The Carolina Wedding Barn Reviews

This was the most amazing Venue you can imagine. The owners go above and beyond to make sure your day is perfect. John was even at the wedding giving my husband and I refills of drinks and napkins when we eating. He helped in setting up table and even putting mums out to make sure that it looks amazing. The venue allows you to start setting up during the week which was a lifesaver! I cannot say enough wonderful things about this venue and the owners. It was perfect for us.

Beautiful venue with amazing, responsive owners!! Me and my husband got married at Abilena in February. We rented the venue and the mansion, which allowed our immediate families to stay with us at the venue for the entire weekend. This option is extremely convenient and the house is beautiful; it is an older house so it takes a minute or two for warm water to reach the showers but there was plenty of warm water for all 10 of us to shower every morning. When we arrived on Friday morning, the owners were prepping the yard and landscaping to make sure everything was at its best for our wedding on Saturday. The location has a pool and a hot tub, and even though it was out of season, they ensured the pool was clean and presentable. The views from the house that overlook the water is breath taking. We had our ceremony down my the water; they have a great set up there with benches and an arch so we did not have to worry about setting up the area for the ceremony, other than our decorations. We planned to have the cocktail hour by the pool; however it was too cold that day so we were easily able to move it into the 1st floor of the house. This space worked well for the cocktail hour and allowed our guests to enjoy the beautiful house. We had our reception in the carriage house, which also overlooks the water. This venue is great for any weather as it is covered and has removable plastic panels and heaters for cold weather. Since it was cold, we had the panels up and heaters running- this really kept the area warm for our guests. The owners, John and Mary Ann, were really a pleasure to work with. We were able to see the venue a few times prior to our wedding to help us plan the decorations. They answered every question we had. They were there the day of the wedding to make sure things were running smoothly. I highly recommend this venue- you will not be disappointed with the location, the spaces available, and the owners.

Our daughter wanted a rustic wedding and this was the perfect place!! The owners were great to work with and very flexible!
Our daughter said her day couldn’t have been more perfect!!
Great price also!

We had a great time at Abilena Plantation. Everything we asked for was taken care of in a timely manner and we couldnt ask for a more perfect setting for our wedding.

We had our reception at Abilena and stayed there with our families a few days before. It was so wonderful taking some time to relax with our families in such a beautiful place! We even had our guests over the Thursday before for a pool party! The venue is beautiful and took our pictures to the next level. John was attentive and came at least once each day to ensure the grounds were looking their best. This was the absolute perfect venue for us and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

If you are looking for an outdoor rustic location for your wedding, the Wedding Barn is the perfect place for you! There is no time limit on how late you can be out the night of your wedding and you have the venue for the whole weekend, which is great for setup and cleanup. There are different options as far as the ceremony location on this site which all have different beautiful backgrounds. Pricing is very reasonable, especially since you have the opportunity to use it for three days. This venue was perfect for our day and we know it would be perfect for many other couples!

Not only is this a beautiful location to get married at and great if you're planning an out of town getaway, but John goes above and beyond to make sure you have anything you need and everything looks AMAZING even if a hurricane happens to blows in. The entire property has many beautiful locations for your rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception and is sure to give you wonderful photographs. I am very grateful for how flexible John and his team were and if given the chance I would choose the Abilena again for any event. Thanks John you're the best!

We held our daughters wedding at Abilena Plantation and it was a great week long event. The wedding party stayed for the week and the ceremony guest stayed locally. We had the rehearsal dinner poolside, next day the ceremony on the waters edge, the reception was in the carriage house and next day brunch in the main house. Everything went off without a hitch. Thank you John and your staff.

John and Mary Ann Williams are a joy to work with.......The Carolina Wedding Barn is a gorgeous wedding venue to have that rustic county wedding....I would highly recommend them, they will make the day just beautiful.....

