Our Favorite Charleston Wedding Venues
Scroll for more
Charleston, South Carolina is home to some of the most sought‑after wedding venues on the East Coast, ranging from historic downtown mansions to waterfront estates and private clubs on Kiawah Island. Couples planning a Charleston wedding can choose from garden venues, historic homes, and coastal settings that photograph beautifully throughout the Lowcountry. Below are several Charleston wedding venues where Tim Willoughby has photographed real weddings, along with galleries and planning insights for each location.
Downtown Charleston
Lowndes Grove is one of the most popular venues in the South East and is often booked out 1-2 years in advance. This Charleston venue has multiple lawns for gatherings, a long dock, waterfront breezes, sunsets, a beautiful historic house, and a built in rain plan!
Located in Kiawah
The Ocean Course is one of the most prestigious and beautiful venues in Charleston but it's tough to get to being located at the furthest end of Kiawah. Protip- You'll definitely need a coordinator, tent, generators, and everything else if you're getting married at this venue.
45 Minutes from Downtown
Middleton Place offers incredible views and a built in rain plan in its giant air conditioned pavilion. The main draw back is that it's about a 45 minute drive down a small backroad to get to it. Most weddings opt for bus transportation for their guests.
Kiawah
The River Course in Kiawah is arguably one of the most comprehensive venues in Charleston with multiple ceremony locations and several indoor and outdoor spaces for the, cocktail hour, reception, and dance floor. High demand since it offers so much as a complete venue.
15 Minutes from Charleston
The LEGARE WARING house is part of a larger park called Charles town Landing. It's a historical site and venue and is full of natural beauty and large Oak rows. Awesome venue but no rain plan is included. Beautiful location for a wedding but you'll need to supply almost everything.
Downtown Charleston
Thomas Bennett house is a very popular Charleston wedding venue with its beautifully manicured courtyards and stately home. Gorgeous spot for a wedding but you'll need a tent! The house is only large enough for getting ready pics and cocktail hour on the veranda.
30 Minutes from downtown Charleston
Boone is incredibly beautiful and versatile. The Cotton dock offers a great reception spot for a medium sized wedding. It's about 30 minutes from downtown Charleston and can be a less expensive option than some of the other venues in town.
Downtown Charleston
Wonderful location and gorgeous building, verandas, and courtyard. If you want photos in historic district of Charleston, this is one of the most convenient venues and proximate to all of the Charleston churches.
40 Minutes from Charleston
Located outside of Kiawah club is a wonderful new venue known as Kiawah River! They have a massive new barn that I haven't photographed in but they also have a lawn overlooking the river which is large enough for a wedding under the oak trees and a separate location for a tented reception.
Bluffton (2 hours from Charleston)
Montage Palmetto Bluff is a fantastic low country wedding venue and offers an incredible guest experience! The entire area feels like the garden of Eden. 2 lovely chapels to choose from and multiple reception locations.
1.5 Hours from Charleston
Bray's Island is a wonderful place for a Charleston destination wedding. There is a lovely inn that serves as a beautiful backdrop for getting ready photos as well as the ceremony and reception. Multiple ceremony and reception locations by the water and under the oak trees and 1 facility that can serve as an indoor reception location.
Downtown Charleston
The WILLIAM AIKEN house is always in high demand due to its incredible location on King St. in downtown Charleston. It offers a versatile courtyard, garden, carriage house, and historic home. This is always one of Charleston's favorite wedding venues.
Kiawah 35 Minutes from Charleston
Cassique is an excellent wedding venue with cottages to rent, a massive women's locker room, lawn overlooking the golf course, shaded courtyard, and lower lawn that fits a tented reception perfectly.
Downtown Charleston
The Dewberry hotel offers couples a very easy experience with a ground floor ballroom that opens to a courtyard that can be transformed from a ceremony site to a reception location in minutes. Having available accommodations for your guests on site is a huge bonus as well!
Downtown Charleston
The Gibbes Museum is the closest venue to the historic district and offers indoor and outdoor options for the ceremony and reception. The courtyard is recently renovated and large enough to be very versatile.
Favorite Venues Outside of Charleston
Destination Wedding
Daufuskie is a well kept secret! You'll need to ferry over from Haig Point in Hilton Head but once you and your guests arrive you'll feel transported to another world. The grounds and community are gorgeous and you can have a sea-side al fresco ceremony and tented reception among the tabby ruins.
3.5 Hours from Charleston
Sea Island Georgia is home to the Cloister, The Frederica Golf club and boat house, and a few other beautiful venues. It offers a high end, peaceful escape with low country style and tons of oak trees and waterfront locations.
3.5 hours from Charleston
The Cloister is one of the most beautiful venues in the south. Giant ballroom, gorgeous Spanish architecture, courtyards, riverfront views, and gardens. Exceptional venue and priced accordingly.
Destination Wedding Venues
Fly to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami then from there you'll catch another plane either to Eleuthera or Nassau depending on your vibe. If you're doing a large wedding, you might consider Nassau's larger venue options but if you're around 100 guests, it's hard to beat Harbour Island for its natural beauty and culture. Highly recommend Coral Sands in Harbour Island!
Destination Wedding Venue
Antigua is becoming better known but it is still in the category of 'hidden gem'. So far, I've only photographed weddings at the Mill Reef club (which is exclusive) but it is one of the prettiest islands anywhere and I'm sure there are other excellent venues as well. It's not as hard to reach Antigua as you might think! Typically only 2 flights are required!
Destination Wedding Venue
Jamaica! The Roundhill Resort offers the highest level of hospitality and a wonderful setting for you and your guests to spend the weekend! Clear water on a peaceful cove with a beautiful nature walk, ceremony lawn, and elevated verandas for ocean front dining. Well worth the extra hour of flight time!
The Ford
View Gallery
The Biltmore
COMING SOON
Castle Hill, RI
COMING SOON
2 Hours from Charleston
The historic home of Henry Ford is located in Richmond GA just outside of Savannah in a beautiful gated community. Iconic low country setting for a wedding and tented reception!
5 Hours from Charleston
The Biltmore mansion and gardens may as well be in the destination wedding category but it is worth adding to the list since it's one of the most beautiful properties in all of America. .
Newport RI
Castle Hill gets a spotlight since it's such a wonderful venue and it's located in Newport RI which I consider to be a long lost twin of Charleston. In the summer time, your guests will love exploring New Port and the venue of Castle Hill offers a wonderful setting for a wedding by the sea with a gorgeous, permanent, sail cloth tent included.
Nantucket
Coming Soon
Italy
Coming Soon
france
Coming Soon
Charleston offers dozens of beautiful wedding venues, and this page will continue to grow as new venue galleries are added!