Callanwolde Fine Arts Center Reviews

Perfect wedding venue to have an outdoor ceremony in the garden and indoor reception. It's a beautiful house and creates a stunning backdrop for photos. The only downside is that receptions need to end by 11 PM. Great team and very responsive

This was a beautiful venue for our wedding, and it fit us perfectly! We had a gorgeous ceremony in the Hydrangea Garden with the hydrangeas all in bloom, followed by cocktail hour in the front on the Terrace, and the reception in the Indoor Courtyard. Everyone talked about how beautiful everything was and our coordinator was super easy to work with. Thank you for a wonderful night!

I toured numerous Atlanta venues for my wedding, but nothing could have compared to Callanwolde. The beautiful architecture and landscape took my breath away. If it weren’t for Google Maps, you would never know you’re in the middle of a city. It is an incredibly peaceful and quiet area of town.

I was heartbroken postponing my wedding in 2020 due to COVID, but the team worked with us to schedule a new date the following year. Everything went off without a hitch and I could not be more thankful to have chosen this spot for my big day. I grew up in Europe, and at certain times throughout the day it felt as if I was back there. I will be returning around the holidays for one of their events!

My husband and I could not be happier about our decision to get married and have our reception at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Having access to the entire house was such a rare opportunity. The team at Callanwolde was so flexible and accommodating. 10/10 recommend!

Callanwolde was a dream for our wedding! We chose to have both the ceremony + reception on-site and there was plenty of room to host a cocktail hour and allow our guests time to explore the different rooms while they set up for the reception. Photos on the grounds are gorgeous and unique. The team was accommodating and able to bring our vision to life. There was an issue with the plumbing in the upstairs rooms where we were getting ready, but the team came up with a solution for us that worked. it was also great being able to choose all of our vendors, which helped save money. Definitely recommend!

I held my wedding ceremony and reception at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. The venue was appealing to me due to its beauty inside and out. I'd dreamed of getting married in an outside setting, and this venue had multiple areas for this. I chose the Hydrangea garden for my ceremony due to its' privacy. The grand staircase inside was my backup plan for unfavorable weather, and I would have been just as happy with this setting. The architecture and layout of the venue is so romantic and requires very little extra decor. So many of my guest were in awe of the venue and its grandness. The staff was easy to work with and accountable. Caroline, the venue's event manager, is responsive and professional. When she was not available to meet with me or answer my questions, there was always someone else to attend to me in a very timely manner. Mr. Bernard was at the venue the entire day of my wedding helping my venders set up. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center is worth visiting simply for its history and beauty even if you aren't interested in getting married there!

Wonderful place to get married. We had an incredibly beautiful ceremony in the garden and an indoor reception. The A/C was broken during the reception, but they opened the doors and I hardly noticed (our wedding was in April) and they gave me a discount because of it. I would recommend getting a wedding planner to handle communications - it made our experience a lot easier because Callanwolde can be slow to reply by email or phone. The venue was pricey (slightly above average for Atlanta) but so worth it. You get almost the entire downstairs area, plus two upstairs rooms for the bride and groom, and the venue is just so beautiful I couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else.

Stunning venue that I feel in love with online. As a long distance bride it was challenging to choose a wedding venue, but I feel in love with Callanwolde as soon as I looked at the website and then even more so when I got to see it in person! It was absolute beautiful and unique. It feels elegant and homey all at the same time. The main room is magical with all the draping and lights that are up year round, which helps minimize decoration costs.

Anna was very responsive during the whole process and was accommodating to our vision. We had a babysitter's room in the upstairs portion in one of the dance studios which was fantastic and I am so grateful that Callanwolde was receptive to that! Highly recommend this venue!

The first time we stepped onto the Callanwolde property we instantly knew this would be our venue. Absolutely stunning both indoors and out. Our guests were blown away and continue to tell us how special this venue is. Staff was also so helpful and friendly throughout the whole process. Photography by Ashley White Photography.

