The Orchards Event Venue - Molino, Florida

Baldwin Carden

“As a wedding photographer who’s had the privilege of working at countless venues, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing at The Orchards Event Venue twice now, and I’m consistently blown away! The venue’s elegance and attention to detail are simply breathtaking. With its soft, natural tones and abundant natural light, it’s truly one of the top venues I’ve ever worked at—a photographer’s dream come true. From the two gorgeous fountains and expansive, scenic fields to the enchanting pecan grove, the glass hall, and the charming greenhouse, every corner offers a stunning backdrop. I can’t wait to return and experience its beauty all over again!”

Justice Cummins

This property is breathtaking and has multiple different areas for ceremony, reception, pictures, etc. I have never seen a venue like this and I couldnt dream up a more beautiful venue. Not only is this venue absolutely stunning, the owners Cynthia and Greg are angels. Since I booked with them last year, they would answer any of my questions quickly. Their attention to detail is amazing, the morning of the wedding Cynthia was picking up tiny sticks to ensure that everything was perfect. She event went to buy us a speaker because we left ours. Angel ensured everything was perfect for us too. Right before i walked down the aisle, I was sooo nervous and would not have been able to calm down without Cynthia and Angel being so kind and loving. I would recommended them 10000000 times.

Lola Allgyer

Overall, we loved our experience and would recommend this venue highly to our friends and family.

Pros...

Ethereal. Your photos will be GORGEOUS. Pro tip: work with a photographer who knows the venue and plan the specific shots you want on ahead to maximize the value you get out of the location.

Simple. The location is naturally beautiful enough you won’t need many decorations. I brought a few select decorations of my own, but made use of the Orchards’ in-house decor. (I’m a minimalist, so some brides may want more decor, but the point is you don’t NEED it to make the venue feel wedding-appropriate.)

All-inclusive. We used the venue decor, chairs, tables, linens and more. With all the different (and equally gorgeous) ceremony and reception locations, we were able to curate a unique experience for our guests that left everyone with an enjoyable experience.

Intimate. There’s something about driving into the long lane with the pecan orchards and walking onto the lawn, looking across the pond, or entering the glass house that feels idyllic and otherworldly. Perfect for an unplugged ceremony focused on the two of you. Even with 150 guests, the event still felt like a small ceremony with close friends.

Flexible. We were able to incorporate most of our fun, individualized ideas into the big day due to the space and the many different ceremony/reception locations. We had the ceremony overlooking the lake, cocktail hour on the front lawn, photo booth in the rotunda, dancing in the oak room, and reception in the glass hall.

I’m also going to share the downsides, since there are a few. But I’ll share what we did to mitigate those downsides as well. Keep in mind: despite these downsides, I still give this venue a 5-star rating.

1. It’s in Molino. 35-40 minutes away from downtown and the airport. If most of your guests are from Pensacola, this may not be an issue for you, but keep in mind it’s near impossible to get Uber or Lyft out that direction.
—I mitigated this by creating a travel guide with direct instructions for out-of-town guests.
—Another option would be to charter a bus or two to take guests to and from the hotel.
—We chose to skip alcohol at the venue to avoid any issues/ hazards related to drinking and driving.

2. No in-house bartender option. For the price, it would have been nice to be able to work with an in-house bartender to cut down the cost. We skipped alcohol at the wedding itself but hosted an afterparty at Perfect Plain Brewery downtown, which saved us a boatload of money and a lot of headache.

3. There’s a noise ordinance in the area that goes into effect at 10pm – which means your wedding festivities need to be wrapped up around 9. This makes it nearly impossible to have a sunset ceremony. We solved this problem by getting photos done pre-ceremony, opting for less time dancing, and moving the party downtown after the venue closed for the night, which worked well. I still wished we would have had an extra hour at least.

4. The venue’s communication and internal operations left much to be desired. I’m assuming the business was in transition, which is understandable.There was no single point of contact during the process. I spoke to 4 different people at different stages of my planning process, and it was never clear who (if anyone) was to be the main point of contact.
— If you’re willing to pay for their wedding planner and day-of coordinator, this problem may solve itself. Personally, due to the communication issues I noticed, I wasn’t willing to take that chance and wanted to work with someone who I knew would understand what I needed accomplished during the day.
— I chose to work with a close friend as day-of coordinator, which was a better experience for me as the bride and resolved any concerns I had around the comms problems.

Despite the cons, I’m still fully satisfied with our decision to work with The Orchards, and would recommend this venue to any bride who’s willing to look past some of the small inconveniences for the chance to have a one-of-a-kind day.

Travis Brady

I want to start by saying the venue is absolutely beautiful, well spaced out and offers a lot of options for customization. We had a wonderful wedding. Every inch of the property is well done and offers a luxury view. The day of coordinators are excellent, they will place you where you need to be and take away the stress of the behind the scenes chaos. The venue also offers a bridge and groom suite for getting ready. The only issues we had were some of the layout was changed day of which ended up causing a little disorganization in the reception, but it was a mechanical bull, so it’s probably not easy to work around, a miscommunication in the timing of our ceremony that led to some distraction in the background of our dining entrance (no biggie), and just make sure your bartender and the venue are in good communication about water for the guests. Overall, the venue was great, with minor nuances, it is very beautiful and offers a lot of customization and the venue is willing to work with your crazy non-traditional ideas. Make sure to read all the paperwork thoroughly and that you openly communicate with the owners throughout the process to avoid any small miscommunications that may lead to any minor discrepancies.

Sandra Johnson

I can’t begin to express how amazing our experience with The Orchards was. Not only is the venue spectacular, so is their team. From the first tour until our June wedding, Cynthia and everyone at the Orchards went above and beyond. They were so patient with me and my millions of questions and emails. Our wedding day went off without a hitch. Angel, the day of coordinator, took care of everything. If there were any fires that needed to be put out, I didn’t know about it. I was able to relax with my bridesmaids in the comfortable and spacious bridal suit while everything was handled. The venue was decorated beautifully and exactly how I envisioned. Go tour their gorgeous venue. You won’t be disappointed.

Caitlyn Golding

Bobby and I got married at the Orchards on May 6th, and it was everything we wanted and more. Cynthia and her family are amazing and you can tell they put their heart and soul into the property. Cynthia was always sweet and reachable whenever I had questions. I’m so thankful for them opening up their home for us, I will forever recommend this venue! ❤️

Wyatt Anderson

The Orchards Event Venue was the perfect location for our wedding in December of 2022! Cynthia and her team helped every step of the way to ensure we had the wedding of our dreams. This venue is extremely gorgeous and took our breath away the first time we saw it in person, and there are many options for ceremony and reception locations. The weather on our wedding day was cold and rainy, and even in those conditions the venue sparkled with beauty. Do yourself a favor and book this once-in-a-lifetime venue!

Dylan Pitts

Beautiful venue with plenty of space and multiple different options as far as where you want your ceremony. The set up was perfect and it was a very stress free wedding day. Couldn't recommend this place more!