About this vendor
Located in Cornelius, NC, Sweet Magnolia Estate is a wedding venue with indoor and outdoor event spaces for hosting your celebration. The whimsical event center is suitable for a range of events and is enveloped by lush grounds that have been carefully designed and groomed. No matter your vision, this venue provides a memorable setting for weddings of all kinds.
A countryside chic atmosphere can be found throughout Sweet Magnolia Estate. Constructed in 2017, the banquet hall is painted a pastel green hue with white interiors. Stone accents throughout, such as in the bar area, add warmth to the space. The wood trimmings framing the windows and the beams across the ceiling continue this vibe. With many windows, the barn-inspired building is full of natural light for a bright and cheery ambiance.
The facility at Sweet Magnolia Estate features more than 9,000 square feet of space. Up to 350 individuals can be accommodated in the event center, ideal for large and lavish galas. Smaller events can also be hosted here, thanks to the venue's flexibility. For those that want to breathe in some fresh air and absorb the natural scenery, there are covered porches. These areas also function well for a cocktail hour before the reception. Inside you will find a kitchen that your caterer may avail of for food preparations. There are also multiple dressing rooms for your wedding party to use. In order to allow you to accomplish your wedding vision, the venue allows you to pick your own vendors. For the convenience of your guests, there is plenty of parking available, even for large vehicles such as buses. To make entertainment simpler, the event center has an audio and visual system. With it, you can play home movies or a sweet homage to you and your partner's love story for a sentimental touch to your wedding.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
On-Site Accommodations
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Barn
- Estate
- Garden
- Trees
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
Popular with couples like you
Check out our featured vendors.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
3.8
out of 5.018 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 6
My husband and I got married at this venue on October 5, 2024. We toured this venue on March 19, 2023. When we had first toured the venue we were told that the base price was 7900 ...
which included the day of one hour rehearsal, and set up of tables for reception and ceremony when we had toured the venue it was a seemingly nice venue, family owned and very communicative. After we had chosen this venue for our wedding day and put down our deposit we were then told that we would not be able to schedule our wedding rehearsal until the week of the wedding, this came as a shock since we were not told this when we had first toured the venue.
As time went on, I would frequently message and email the person I had toured with which was Kerry the woman who owns the venue. Whenever I reached out or asked a question there was a very late response, short response or no response at all.
The only time that the people from the venue were responsive was when it came to money. Also, when it came to money, they recommended that we paid everything in cash in which we did I would follow up, always asking for some sort of receipt or documentation in which they never provided any.
Finally, when the wedding came, we were able to book the rehearsal a few days before the wedding. We also had to do our bar services through the venue since they do not let you provide your own alcohol or your own bartenders. You have to do a package through the venue.
The day of the wedding was fine, but there were a few things that I would like to note. The bar staff came right before the bar opened at seven and nothing was prepared. They served warm beer and barely had any mixers. The wedding guest complained about the drinks, the service and the lack of accommodation. For example, we had to provide our own water so my mom went and bought 6/7 cases of water which they did not give to guests so at the end of the night she just ended up taking them home. The father of the groom even went up to order at one point and was not serviced right away, even though there were three bartenders and no one in line for the bar. For bar services we paid over $6000 for three hours of open bar for 150 guests. I also want to note that prior to the wedding. I had reached out to Cody (son of Kerry) who also works for the venue and asked if the caterer that we hired would be able to serve beer/wine which he had quickly responded with a yes, when the day of the wedding came, the bartender said they would not be able to give the beer or wine to the waitresses due to, the possibility of it being served to people under 21.
Also, during the ceremony we had popped some confetti made out of paper. Quickly after the manager, that was there came up to some of our guests/ wedding party that had popped the confetti and had asked them to immediately clean it up rather than asking them to do it at least by the end of the day. There was also a situation with the projector, not working. We had made a slideshow to show our guest and the projector was not working properly.
After the wedding, I followed up with the venue to let them know about my experience, which there was no response as usual. I’m writing this review to warn others who are looking into finding a venue for their special day.
I would not recommend working with this venue, considering they are unresponsive, not accommodating, sketchy. Not sure who all this situation is relatable for but I hope no one else has to experience this type of unprofessional service.
