These are some of our favorite non-traditional wedding venues in and around Raleigh, NC. So we've got some Raleigh wedding venues, some Durham wedding venues, and some a little farther out of North Carolina's triangle region.
When I say non-traditional wedding venues, I mean venues whose primary purpose is for something other than hosting events like weddings. We've got museums, parks, and animal sanctuaries. These are my top 10, but if I'm missing one that you think is amazing, let me know!!
If you're looking for a more traditional wedding venue, check out our Top 10 Raleigh Wedding Venues and our Top Wedding Venues *Near* Raleigh.
The Best Non-traditional Wedding Venues in and around Raleigh, NC
Raleigh Wedding Photographers
Looking for a Nontraditional Wedding Venue Near Raleigh, NC?
The 21C Museum Hotel - Durham, NC
Love Durham? Love convenience? Love art? Definitely consider the 21C Museum Hotel Durham for your wedding venue. They've got a large ballroom and tons of smaller art galleries (with constantly changing installations), and, because the building used to be a bank, there's a bank vault in the basement. That makes for some super cool portraits. The museum hotel is also right next to Major the Bull, so you know you have to get that photo in addition to an obligatory photo with the 21C penguins.
See some 21C Museum Hotel wedding photos and get inspiration from a real wedding there: Stephanie & Roscoe
Check out The 21C Durham's Website
The 21C Durham's phone number: 919-956-6700
The 21C Durham's address: 111 Corcoran Street, Durham, NC 27701
The 21C Durham starting cost
The Boiler Room at American Tobacco Campus - Durham, NC
Durhamites know American Tobacco Campus, but even they might not know about The Boiler Room. It's right in the center of the American Tobacco Campus. You know the marquee sign on the building below the water tower? That marquee is over the door to The Boiler Room. Because an old boiler (yes, it looks cool) takes up a huge chunk of the room, the space for your wedding is shaped like an L, which is really cool. It's also awesome to have so many great portrait locations right outside the door.
See some Boiler Room at American Tobacco Campus wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Madie & Andrew
Check out The Boiler Room's website
The Boiler Room's contact: atcpowerplant@duke.edu
The Boiler Room's address: 320 Blackwell Street, Durham, NC
The Boiler Room starting cost
Duke Lemur Center - Durham, NC
Lemurs are the freaking coolest! They're really adorable too, so you should definitely have them at your wedding. That would be hard at a traditional wedding venue, but that's why we're promoting some awesome offbeat, nontraditional wedding venues. The Duke Lemur Center is one of my favorites, because, well, LEMURS! First and foremost this is a sanctuary for these endangered animals, but you can have weddings there too :-D
See some Duke Lemur Center engagement photos (soon I'll have their wedding too): Cesar & Samantha
Check out The Duke Lemur Center's website
The Duke Lemur Center's phone number: 919-401-7240
The Duke Lemur Center's address: 3705 Erwin Road, Durham, NC 27705
The Duke Lemur Center starting cost
The Durham Armory - Durham, NC
The Durham Armory is maybe the most "traditional" of these nontraditional wedding venues. It's basically a big ballroom-cum-community center. And it's in the heart of the downtown loop, so you've got so much that everyone loves about the Bull City within a stones throw. There's a stage at the front of the Durham Armory, so this would be a great spot for someone excited about having a band.
See some Durham Armory wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Haley & Clark
Check out The Durham Armory's website
The Durham Armory's phone number: 919-560-4355, ext. 27202
The Durham Armory's address: 212 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701
The Durham Armory starting cost
The Durham Arts Council - Durham, NC
Durham really kinda dominates the nontraditional, offbeat wedding venue thing. (It might have something to do with the fact that Durham is a little nontraditional and offbeat itself and attracts some of the most awesome people in the world.) The Durham Arts Council is no exception. They are a nonprofit supporting triangle area artists. Their building in the Durham downtown loop hosts gallery space and event space, with an atrium area at the center with two-story floor to ceiling windows. It makes a stunning ceremony backdrop.
