Wedding Bells Are Ringing | Wedding Destination Guide
Gone are the days of simple church weddings with a bell steeple announcing the nuptials. Couples are now planning chic and fun wedding events in unique locations like barns, museums, hotel terraces, rooftop bars and just about any place you could imagine. Wedding trends have become more focused on the guests and providing them with an amazing experience and feeding them — not only fine catered food — but feeding them visually. You can bet that the wedding venues we have uncovered will certainly take you and your whole wedding party on a wedding day adventure, enticing all your five senses.
Bellingrath Gardens & Home
Alabama
{Focus: Historic, Garden, Stunning}
There is nothing more idyllic than a wedding in the gardens. Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a garden experience unlike any other. With 65 acres of year-round beauty, this beautiful estate with its gardens and landscapes showcase their own specific variety of wonder. Bellingrath Gardens and Home provides a picture-perfect setting for weddings and receptions and a perfect way to capture beautiful memories of your special day. The Chapel was designed for religious services for the Bellingraths and their guests because they often could not make the drive to nearby Mobile on unpaved roads. Today, the Chapel can be used for intimate wedding ceremonies. To check an available date, call 251.459.8968; bellingrath.org
Jasper Hill Gardens
Alabama
{Focus: Outdoor, Gardens, Stately}
Nestled on over 20 acres, Jasmine Hill Gardens and Outdoor Museum is “Alabama’s little corner of Greece.” The stunning facility features floral beauty year round and classical sculptures. The venue offers both indoor and outdoor spaces that can accommodate all the festivities of your special day. Pledge your love in the Wedding Garden. The ceremony site includes a raised stone altar with decorative cast iron arch. After the ceremony, host your reception in one of two locations—the Olympian Centre Grand Hall or the storybook-style cottage. jasminehill.org
Sycamore Farms
Tennessee
{Focus: Big Parties, Rustic, Barn Reception}
Sitting a bit outside of Nashville, there is a place that looks like it was intentionally built with weddings in mind. Sycamore Farms sits on 28 beautiful acres, complete with a two-acre pond and massively impressive barn. Guest will have ample space to wander the compound before and after you say your sweet vows. This luxuriously appointed Southern backdrop is perfect for those looking to invite every cousin, co-worker, and childhood friend — it is massive. With a nine-foot wide crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the barn, you can dress up the space to be as luxurious or as minimalist as you prefer. The space is awash in warm wood tones, and will only compliment your choice of decor. sycamorefarmsevents.com
Whitestone County Inn
Tennessee
{Focus: Fairytale, Outdoor, Retreat}
Located in Knoxville, The Whitestone Inn offers guests a place to escape from the world and the ideal backdrop for saying your vows. The grounds are romantically landscaped and inviting, and the buildings are specifically designed for beauty and function. Their certified wedding planners will help manage all aspects of your wedding. With their vast wedding experience, your wedding will be free from stress. No need to worry about a day of rain, Whitestone offers the flexibility of moving from an outdoor to indoor venue. Along with garden and lake vistas, Whitestone also has their very own storybook chapel complete with steeple. Couples can even complete the fairytale wedding with a carriage pulled by white Belgian horses. whitestoneinn.com
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Arkansas
{Focus: Artistic, Modern, Natural}
In Bentonville, Arkansas, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art offers a standout venue with breathtaking architecture, and a backdrop of the surrounding Ozark forest. There is the Great Hall that offers vast windows, soaring wood-beamed ceilings, and views of water on three sides. It offers outdoor event space so your guest can become immersed in, not only the art, but the expansive lawns, gardens and the surrounding forest. Your swanky guests can all be given docent led private tours of the art during your cocktail hour; just think of that! With the ability to host a party of 350, you can keep the chaos down by having both your ceremony and reception in one spot. This venue offers an edgy and artistic background to further highlight your lace, soft blush bridesmaid dresses, and lush peony bouquet. crystalbridges.org
