Couples Are Moving Away From Traditional Wedding Venues to Restaurants

When it came to planning their 200-person wedding, Madeleine Byrne and Zachary Visotsky chose to host it at the New Orleans Creole restaurant Brennan’s rather than some “big blank space,” or “boring ballroom,” as they put it.

Ms. Byrne, 31, a publicist based in New York, and Mr. Visotsky, also 31, a business strategy consultant, held their November 2023 ceremony in the restaurant’s courtyard, which had space for just 20 seats. Their families sat while everyone else stood around them, cocktails in hand.

During the reception, guests were treated to an oyster bar and food stations serving regional specialties like crawfish étouffée, barbecue shrimp and grits, and bananas foster, a menu Ms. Byrne described as “unapologetically indulgent” and a “love letter” to New Orleans, where both have deep family ties. The couple also embraced Brennan’s colorful personality, covering the stairs in rainbow-shaded balloons. And by happy accident, they wore its signature hues, with Ms. Byrne clad in pink and Mr. Visotsky in green.

“Brennan’s felt designed for celebration, not just dinner,” Ms. Byrne said. “Even with 200 guests, it still felt intimate.”

Many couples are choosing restaurants over more traditional wedding venues, like banquet halls or event spaces, where there are often more rigid schedules involving cake-cutting, first dances and speeches.