Looking for an intimate wedding venue near Greenville, SC? I’ve got you covered!
We may not have the beaches and Spanish moss that people picture when they think of South Carolina, but we have a lot of other cool places! While some of these places aren’t necessarily IN Greenville, most of them are within an hour of it.
If you’ve read my post on how to elope in South Carolina, you already know that eloping doesn’t have to be at a courthouse or in Las Vegas, and you have multiple options for how to become legally married. Even with only a few guests as your witnesses, you deserve the best experience and the best photos.
Bent Creek Farm in Belton, SC
In this post, I’ll be talking about how to have an intimate wedding in Greenville, including:
What defines an intimate wedding?
What’s the best way to get to Greenville?
Places to have an intimate wedding in Greenville
Wedding venues in upstate South Carolina
Hotels, Inns, and Rental Properties
Parks and Outdoor Recreation Areas
Somewhere that’s special to you
And of course, the classic places: churches, courthouses, the post office, or your house!
What is an intimate wedding and how is it different from an elopement or micro-wedding?
People have different definitions for each of those terms, but here are mine. I consider an elopement to be a “just us” wedding day, or close to it, while I consider an intimate wedding or a micro-wedding to have up to 30 people. Other people consider 30 people to be an elopement. I’ve done 30-person weddings that still feel like a huge celebration with a packed dance floor, so having fewer guests doesn’t necessarily mean missing out on other things.
Why wouldn’t you get married near the beach if you’re going to South Carolina?
Unlike Ken in the Barbie movie, South Carolina’s job isn’t “just beach.” Even though everyone pictures beaches and palmetto trees when they think of South Carolina, only a small part of the state is near the ocean. As much as I love coastal South Carolina, it’s not for everyone. Aside from the visual scenery being different in the upstate, there are fewer tourists here, and the humidity and mosquitoes aren’t so bad. The water is colder here, so you don’t have to worry about alligators if you’re getting married in a warmer month. AND—there are mountains and waterfalls on this side of the state!
However you spend your intimate wedding day, you deserve the best photos from that day, and I’d love to help you make that happen!
How to Get to Greenville, SC
This city is about an hour from the North Carolina border and about an hour from the Georgia border. The only interstates that run through Greenville are I-85, I-385, and I-185.
If you’re flying, you can fly to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Greenville is about an hour and a half from the airports in Columbia and Charlotte, and about two and a half hours from the Atlanta airport.
If you’re coming here by train, there is an Amtrak station on Washington Street in downtown Greenville. The Crescent is currently the only route that comes through here, which runs from New Orleans to New York.
Need help finding things to do while you’re in the area? Here are some of my favorites!
Venues for Small Weddings in Upstate South Carolina
If there’s a wedding venue that you love, see if they offer an elopement package! Some venues only offer this package during certain days or times of the week, and some allow a small number of guests. Here are a few pretty venues in South Carolina for an elopement:
Pretty Place
Pretty Place Chapel in Cleveland, South Carolina
Fred W. Symmes Chapel at YMCA Camp Greenville, or “Pretty Place,” is one of the most popular wedding venues in South Carolina. One of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen was at this open-air chapel in the mountains, right on the border between the Carolinas, and it gets some of the best fall foliage in the whole state. Explore other parts of Mountain Bridge Wilderness as you head back towards Greenville, then stop for a nice meal in Greenville or Travelers Rest to celebrate! This is about an hour north of downtown Greenville.
Check out some more information about having a small wedding at Pretty Place!
A garden venue with Japanese vibes in Greenville where you can see the mountains in the distance. Honestly, I can’t get over how many colors are here in the spring and how big the fish in the pond are. There’s a getting ready area and plenty of space for you and any guests to have a catered dinner. View Point at Buckhorn Creek is 20 minutes from downtown Greenville and right down the road from Paris Mountain State Park.
If you like mountains AND water, and you also want a rain plan, Ballenger Bridge is a great option for you! They offer packages for elopements and small weddings, and you can even stay in the AirBNB on their property! This is located in Landrum, about 45 minutes from downtown Greenville.
In the peace and quiet of Iva, South Carolina; you can get married inside a barn, outside among the flowers, or in a rowboat on the lake! Heyward Manor is about 1 hour and 10 minutes from downtown Greenville.
This venue in Anderson offers multiple ceremony spaces, a getting-ready area, and a covered indoor area as a rain plan or a space for a small reception. This is 45 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Skylight Chapel
This is a small chapel in Taylors with both indoor and outdoor ceremony options. This is just a few minutes from Lake Robinson and 30 minutes from downtown Greenville.
