Wedding Venues in Durham

Alexandra

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

We had both our wedding ceremony and reception at Bay 7, and it was one of the best decisions - if not the best decision - we made in our wedding planning process. From the beginning, Ali (our day-of coordinator) was so friendly and wonderful. She was incredibly helpful, arranged multiple venue visits with us, answered all our questions, and kept everything organized. And she is just a lovely person and made everything feel so pleasant and low-stress, even with all our questions and requests and concerns; we felt really taken care of and every part of the planning process went so smoothly. Some of the things we loved most about Bay 7: - The food was absolutely exceptional. Of course, you can always expect this of Angus Barn food, but it was truly top notch, and we had many guests telling us it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had (and we agree; one guest even told us that the wines were better than a wedding he recently went to in France). They were super mindful of allergies (multiple guests - including me, the bride - were gluten-free, among other common allergies). And the service and presentation were fantastic; the food came out quickly, the bar service was always moving so smoothly, the servers were so nice and pleasant, and it all just really elevated the whole experience. - The space itself is really open and very cool, and we loved that our venue was in the heart of downtown Durham. The high ceilings and exposed brick really added to the vibe, the lofted upstairs and open downstairs allowed people to move freely about the space, and guests were able to go out on the outdoor patio area and enjoy the American Tobacco Campus, too. - Linens, glassware, tableware, chairs, tables, etc. were all included in the price (you don’t have all the options in the world available to you - for example, they offer black or white linens, one type of chair, etc. - but this was all we needed. We weren’t super customizing our decor, so it worked perfectly for our needs). This was a huge plus for us, and it really saved us the trouble of needing to go elsewhere to rent all these things. - We had a live band, and the acoustics were great in the venue. We needed a full stage, and there was plenty of room for this, and they were able to control the sound and the lights seamlessly throughout the night. In the end, with Bay 7, you get a truly top-tier Angus Barn experience, and we could not recommend it more highly. Angus Barn is a local business that clearly really cares about its brand and the service they provide all their guests, and they came through in absolutely every aspect of the planning and running of our wedding day. I didn’t worry about a thing the whole day - due in part to the planning and care that went into it from the start and in part to the total trust we had in Ali and Angus Barn as a whole. We really want to be invited to another wedding at Bay 7, so we can experience it all again!

Hands down the best decision we made was having Hope Valley Country Club as our wedding venue. Our coordinators Travis and Katie were AMAZING. Everyone was so impressed with how skilled they were at commanding a room, organized, and just lovely! They made sure we had everything we needed and they and the staff at HVCC made our wedding day PERFECT from the gorgeous backdrop to the food! We can never thank Travis, Katie, and HVCC enough for all they did for our wedding weekend. THE best!!!

Jennifer

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

Had our reception there June 8th 2019. It was affordable, amazing atmosphere, not an issue that it was at the mall or anything of the sort. We had a diverse guess range. They let us come early to decorate for our event! Everyone complimented the service, and the food. The food was incredible! I would highly recommend this place!!!!

Vin Rouge was a beautiful place to hold our reception. It was outdoors but covered (so we were taken care of in case it rained), and the setting was very simple but very elegant. The waitstaff were phenomenal and Michael was incredible. He was very helpful, not pushy at all and very willing to help us make our reception an amazing evening. The food and wine were wonderful. I can't say enough good things about this place, and the guests seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Courtney

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

From the very beginning, we loved working with the event staff and team at the Washington Duke. The venue is simply gorgeous and was the perfect size for our wedding. Bethany was so helpful and very responsive every time I had a question. Her patience with us was so great! The dinner reception the night of the wedding was just perfect and we got so many compliments on the food choices we had made. The staff were all great to work with and we had such a wonderful experience right from the very beginning all the way through. Thank you!

Although we did not use Parizade as a venue, we did use them to cater our 150-person wedding in Durham and were so happy with the food and our experience! We worked with Jennifer during the process to plan the menu. She was extremely responsive, transparent, and very flexible to any plans we wanted. Since the wedding, we have received endless compliments about how good the food was (passed appetizers during cocktail hour, buffet during dinner). Overall, the food was incredible and the service was professional. We were in great hands. I can't recommend Parizade enough for a wedding!

Deirdre

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

We booked the Museum of Life and Science for our wedding and 10/10 would recommend! When we started planning our wedding, we knew that we wanted something a little more non-traditional. After touring the Museum of Life and Science, we knew it was the perfect fit. We held our ceremony outside of the butterfly house, allowing guests to tour the butterfly house (and take a train ride) during cocktail hour, and we had our reception in the Aerospace exhibit. We kept calling our wedding “an Introvert’s dream wedding” because of all the activities. What we didn’t realize was that all the activities gave people things to talk about the whole night through. So many of our wedding guests have raved about our wedding being the most fun wedding they’ve been to, and a great deal of that was due to how much fun the Museum of Life and Science is! On the admin side, the Museum’s event coordinator, Rachel, was very friendly, positive, responsive, and accommodating. She helped a great deal with coordinating the set up of everything for our wedding in collaboration with our wedding planner, Events by Emily. Originally, we had been worried that having to start our wedding after the Museum closed at 5pm (ceremony at 6:30pm) would not be enough time, but all things considered, the limited amount of time did not outweigh how amazing and unique our wedding was because of the Museum. Without a doubt, if we were to plan our wedding again, we would absolutely book the Museum of Life and Science! (Photography: Laura Memory Photography; Wedding Planner: Events by Emily)

Kate

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

We choose the Durham Arts Council for our New Years Eve wedding and could not have been happier! The venue is not only beautiful, but was also an excellent value. The space is open and airy and we were given the freedom to do as much or as little with it as we wanted. Fay, our point person at the venue was lovely, responsive and super easy to work with. She put us at ease and made the experience really great. We had our ceremony in the downstairs Atrium and the dinner in the upstairs gallery (the art on the walls was a added backdrop bonus to our photos). During dinner the downstairs was flipped to create the dance floor for the reception. Our guests could not stop talking about how beautiful the wedding was! We walked away a very happy married couple.

Alex

4.8 out of 5 rating

4.8

I had my wedding at the Cotton room in May and it was amazing! I fell in love with the space the first time we toured and it lived up to every expectation. The getting ready suites are so amazing for getting ready on site - My bridesmaids could not stop talking about how amazing the set up was. The venue staff is so nice and helpful. I have no regrets about choosing the Cotton room for our wedding.

Chelsea is WONDERFUL!!! We paid for a third of our wedding reception here with travel points!!! Since it’s a hotel it billed out as a travel expense even though catering was included!!!!