Moss Mountain Farm
Arkansas
{Focus: Garden Party, Stunning Views, Opulence}
Lovers of the P.B.S. shows “P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home” and “P. Allen Smith Gardens” will swoon at the opportunity to get married or promptly R.S.V.P. to any wedding held here. P. Allen Smith’s phenomenal country property, which we have all come to love and covet on his televised shows, sits a bit outside Little Rock. The property has been highlighted on not only P.B.S., but also the New York Times, Brides Magazine, and the “Today Show.” An event planner, event manager, stunning spaces, multiple gardens to suit your style, and extensive options are all available. Imagine your vows being said on a hill overlooking a river valley, with a red-roofed farmhouse and an elegant tableau of orchards, manicured terrace, vegetable gardens, and 300-year-old oak trees in your backdrop. But it’s not all about the gardens either; P. Allen Smith and his team have created serene suites for the bridal party to pamper themselves in before the ceremony. pallensmith.com
Curran Hall
Arkansas
{Focus: Historic, Gardens, Intimate}
Built in 1842, Historic Curran Hall is the Little Rock’s only antebellum home, and it is an adorable package of cuteness. It houses the official Mayor’s Reception Hall and luckily hosts weddings! It is perfect for intimate weddings with receptions, and offers a lovely garden setting for outdoor wedding photography or nuptials au natural. The gardens are something otherworldly and meticulously attended to by the county’s master gardeners. This is not only a charming option, but it is affordable as well. quapaw.com
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Oklahoma
{Focus: Rooftop, Modern, City}
Imagine a rooftop wedding with a panoramic view of downtown Oklahoma City, and then top off this image with world-class art spanning three floors, and you have discovered something special. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is the coolest spot to capture metropolitan bridal portraits, host a swanky reception or rehearsal dinner and a rooftop cocktail hour lit up by the city’s nighttime skyline. Picture cutting your modern multi-tiered wedding cake with a massive 30-foot Chihuly glass sculpture in the background. This is a spectacular choice for an upscale wedding day. okcmoa.com
The Barn at 4T Farms
Oklahoma
{Focus: Dreamy, Charming, Rustic}
You and your guests will become starry eyed when the sunsets and the cafe lights twinkle on the patio. An authentic 18th century Amish Barn located in Edmond along historic Route 66 is the ideal setup for your wedding and reception. The barn is situated amongst trees and sits next to an idyllic pond bordered by weeping willows and topped off with a babbling waterfall. Not only does the barn have heating and air, but their wedding packages include everything you need to make your day stress-free and enjoyable. As rustic as this barn background is, the weddings that commence on the property are nothing but stunning. 4tfarms.com
The Georgian Terrace
Georgia
{Focus: Iconic, Opulent, Romantic}
What do you imagine when you hear, “Grand Ballroom”? Perhaps a princess wedding? Opulence? Yes, to all of it when you see the weddings held at Atlanta’s most iconic venue. The Georgian Terrace was built in 1911, and since then, it has been renovated and created a space even the Queen of England would approve of. The Grand Ballroom can seat up to 220 guests. It is a classical Cinderella ballroom. The crystal chandeliers and whisper-soft color palette create a timeless elegance, which will wow even your snobbiest stepsisters. Catering is provided on site by some of the most talented chefs in Georgia, and as in Southern traditions, no one will leave hungry on the day of your wedding. Feel a bit more like Cleopatra instead of Cinderella? Well, they have a ballroom for you, too. The Egyptian ballroom will take you back in time to the opulent splendor of the Egyptian Pharaohs. thegeorgianterrace.com
When you really think about it, planning a wedding is just like planning a fantastic party. You must think of a place large enough, what food to serve, what to wear, and what music to play; but there is just that one added benefit: your wedding (hopefully) only comes once in a lifetime. Not everything may go as planned on your day, but just let it go and know that if you pick any of these wedding venues, it will be pretty near darn perfect...at least you have the perfect guy, and that’s all that really matters in the end.
