The State Botanical Garden of GA

We had our wedding ceremony and reception at the Conservatory at the State Botanical Gardens of GA. We planned our wedding from out of state and worked closely with Dierdre (venue coordinator) who was extremely responsive and often went out of her way to help us. She recommended several vendors who we loved working with, including our wedding planner, DJ, and photographer. The greenery and natural light of the conservatory were just beautiful, and we received (and are still receiving) compliments from our friends and family about the venue. We had a tented cocktail hour on the patio when the room was flipped which worked out extremely well. We highly recommend the Conservatory and the wonderful people who work there for a gorgeous wedding experience!

I knew very early that I wanted to get married at the Botanical Gardens, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Although all of my vendors did a wonderful job, I would say I received the most compliments on the venue. I got married and had my reception in the large conservatory room. It is absolutely gorgeous and surrounded by so much beauty, that I didn't even need a lot of decorations. Aside from some table decor items where the guestbook was, a few signs, and centerpieces, nothing else was needed! So although this venue was a little bit on the pricier side, you will save a lot on decorations. And we all know how expensive flowers can be! Since it is a garden, there are a few restrictions, which is expected - but the biggest restriction was not permitting vendors to start setting up until after visitor hours were over at 4, so we had a later ceremony start time at 6 (which was the absolute soonest my vendors were able to offer to allow for set up time, guest arrivals, etc). I would say that was the biggest drawback and caused the most planning headaches for me, but luckily I had amazing vendors that were able to work with it. I would say the pros far outweighed this con, but I just wanted to make others aware! Aside from the beauty the Botans offer, I would say the biggest plus of getting married here, specifically at the conservatory, is being able to enjoy the outdoors while being inside. I know many brides worry about the weather on their special day and I could have cared less! It ended up not raining on our wedding day but we did get a heat wave - luckily we were able to enjoy the sunshine from the inside :)

We loved having our wedding ceremony and reception at the Cecil B. Day chapel at the State Botanical Gardens. Everyone was amazed by the beautiful venue, it was so easy to have everything right there, there was plenty of parking and we had the wedding after Botanical Garden hours so my guests were free to roam the gardens without other people poking around. Deirdre who handled our space rental was so helpful and genuinely cared about helping us have a beautiful day.

First of all, the gardens were a beautiful place to get married. We really appreciated that, and it was especially beautiful since we got married in the springtime. The prices are very reasonable as well, compared to the other venues that we looked into. It was nice to have both the chapel (for our ceremony) and the Conservatory (for our reception) so close to each other, and both locations were air conditioned (essential for a Southern spring wedding). Dierdre was pretty easy to work with as well - I just needed to be proactive in reaching out to her about some things. They do so many weddings at the venue that it was easy for details about our particular event to get lost in the shuffle. OK, now for the drawbacks. This is a garden, which is outdoors and controlled by nature. You can’t control the weather. You can’t control what will be blooming when. We had an early spring this year, so not as much was in bloom as I would have liked, but it was still beautiful (that is the good part about gardens). Also, we couldn’t get into the reception venue (the Conservatory) until 4:30pm, and we couldn’t get into the chapel until 2:30pm. Because of these time constraints, we all had to get ready for the wedding elsewhere. Keep that in mind if you choose this venue, especially for an evening wedding. Also, the chapel basement (where the dressing rooms are) lighting is not the best for getting ready pictures, and the groom’s dressing room is about the size of a walk-in closet. However, given the reasonable price and the beautiful gardens, I would still say this venue worked out and was worth it :)