Venue Guide

Kivus & Camera’s

Wedding Venue Guide

If you’re on the hunt for a wedding venue in North Carolina, specifically in the NC triangle region of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, you’re in the right place. We’ve rounded up great LGBTQ+ friendly wedding venues in North Carolina’s greater triangle area.

For more NC wedding resources:

Ultimate Raleigh Wedding GUide

How to pick a wedding venue

There are five key factors when it comes to deciding on a wedding venue. Click to expand and read more about each.

Consider the location options. The city where the two of you live? The city where most of your guests live? Where you went to college? More of a destination?

Once you’ve got a city/geographic area narrowed down, consider the specific location of the venue within that area to determine transportation needs. Is it close to hotels? Airports? Can ride shares get there?

If your people are the most important consideration, you’ll want to decide on a guest list before finalizing a venue. If you have 150 people on your must-have list, it would be devastating to fall in love with a venue that maxes out at 100.

Whatever your word for it. What kind of venue appeals to the two of you most? Something outdoorsy with lots of trees? Exposed brick and industrial vibes? Classic elegance? Something more untraditional like a museum? Your personal tastes are important! This is *your* wedding!!

Or lack thereof. Some venues have getting ready suites included, some have them available as an add-on, some don’t have them at all and you’ll need to get ready elsewhere. Some venues have a kitchen, and that can lower your catering cost. Some include tables, chairs, and linens, which would mean you don’t have to pay to bring them in.

Another consideration is if they have a *required* vendors list. Those are sometimes pay to to play, so beware. Preferred vendor lists can be a good starting point, but you should have the option to make vendor decisions on your own if you want.

Don’t go into debt for your wedding. But if you have to go over budget somewhere, don’t make it the venue. I can assure that a high-end, experienced photographer can make a $10k wedding look incredible. A bad photographer is going to deliver a bad gallery even if you spent $100k on everything else.

Those are the five most important factors to consider when picking a wedding venue.

Here are some great venues for you to consider.

Raleigh Wedding Venues

This list includes dedicated event and wedding venues in Raleigh proper and in Raleigh suburbs

Untraditional Wedding venues

Museums, restaurants, distilleries, bird sanctuaries, etc. These are untraditional venues in the NC Triangle Region for couples who want something a little more offbeat.

Durham Wedding venues

What this Tar Heel considers the best places to get married in the Bull City. Yes, I even listed Duke’s campus.

North Carolina Triangle venue guide - Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill Wedding Venues

Want to get married in the southern part of heaven? This list has wonderful Chapel Hill venues.

Courthouse Weddings

This linked post is about Wake County courthouse weddings, but everything except specific locations will apply to any county courthouse wedding in North Carolina.