This is a great venue and beautiful setting. We had a wonderful day for my daughter’s wedding. Because this is a community center the staff is not accommodating to brides. In other words, weddings are not their first priority. If you book this venue, don’t expect that on your wedding day that it will look like it did when you booked it. They change draperies and some rooms have dance floors for community classes. You will be limited on decorating outdoor spaces (florals). Callanwolde advertises beautiful pictures online, but these rooms may not be available for your particular day. If you book this venue, ask a lot of questions. The staff was slow to respond with every communication. We loved the venue, but if you are looking for a one where the staff is happy to have your business and treats you accordingly, this is not it.

I saw this location about 4 years ago and knew I absolutely had to get married at Callanwolde. It is beautiful, historic, spacious, and just amazing! Callanwolde was worth the cost. There are so many rooms to use for the wedding day and we didn't have to do much decorating because it is already so beautiful. There was a Christmas event the day before and they were kind enough to leave up some of the decorations for our wedding. There is plenty of parking for the guests and rooms for the bridal party to get ready in. Unfortunately, the bathrooms upstairs were not working at the time which made steaming and getting ready a little difficult. Try to do as much ironing and steaming before you arrive, the old plugs in the house just couldn't handle it. I know there was a change employees and roles while we were planning so at times it took awhile to hear back and communication was a little off (I don't think that this is the norm though). Doing the venue walkthrough weeks before the wedding was very helpful and they were more than willing to accommodate our needs. They also let you pick your own vendors and bring in your own alcohol. This definitely helped with costs. There are preferred vendors that they suggest, but it is ultimately up to you and your budget. Every room and space at this venue is amazing which made for great pictures. All of our guests kept commenting on how amazing the location was. It was a magical place to get married.

Callanwolde is an absolutely beautiful venue inside and out and was exactly what we were looking for. But unfortunately, our experience with Callanwolde, on our wedding day, was a huge disappointment and would have been a disaster without the leadership of our wedding coordinators and catering company.

Here are the issues that we faced:

Issue 1 - Lack of help from Callanwolde that we were promised

When we signed with Callanwolde we were told that we would have two event managers on site. We were also told that the two event managers would be responsible for setting up the chairs for the ceremony and also setting up the tables/chairs for the reception. The day of our wedding we were only given one event manager not two.

When our wedding coordinator walked into Callanwolde, the chairs for the ceremony were set up wrong. The chairs blocked off our holding room and the area where the DJ table was supposed to be set up. In our final walkthrough with Anna, we had established where the holding room and DJ table would be to ensure the chairs would be set up in a way that our bridal party could walk down the aisle and DJ would have room to set up music but this was not the case.

To solve the issue, our wedding coordinator stopped what she was doing and helped the event manager re-do the chairs because there was not the 2nd event manager on site.

We had no issue with event coordinator that was on site, he was helpful and cooperative, our issue was that he was the only event manager on site and was also not given proper information by Callanwolde. His only copy of the layout was incorrect and did not have the things labeled on it that we had discussed in our final walkthrough. Our wedding coordinator showed him the correct copy of the layout and had to help him figure out how to get everything set up for cocktail hour.

Issue 2: The air conditioning was not working properly in the rooms upstairs as well as the holding room and ceremony area downstairs. Our bridal party and guests were profusely sweating. Our wedding coordinators put out fans in the brides room/grooms room then had to move them down to the holding room for the later part of the ceremony. Again, our wedding coordinators were doing the job that the event managers at Callanwolde should have been doing. The only part of the Callanwolde that had proper air-conditioning and was comfortable for our guests was the indoor courtyard (reception area).

