove. Built in the early 1900s as the vacation home of businessman James Deering, the European-inspired estate features gilded architecture, opulent gardens and museum collections dating as far back as Pompeii, making it a storybook venue. Vizcaya has long played a cultural role in the destination, hosting Queen Elizabeth II in 1984 and a meeting between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II in 1987, among other significant events.

The estate can accommodate up to 100 guests indoors and up to 300 guests outdoors for events. Due to the site’s historic significance, all event personnel must come from a pre-approved vendor list. While cost is highly variable depending on the caterer, menu and customization, the base rental fee is $23,000 for an evening wedding and $2,000 for a daytime garden ceremony. Vizcaya’s proximity to Coconut Grove and Brickell places it in close proximity to many hotels, restaurants and points of interest, and accommodations are provided for those with limited mobility and visual and hearing impairments.

Grand Style at The Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables

Located in Coral Gables, The Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables hotel is a National Historic Landmark and one of the area’s architectural icons. Opened in 1926, it was a venue for Jazz Age galas, fashion shows and concerts before serving as a hospital during World War II. Spanning over 150 acres, the resort has eight distinct locations for wedding ceremonies and receptions, including a courtyard, lawn, terrace, gallery, fountain and three unique ballrooms. Wedding guests can stay in the 271 rooms and opulent suites and take advantage of group and special rates, making it a great option for destination weddings. The venue is suitable for events of all sizes, with a maximum occupancy of 1,000. Biltmore Event Design can help plan your event using exclusive vendors.

Waterfront Weddings at Bayfront Deering Estate

The Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay is a 450-acre property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lush grounds offer sweeping views of Biscayne Bay and are home to three structures constructed between 1896-1922, including the Stone House Museum, which features an ornate ceiling, classic checker-tiled floors and gilded gates. The Richmond family and industrialist Charles Deering built the estate with contributions from renowned Coral Gables architect Phineas Paist and famed botanists David Fairchild and John Kunkel Small.

The estate is well suited for weddings of all sizes, with an outdoor maximum occupancy of 1,000. The Stone House, which can be rented for an additional fee, has an 80-person maximum occupancy for ceremonies and a 150-person maximum occupancy for cocktail parties. Rental costs range between $2,500 to $7,500 for use of the grounds. The Deering Estate allows couples full freedom in customizing their event, including using outside caterers and vendors.

History Meets Fairytale Charm at The Curtiss Mansion

Built in 1925, The Curtiss Mansion & Gardens was the home of renowned aviator and inventor Glenn Hammond Curtiss. It’s located just north of Miami International Airport in Miami Springs, which was founded by Curtiss. The mansion features Pueblo Revival architecture, has received recognition by The Smithsonian and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For weddings, the 3.3-acre venue features three indoor event spaces with a maximum capacity of 80-200 people, depending on whether they’re used for a ceremony, cocktail, dinner or dance. Outdoor areas include a shaded grove, a romantic bridge and a stone archway, giving it a fairytale feel. The Curtiss also has four outdoor venues with a maximum capacity range of 30-240 people and two designated ceremony sites.

Timeless Romance at the Ancient Spanish Monastery

Some of the oldest architecture in Miami can be found at the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach. This one-of-a-kind venue, featuring beautiful gardens, stone arches, stained-glass windows and carved ceilings, has a rich history, originating as the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux in northern Spain in A.D. 1133. It was occupied by Cistercian monks for almost 700 years. In 1925, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst purchased the cloisters along with the outbuildings and had them dismantled stone by stone before shipping them to the United States. Due to Hearst’s financial troubles, more than 11,000 crates were stored in Brooklyn, New York, for 26 years. In 1964, Colonel Robert Pentland Jr. purchased the cloisters and presented them to the Bishop of Florida. Their reassembly took 19 months and a modern-day equivalent of nearly $20 million to complete.

Ceremony-only, reception-only and combined packages are offered. The base rental fee begins at $2,000 for ceremonies; combined packages range between $6,000-$13,000. The venue offers a changing room for weddings as well as an upgraded suite for an additional $250 fee. Due to the sensitive nature of the historic architecture, the monastery provides a list of preferred vendors and caterers, with outside vendors requiring special permits and fees.

Glamour and Modern Luxury at Hotel Colonnade

Designed by famed Coral Gables architect Phineas Paist and completed in 1926, the historic Hotel Colonnade once housed a pilot training facility, the Colonnade Movie Studios and a World War II parachute factory. The hotel now offers a 23,000-square-foot event space for weddings with a classic, elegant ambiance that marries European-inspired architecture with modern luxury. Couples can choose from four distinct event spaces – a grand neo-classical marbled rotunda, galleria, ballroom and rooftop terrace – with maximum capacities ranging from 230 to 737 guests. The venue provides a game room and salon as getting-ready spaces and a variety of special offerings and perks, including specialty coffee carts, a celebration suite, discounts and more.

Historic Charm at Coral Gables Golf & Country Club

Built in 1922 and developed by Coral Gables founder George Merrick, The Coral Gables Golf & Country Club was the city’s first public building. In 1983, most of the original structure was lost in a fire. Only six coral rock arches remain, nestled above the club’s Le Parc Café and blending with the current Mediterranean-style architecture. With five event spaces, the 40,000-square-foot property is a popular choice for weddings and accommodates up to 1,000 guests. Open areas, high ceilings, large windows and outdoor spaces create a light and airy feel that combine seamlessly with the club’s luxury.

Romantic Garden Celebrations at Villa Woodbine

Nestled in Coconut Grove, Villa Woodbine was built in the 1930s as the winter home of the Boyd family, owners of the Appleton Paper Company. The mansion blends Mediterranean and Renaissance styles, featuring open-air layouts, Spanish arches and a central courtyard. A long-standing popular choice among the area’s historic wedding venues, Villa Woodbine has held thousands of events for the public and celebrities, hosting Michael Jordan, Usher, Anne Rice, Regis Philbin and Kathy Lee Gifford, among others. Primarily outdoors, the venue has a maximum capacity of 225, with tents offered as contingency options. Villa Woodbine works exclusively with Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production to handle all aspects of your wedding, from food to entertainment.

Vintage Charm and Garden Romance at Cauley Square

A charming option for those seeking a vintage wedding venue, Cauley Square Historic Village, in South Dade’s Goulds area, was founded in 1903 to cater to railroad workers and farmers. The village was restored in 2001 and is now home to 19 unique small businesses. The village’s bright colors and historic structures give it a sweet, intimate ambiance reminiscent of Florida’s days of old.

As a wedding venue, the village has a maximum occupancy of 150 in four outdoor areas – the Courtyard Garden, Fountain Garden, Tropical Garden and Arbor Garden – that serve as event spaces. Cauley Square also has an indoor event space, Williams Hall. Cauley Square offers two bridal suites and includes valet parking.

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