Lisa Vandiford
Sweet Pea's Events & Designs

Perfect place for a wedding/vacation! Your entire wedding party can stay under one roof! Beautiful view! The owner was super nice and accommodating of our requests. He also recommended rock start vendors who helped make our day fantastic. You get SO MUCH for your money here! Accommodations for 16 people, rehearsal dinner location, ceremony site, reception site... all in one.

Absolutely perfect venue for my daughter's wedding. We chose the package which included Wednesday through Sunday. So glad we did - family memories that will be with us always. John is the best!!

There is really only one thing a bride needs for wedding planning and that is no stress. This is exactly what I got from work with John at Abilena. I can honestly say my wedding was perfect, everything went off without a hitch, I would change nothing! The DJ was fantastic, the cake was amazing and the food was unreal. The cornerstone stone of the whole event though was the wedding venue. Tucked away in charming New Bern NC, is Abilena plantation. WIth its beautiful river views and picturesque grounds, it’s hard not to forget that you’re not in a Nicholas Sparks novel. Our wedding was a perfect balance of elegance and fun. My husband and I rented Abilena for a week which allowed us not only to have the wedding and rehearsal dinner at the same place but the entire wedding party was able to stay with us leading up to the festivities. It was a bonding experience that you never really get being apart of a wedding party. We even had guests back over the next morning for brunch! John is amazing to work with and I am still getting compliments on the venue months later. We had about 110 guests, with a buffet and it was the perfect amount of people. I would recommend this venue to anyone and especially to those who want more than just a wedding day but have the time to celebrate the whole weekend. I don’t live in NC so I basically planned a destination wedding and John made it very easy. Very responsive, extremely flexible to when we were in the area, it really was stress free, which is exactly what any bride needs!

Abilena Plantation was the absolute perfect wedding venue for my husband and I. We wanted a charming historic home to host our intimate destination wedding, and Abilena delivered more than we could ever imagine. We stayed at Abilena for 4 nights. The house slept 16 people so all of our wedding party could stay there. It was like a mini vacation for ourselves and all of our guests. The house was absolutely gorgeous inside and out, and felt very comfortable to all of our guests. We could not have been happier with the venue, and John was so easy to work with and flexible. We are so grateful that we came across Abilena - it was everything we wanted and more! Would absolutely recommend to future brides, you will not regret booking this venue!

Best week of our lives was spent here! We are planning on coming back at 5 years. John was great, recommended awesome people to make our wedding week perfect. Only problem with our pictures is there are SOOO many good ones to choose from!

Beautiful spot for wedding and reception! Wonderful memories made. John was great to work with.

We're so happy we found this venue! John was fantastic from start to finish. He was easy to work with, honest, and very helpful even on our wedding day. He's very hands-off, unless you need his help and then he is right there with more than what you thought you needed. He & his wife are such wonderful people, we encouraged them to stay and enjoy the festivities.

John allowed us total freedom to decorate the barn & grounds, and he personally provided several key pieces that really pulled our theme together. This venue is located away from "city limits" and provided that rustic/rural feel that we were looking for. The barn & surrounding area is picturesque; don't overlook this incredible venue!

Can not say enough on how John made sure this would be the happiest and most important day of our lives. His Pictures were incredible!!!!

Although the amenities were a bit run-down, and there were some questions about what was going to be done/available by the venue on the day-of, it ended up beautiful! Having the ceremony, rehearsal dinner, and reception all in one place was awesome, and having a place for the bridal party to stay right there was so much fun! It turned out to be absolutely gorgeous!

Attended a Christmas party,. Was horrible. NO HEAT ! COULD SEE OUR BREATH . THOUGH HEAT LAMPS WERE INSIDE IT NEVER WARMED UP AND GOT COLDER WITH EVENING. 1 WAS BROKE.
fall decorations with pumpkins and hay bails on inside and out side. No lighting outside. WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND
OWNER A BIT RUDE WHEN SHE WAS ASKED ABOUT WHY NO HEAT !