Issue 3: Our grooms room was switched without notice
At our final walkthrough meeting we were shown the grooms room. The day of our wedding, we were told the grooms room is locked and can not be used because there were expensive paintings in there. The groom and his groomsmen were put in a different room that was a complete embarrassment. The tables for them to sit on had crayon marks all over it. If you were going to put in furniture in that room and give it our bridal party it should have at least been covered with linens if the tables are not presentable. The bride's room was also not very impressive either. Below is a picture of the groomsmen and if you look closely at the table there are crayon marks all over it. This was very embarrassing for us, that this is the room we were given for our groomsmen to sit before our ceremony. We have been to many weddings in the Atlanta area where we have seen very nice rooms for the groomsmen and bridesmaids and knew this was unacceptable.

We expressed our concerns with the management at Callanwolde. Instead of taking ownership, they pointed fingers at us about things we did wrong. The executive director was extremely unprofessional, didn't apologize for the issues they caused on our wedding day, and complained that someone threw up outside and had to be cleaned by their staff. The child that threw up outside had gotten sick at the wedding.

All in all, beautiful venue, horrible management.

Callanwolde was a perfect setting for our spring wedding. The historic home and grounds provided a beautiful backdrop for our photos. We absolutely loved it and received so many compliments on the venue.

My son held his wedding here over the summer. Air conditioning wasn’t working upstairs and grooms room was moved and it was messy and unkept. Upon our arrival the seating wasn’t set up yet for the ceremony causing staff to scramble and get organized. We were promised two wedding event managers but there was only one on staff the day of the wedding. The tables were set up incorrectly in the reception hall ...not in accordance with the plan we had drawn up. The air conditioning was not working where the ceremony was being held as well Thank goodness for our wedding coordinator who was able to help get some of these matters resolved. Very disappointed in this venue.

I had my wedding at Callanwolde and absolutely loved it! My guests were blown away by the venue! Little to no decorations are needed because of the old charm of this place and Anna was so helpful throughout the entire process! The courtyard is simply the best with the chandelier and drapery!

Callanwolde is a beautiful venue for weddings and the staff there was super nice and accommodating in helping to make everything go smoothly!

Callanwolde is by far the best bang for your buck for a wedding. Absolutely beautiful backdrops for photos. So much space for getting ready, guests, etc. Numerous options for ceremony location (indoor and outdoor). Anna was great to work with. They had some issues causing us to have to relocate the ceremony a few hours before the wedding but everyone was very helpful in doing this and the new location was just as beautiful. Can bring your own alcohol, which saved us a lot since half our guest list didn't drink. Perfect wedding day for us!

My wedding at Callanwolde was perfect! The space was beautiful and well kept. Staff was great to work with and really helped answer questions that we had along the way.

I loved having my wedding at Callanwolde. Anna was so helpful and responsive. You'll definitely need a wedding planner / coordinator since this is not a service they include in the venue reservation fee. I highly recommend this beautiful venue.

I was worried about using Callanwolde as my venue after reading reviews that were all over the place. I can honestly say I am so glad I still gave Callanwolde a chance and met with Anna. She was super cool and upfront about answering all my questions and concerns. Callanwolde is a GORGEOUS venue and doesn't require you to spend an exorbitant amount of money on extra decor. They are super flexible with what you can bring (most importantly alcohol). That is a huge expense you dodge. We literally saved over $9K by being allowed to bring in our own alcohol - and we bought wine, full bar, and beer for our guests. Huge plus for Callanwolde! Also, Anna and the other staff I interacted with were incredibly nice and willing to help when/how they could. You have to keep in mind though, they are not only a wedding venue. They teach classes and have other events going on all the time. That never caused an issue for my wedding but you really need to understand that before booking. They may be slower to respond but again, that's because they do so much with the venue. I always got a response from Anna and never felt like things were slipping through the cracks. The reason I gave 4.5 stars for flexibility is because on Fridays (when I got married) you can't bring anything before noon. That isn't the end of the world but it would have been easier on us if we could have dropped a few items off the night before the wedding. Again, not an issue you just have to plan. If I had to do all over again, I would still choose Callanwolde and work with Anna in a heartbeat. My guests still tell me how beautiful Callanwolde was. The indoor Courtyard is breathtakingly beautiful and the gardens (even in November) were still in bloom for our pictures. Bottomline: the venue is GORGEOUS, flexible within reason, has incredibly nice and laid back staff, and reasonably priced for Atlanta wedding venues. Thank you, Anna and team for all you did to make our wedding go smoothly!

