Find out what venues offer the most bang for your buck in popular destination wedding locations including Nashville, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte.
Some of my favorite cities in the world also have some of the most beautiful and affordable places to get married. These cities make great destination wedding locations because of their accessibility, size, cost and availability.
Consider a wedding in one of these top cities with affordable venues under $3,000.
Nashville
This “It” city has plenty of affordable options for a star-studded destination wedding. And its convenient location can’t be beat.
Consider the Two Rivers Mansion, an historic antebellum home that’s not only affordable, it’s tax-deductible!
Friends of Two Rivers Mansion offers wedding packages in an exchange for a tax-deductible membership fee to their nonprofit organization. Prices are: Saturdays $ 2,000 – Sundays $1,500 and Monday – Thursdays $800. These include a six-hour use of the mansion and grounds. The house includes 14 acres of property, setup of tables and chairs inside the mansion, use of park benches in outdoor areas, dressing suit for bridal party, free parking and use of a catering kitchen.
The location is a stones-throw from the Grand Old Opry House and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and 15 minutes from downtown.
There’s so much to do and see in Nashville, it’s ridiculous. Click here to see 10 Cheap Nashville Wedding Venues.
Charlotte
The Queen City will make you feel like one on your special day — no big budget required! Check out this list of venues to get started.
How does a gazebo, pecan trees, covered patio, vineyards, barns and a ballroom sound as the backdrop to your wedding scene? Pretty serene, right? Dennis Vineyards Winery, just outside Charlotte, offers all this for $4,000 for a Saturday during prime wedding months (March – Nov.) and only $2,700 during off season (Dec .– Feb.).
Want more? Click here to see 10 Cheap Charlotte Wedding Venues.
Atlanta
Convenient for travel, Atlanta boasts the friendliness of the south and the sophistication of a metropolis.
The McDaniel-Tichenor House, the historic Governor’s Mansion in Monroe just outside Atlanta, rents for $1,700 and includes a free four hours the day before the wedding for set up.
Click here to see 10 Cheap Atlanta Wedding Venues.
Houston
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the weddings! Get more bang for your buck with these 10 Cheap Houston Wedding Venues.
Looking for a smaller affair? Renting the indoor space or lily garden at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center costs $500 for 50 guests and goes up for additional guests (up to 150). White chairs and rehearsal included, making this 155-acre non-profit urban nature sanctuary one of the more beautiful and affordable Houston wedding venues.
Chicago
Who says there’s no such thing as a cheap wedding in Chicago? This list proves otherwise: 10 Cheap Chicago Wedding Venues.
History buffs will appreciate Promontory Point, a south lakeshore setting that hosted Chicago’s World’s Fair. As a wedding venue, it offers a field house, two patios and a catering prep area. Up to 150 guests can enjoy skyline views and verandas opening onto Lake Michigan. Rental fees start at $1,220 for 4 hour’s usage (suitable for morning wedding ceremonies), $2,780 for 8 hours, and $3,285 for 11 hours. Caveat: Promontory Point is a seasonal facility, with event bookings available May-October only.
3 Reasons Domestic Destination Weddings Appeal to Budget Brides
1. Destination weddings are often cheaper.
Destination wedding budgets average $8,800 (and has stayed under 10k for 10 years, whereas with local and at-home weddings are topping $30,000 and regularly increase), according to Destination Weddings Travel Group, a leader in the destination wedding planning industry.
2. Destination weddings are meaningful.
Two factors for couples choosing to wed some place beyond where they currently live is to choose a location that’s special to them as a couple, and to limit the guest list to those they’re closest to. That makes sense to me. Those who will make the trip (or already live near the location) will be those who care the most.
3. Destination weddings are memorable.
Traveling to your wedding destination — whether it’s near or far, adds a special layer to your wedding memory. It creates a framework around which your wedding will be packaged and remembered, by you and your guests. A full 90% of couples were satisfied with their destination weddings, according to a 2013 study by XO Group.
In other words, destination weddings come with no regrets. That’s priceless.