We had our wedding at Sweet Magnolia Estate on 11/18/23. Booking with them was super easy and simple. Throughout the year and half we were planning, the owners were always able to ...
meet and match our schedules so we could view the venue and work through table arrangements. At Sweet Magnolia, you get a lot of autonomy in what you want for your big day. The space is beautiful and spacious. The outdoor ceremony space is beautiful and the indoor reception area is so easy to build upon. The bridal suite was LOVELY and comes with everything you could need come wedding day. We got a lot of positive feedback about the venue from our guests!
The venue was wonderful and very accommodating for our day. Our only issue was with the bar/bartenders. We were told that they would uphold our contract, then 4 months before our w...
edding day they changed their alcohol license and we had to change all drink plans. They also confiscated drinks that we were told we were allowed to have and we had to fight to get them back at the end of the night. Otherwise everything was wonderful!
Sadly, we have decided not to proceed forward with this venue. The accommodations seem to be amazing however the customer service we received just trying to tour the venue was awfu...
l. While on the phone with (from what I’ve read on other reviews) the son of the original property owners he said “during my lunch hour works best for me” without asking us what works for us and continued to seem bothered to work with fiancé, my mother and myself to have to find a tour time since we all work full time. I hope your experience is better than mine because it is a beautiful venue but the service wasn’t there and I personally do not want my family and friends around someone who does not understand the importance of a wedding.
This venue was absolutely amazing and beautiful. My now husband and I had our wedding October of this year the scenery was perfect and it was on a amazing fall day. The owners of t...
his venue are very easy to work with. They answered any and all questions that we had And they answered in a timely manner and were very professional. They also gave us access to their decor area where we could use anything that we needed. And everything that was offered with the venue, including the bar services and the ceremony chairs set up crew was amazing. They were also very flexible with any time we needed to stop by and ask more questions take pictures the measurements.
I highly recommend this venue!
First, this family owned venue is truly amazing everything is clean, organized and just so beautiful. I could not begin to tell you how perfect our wedding day was and it came down...
to the venue we picked. I would tell any one in the area that Sweet Magnolia Estate is a venue you MUST see when getting married. You can bring in our own venders, except bar which is done by Cody-who also will make anything you need happen. I can't begin to thank this family enough our perfect day and this amazing venue.
The most perfect venue!! It was absolutely beautiful and so convenient to be able to have the ceremony and reception at the same place. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly!...
They even have a closet with decorations that other brides have left that anybody is allowed to use. It was a pleasure to work with Sweet Magnolia Estate :)
I cannot say enough good things about Kerry, Cody, and Sweet Magnolia Estates as a venue! We could not be happier with our choice to get married at this BEAUTIFUL venue and feel bl...
essed to have worked with such an amazing and understanding family. My husband and I got married in the middle of this pandemic, while still being in Phase 2. It’s been so difficult to plan anything during this time due to ALL of the unknowns. We initially had about a 200 guest wedding with family and friends coming from out of town. Kerry was SO understanding of the obvious COVID situation and restrictions, but also that we had a large guest list with people traveling for the wedding. She worked with us from the very beginning, gave us options due to the situation. One being so gracious that they offered us to hold a ceremony on our original wedding date and we could book a reception in 2021 after the pandemic. It definitely sucks for everyone but she was not going to force us into holding the wedding because we reserved a specific date. I have a few friends that were planning to get married during the pandemic and they have been beyond stressed due to venues either not working with them / being understanding of the situation, or charging additional fees due to a reschedule! My husband and I obviously decided to still hold our wedding on the original date, it was just on a much smaller scale but I am SO happy we did that! Cody worked with us the week before to go over any rehearsal needs, bar tab, setup of all of the tables and chairs, etc. He was such a pleasure to work with and the bartender at the venue was the best – everyone loved her! They also offer decorations so we used all of that for the plate settings, centerpieces, décor on the tables and around the venue. It saved us SO much money and the décor is beautiful! I didn’t even buy flowers except for the wedding party – it’s not needed given how gorgeous the venue is and the décor they provide. It was AMAZING!
Regardless of the COVID pandemic I cannot image working with anyone else, we feel so blessed to have been able to hold our dream wedding and work with such a great family! I can’t imagine trying to balance the restrictions of COVID and pleasing all brides but Kerry, Cody, and family did it perfectly – thank you all!
