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Choosing a venue can be the hardest decision to make when planning a wedding.

Former “Bachelorette” Jen Schefft, who married Joe Waterman on April 15 at Spiaggia Restaurant in Chicago, told us that picking the venue was her biggest priority during wedding planning.

“We wanted to make sure it was the best possible place to have our wedding,” Jen says. “We wanted to find something very pretty and elegant but with a small size rather than being a big ballroom or hotel ballroom.”

Things to consider when picking a location include availability, cost, size and venue rules.  If you are looking for star inspiration, here are some of the venues that celebrities love for beach weddings, destination weddings and hotel weddings:

•  For the ultimate private spot, celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin love San Ysidro Ranch near Santa Barbara.

•  For those who don’t want to leave LA but still want privacy, Hotel Bel Air is a favorite for stars like Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman and Jay Mohr and Nikki Cox. 

•  For destination weddings, celebs love One & Only Palmilla in Cabo San Lucas (pictured above) and One & Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas. These two venues have hosted weddings for Oliver Hudson and Erinn Bartlett, Eli Manning and Abby McGrew and Jason Priestley and Naomi Lowde.

•  For rustic winery weddings without having to go far, celebrities love Saddlerock Ranch and Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu. Fergie and Natasha Bedingfield recently got married at Church Estate Vineyards, while “It’s Only Sunny in Philadelphia” couple Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson chose Saddlerock Ranch.

See photos of other celebrity favorites in our wedding venue gallery.

Categories Wedding Planning
Tags Wedding Venue