See Durham Arts Council wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Danielle & Mary
Check out Durham Arts Council's website
Durham Arts Council's phone number: 919-560-2787
Durham Arts Council's address: 120 Morris Street, Durham, NC 27701
Durham Arts Council starting cost
Greensboro Science Center - Greensboro, NC
Please, please, please hire us to photograph your Greensboro Science Center wedding! Pretty please! I love visiting the Greensboro Science Center (otters! dinosaurs! meerkats!) and getting to have a blast photographing a joyful wedding day while I'm there is truly the best. You can get married in a planetarium (really, an omnisphere, but still), with dinosaurs, in an aquarium, et cetera, et cetera. If any of those things sound fun to you, definitely check out their wedding options!
See Greensboro Science Center wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Courtney & Ben
Check out Greensboro Science Center's website
Greensboro Science Center's phone number: 336-288-3769, ext. 1417
Greensboro Science Center's address: 4301 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC 27455
Greensboro Science Center starting cost
Marbles Kids Museum - Raleigh, NC
Do you want a colorful wedding? If you're on our website, there's a chance you are looking for colorful photographs. Well, one good way to get colorful wedding photos is to book a venue filled with color, and Marbles Kids Museum dominates the color game. There are also tons of activities for you and your guests to enjoy. Come on, be a kid again.
See Marbles Kids Museum wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Nick & Kaleigh
Check out Marbles' website
Marbles' phone number: 919-834-4040
Marbles' address: 201 East Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
Marbles' starting costs
Museum of Life & Science - Durham, NC
Butterflies, bears, and treehouses, oh my. Let's continue with the theme of having lots of fun at your wedding and pretending to be a kid again. Remember going on field trips to your local museum? That's what weddings at the Museum of Life & Science in Durham feel like. You can go on a dinosaur walk, slide down a slide, and get married by a butterfly garden.
I don't have any real wedding inspiration from the Museum of Life & Science yet, but we've got a wedding there later this year!
Check out the Museum of Life & Science's website
Museum of Life & Science's phone number: 919-220-5429
Museum of Life & Science's address: 433 West Murray Avenue, Durham, NC 27704
Museum of Life & Science starting cost
North Carolina Museum of Art - Raleigh, NC
Want a museum feel but also some trees and natural backdrops? The North Carolina Museum of Art and its large grounds provide the best of both worlds. You've got the museum buildings themselves with their galleries and installations, but the grounds are often the selling point. The NC Museum of Art park is over 150 acres of gorgeousness, with various art installations peppered throughout.
See NC Museum of Art wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Courtney & Mike
Check out NC Museum of Art's website
NC Museum of Art's phone number: 919-839-6262
NC Museum of Art's address: 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607
NC Museum of Art starting costs
Sylvan Heights Bird Park - Scotland Neck, NC
Finally, I've got another animal sanctuary for you. The Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck, NC is a gorgeous oasis home to thousands of birds, and it definitely makes for a unique, nontraditional wedding venue. Your guests can enjoy bird encounters and learn about the different species while they walk around during cocktail hour, and you can walk into one area where parakeets will come and land on you for some incredible portraits. If you like birds, then this is your wedding venue for sure.
See Sylvan Heights Bird Park wedding photos & get inspiration from a real wedding there: Raj & Dana
Check out Sylvan Heights Bird Park's website
Sylvan Heights Bird Park's phone number: 252-826-3186
Sylvan Heights Bird Park's address: 500 Sylvan Heights Park Way, Scotland Neck, NC 27874
Sylvan Heights Bird Park starting cost
We believe that love is bright and colorful and your wedding photographs should be bright and colorful too.
Kivus & Camera are Raleigh Wedding photographers who create bold, colorful, magical memories of your wedding day with beautiful, artistic portraits AND enthusiastic, genuine moments. Your unique love story deserves to be told through unforgettable, breath-taking photographs that stand out from the crowd. Kivus & Camera love creating that magic. After all, as past bride Courtney says, we’re photography sorcerers.
Also, while we call ourselves Raleigh wedding photographers, we definitely photograph Durham weddings, Chapel Hill weddings, Cary weddings, etc. We’re all over the Triangle area, and we’re happy to head to the beach or mountains and even to places outside of North Carolina! Just let us know where your love story is headed.
Want to know more? Check out more of our images or learn more about our nerdy selves or just send us a note! Can’t wait to hear from you.