Callanwolde was STUNNING. It defined our wedding day and made it the fairy tale we didn't even know we could have! It is so elegant and stately that we hardly needed to spend anything on decorations (big savings there). We had a winter wedding but were still able to get a variety of pictures in the garden, on the front veranda, and the greenhouse. The dance room, with it's floor-to-ceiling windows, gave us a stellar place to do our first-look and take pictures washed in sunlight. The ballroom, with its glass chandeliers, soft drapery, twinkling lights, and brick floor was a super-romantic location for the reception. And the main hall, where our ceremony took place, exuded warmth and richness, with its 1920s period furniture (which they were happy to keep or move at our convenience) and beautiful hardwood. I honestly felt I had invited 150 of my closest friends to MY house for a celebration!

Callanwolde was the most expensive place we looked at, but it was absolutely 100% worth it. We saved thousands of dollars on decorations and alcohol (they allow you to bring your own). Having the ceremony and reception all in one place made everything so much easier. The wedding party got ready upstairs in the large, sunny bedrooms, the windows of which overlooked the front driveway so we could keep a lookout for guests arriving. The upstairs bathrooms are original to the 1920s house (but in fine working order), and that was fun!

Because of the busy Christmas season, I had a bit of a hard time getting a hold of the staff at times, but everyone was very very nice and accommodating, and in the end I got everything I needed from them.

Callanwolde is perfect!! I can't imagine our wedding without it!

The entire staff at Callanwolde was amazing for our wedding! We originally booked around February 2015 for our wedding in June 2016. The management in place when we booked was terrible, but we loved the venue so much we decided to take a chance. When they hired Caitlin everything took a turn for the better in terms of communication, clarity, and helpfulness. She was amazing to work with, especially for a bride like me who didn't have a planner! Any tiny issues that came up along the way, Caitlin was right on top of it to do anything possible to help or solve the problem. The staff there the day of was incredible at making me feel at ease and doing everything exactly as planned. Overall, it was a great venue and we're so thankful we decided to get married there!

My husband and I got married at Callanwolde a year ago on 10/4/15... It was absolutely perfect!!!! A misting evening but still wonderful. Some of our guests described the venue as they felt they were in Spain or a romantic country with the gardens and the classic mansion. A year later I wanted to go back to where it all began so I contacted Caitlin about doing a surprise picnic in the gardens for my husband. She was so accomadating and excited for us to revisit Callanwolde! Normally the space would be a fee because we are using the facility but Caitlin said because there were no events going on she would love to have us back and enjoy the evening in the gardens... At a comped price!!! How wonderful is she and Callanwolde?! It was a perfect evening for my husband and I as we were nestled in the stunning gardens and reminiscing on our special day! Thank you, Callanwolde for making our day all we dreamed of for the past two years!!!!!

The Callanwolde Fine Arts Center is a beautiful venue for weddings and events, it practically sells itself. However, the venue’s staff take it to the next level. One person who absolutely stands out is Caitin King, she was an absolute pleasure to work with. My success as a wedding coordinator, is often times dictated by the responsiveness of the venue staff. Caitlin made it easy to form a partnership and work through the details to make the wedding with 180 guests a success. It is inevitable that some circumstances may require you to change some details at the last minute, whether it is scheduling the rehearsal, switching up table set up, etc…, however it was sooo easy to accommodate the bride and groom’s changes as Caitlin stepped up to the plate each time with no fuss. She has excellent follow-through and is a problem-solver. She understands the importance of creating the perfect wedding day which includes the overall experience leading up to it! She is about creating a low stress situation and sharing lessons learned or observations from other weddings to help the bride and groom make informed decisions. Don’t let her baby face fool you either, she is a professional who really knows her stuff! I really look forward to working with Caitlin and team in the future.