NOT COMMUNITY PEOPLE. Do not recommend. I went into the process thinking they would be easy to work with and it was the complete opposite. All this family cares about is keep their...
whole family on payroll. I was a Saturday June 2020 covid bride and was told I had to reschedule to a date before the end of the August that includes only 1 Saturday option. I ended up having to pay more for a Sunday date just so I could at least reschedule to September. After being forced to reschedule to a date during a pandemic with local & state restrictions, the day of I was forced to sign a waiver releasing them of all liability relating to the pandemic. They’re son Cody was extremely inappropriate during the process. I was constantly told how I should feel bad for them since they’re a small business. (They qualified for a PPP Loan while my husband and I obviously did not.) I was promised I could use the plate chargers they had but they were unable to use sitting dirty in the sink on my wedding day. I could go on but I will leave it at I would trust another family with your money. These people are pretty much scam artist.
BUYER BEWARE. During the COVID19 outbreak, this organization is not willing to offer any refund of deposits a MONTH in advance. They are not out any money as this is not a tangib...
le product and they did not make any outside payments in advance of this event. Chose not to help their community members during this unfortunate outbreak where mandatory quarantine is in place and completely outside of our control. They decided to just keep $1000 and we have no event occurring. Absolute unethical organization
Lovely venue. Horrible customer service. The son will one day be the downfall of the business. If the parents don’t start putting him in his place, they will have many unhappy cust...
omers in the future. He overstepped his place during my wedding causing us to be out of $3,000 worth of decorations even though we followed all directions in contract. Spoiled kid who isn’t business minded at all.
We checked out a few venues and although they were nice, we weren’t completely in love with them. We stopped by SME and loved it instantly. It’s a family owned business and all are...
very accommodating, they respond quickly, and really just want your special day to be just that- special.
They have a beautiful outside ceremony area and a large inside reception. It doesn’t take much decorating because the venue itself is just beautiful. They allow any outside caterer but they have to provide the alcohol, which was easier that way. All of our guests loved SME and couldn’t stop talking on how beautiful the venue was. Highly recommend all newly engaged couples to check out this venue!
We are so happy we were able to have our wedding reception at SME. The venue is absolutely beautiful and has everything you would need from getting ready rooms to table decorations...
. The family who owns SME is wonderful to work with and made all the planning go very smoothly. They were so easy to communicate with and helpful with everything. Would definitely recommend!
Cody and his parents were awesome! They were available for all our questions and concerns and made the process super easy! They even had some decorations for use and that was a maj...
or plus. It rained on our day but the staff made the transition from ceremony to reception in record time. Everything was amazing and I hope I have a reason to use them again in the future!!
There are not enough words for how perfect Sweet Magnolia Estate was for our wedding.
When my, now husband, proposed we wanted a vineyard wedding. We quickly realized how expensi...
ve that would be.
My mother found this venue and we were WAY MORE than pleased with Sweet Magnolia Estate. They far exceeded our expectations. We were on a tight budget and they made sure that everything we pictured would come true. I (the bride) bought less than $100 of decor for the wedding thanks to this venue and their “something borrowed closet.” Anything in this closet was open for us to use which really helped us with our budget.
We were drawn to this venue because of this family team and they did not disappoint!
Kerry at SME sold us on this venue before it was even finished being built and we were incredibly impressed with the final product. She and her family thought of every detail that ...
the bride and groom and their family and friends could ever want or need. Not only was the bridal suite beautiful and comfortable, but the groom's suite was also spacious and comfortable. That is unusual for most venues. SME has always been responsive, patient, warm, and receptive to ideas. We just received our photos and videos from our wedding and they are gorgeous, in part, due to the beautiful venue inside and outside. It is wonderful that they allow you to choose your vendors. They also have vendor options within the family (e.g., using Cody for bartending and using Taylor for the photo booth). The venue is yours for the day, which is a rarity. There are solid options for an indoor or outdoor wedding, which removes the stress of a potentially rainy wedding day. Our family and friends cannot stop raving about how much fun they had at this venue!
We fell in love with the venue the minute we saw it! Then, we had the pleasure of meeting Kerry and Stefan, not to mention their kids, Cody and Taylor! A tremendous family who u...
nderstands the stress of planning a wedding! Anything they can do to make it easier for you, they will do it! We loved being able to provide all of our own vendors and it certainly saved us money. It was the wedding of our dreams!
Beautiful place, grass wasn't green yet and they were missing some wood pieces we were told were going to be there. Bar staff was rude to some guests including the groom. But overa...
ll beautiful. Not allowed into venue for rehearsal unless there is no wedding booked the day before.
Contact
10101 Bailey Rd, Cornelius, NC
Sweet Magnolia Estate