A schoolhouse from the 1800s that was converted into a chapel and holds about 60 people. This is in Walhalla, about an hour from downtown Greenville and about 15 minutes from some of the waterfall trailheads in Oconee County.
This restaurant on Lake Keowee has several spaces to accommodate different numbers of guests. My husband and I had our rehearsal dinner here with about 30 guests, and we had a dining room with a huge window. This is about 55 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Belle Tesoro combines the French word for “beautiful” and the Italian word for “treasure.” This beautiful house has Tuscan-inspired scenery, a gazebo for an outdoor ceremony, and gorgeous staircases for photos! This is in Pauline, near Spartanburg, and about 50 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Here are some other beautiful venues that I don’t have photos to share from yet:
Cliffs at Glassy Chapel: I only came here once as an assistant for another photographer, so I don’t really have my own photos to show how beautiful it is. This chapel is in a private living community in Landrum, in northern Spartanburg County. The view from the top of the mountain is one thing, but the stone chapel is one of the prettiest I’ve seen in South Carolina. Cliffs at Glassy offers an elopement package on specific dates and times during the week. This is about 45 minutes from downtown Greenville.
The Hollow at Paris Mountain: The Hollow is a very beautiful and quiet place with plenty of space inside for getting ready. There is a covered area in case it rains, and the patio area is really cute. This is about 20 minutes from downtown Greenville and just down the road from Paris Mountain State Park.
Avenue: Get married in front of a rooftop view of downtown Greenville! Avenue has multiple options for your ceremony area, a reception area, and a suite for getting ready.
Saskatoon: This restaurant right off of Haywood Road has a courtyard area for weddings. Their culinary focus is wild game, and they have lots of unique meats if you’re feeling adventurous. Saskatoon is about 15 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Poinsett Club: The historic Poinsett Club has several private dining rooms that are really pretty. It’s right in downtown Greenville, so you have plenty of options for where to take pictures!
Grand Holland Estate: I felt like I was in the house from The Sound of Music when I walked into the main hall! I love a good staircase, and theirs makes a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony. There’s also an outdoor patio and a separate reception area. This is in Simpsonville, about 15 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Song Hill Reserve: This venue in Landrum has views of both the mountains AND the water! They have a cabin onsite for you to stay overnight.
Hotels, Inns, or Rental Properties
First things first: make sure the manager or the owner of the property knows you’re planning to get married here. Some AirBnBs specifically don’t allow weddings, so you and the owner will need to be on the same page about what’s happening, even if you’re not planning to have guests. Here are some hotels and inns that you could use as your wedding venue:
Red Horse Inn
This couple eloped in front of the mountains at the Red Horse Inn in Landrum, South Carolina. See more
Red Horse Inn is in northern Spartanburg County along Scenic Highway 11. Coming up the stairs and seeing this patio just about took my breath away! You can see some of the private cottages in the background, where you and your dogs can spend the night. Also, you could have a mini-pig as your witness. Campbell’s Covered Bridge is just a few minutes down the road, too. This couple had their elopement photos taken in both places! Red Horse Inn is about 45 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Bleckley Inn
Intimate wedding at Bleckley Inn in Anderson, South Carolina.
One of my favorite venues is right in the middle of downtown Anderson. There are multiple spaces here that can be used for an elopement or a small wedding, even if there’s another wedding happening in the main courtyard that day. You, and any guests you invite, can stay there the night before and after the wedding. This couple was married in one of the smaller dining rooms with a few family members and friends, then we took some photos outside. Bleckley Inn is about 40 minutes from downtown Greenville.
A few hotels I think are really cool, but I don’t have any photos to share from yet:
Hotel Domestique: a small European-style inn that overlooks the mountains. Since it’s an inn, you and your guests can stay there the night before and after, and have dinner together after the ceremony. This is about 30 minutes from downtown Greenville.
Westin Poinsett: Another one of my favorite venues is the Westin Poinsett, or the Poinsett Hotel, right in the heart of downtown Greenville! This 1920s hotel has multiple ballrooms and some beautiful staircases, windows, and floor tiles. If you think the word “Poinsett” looks like “poinsettia,” they’re both named for the same person, and there are plenty of poinsettias in there near Christmastime! The Westin Poinsett is almost right across the street from Falls Park.
Grand Bohemian Lodge: This gorgeous hotel is right at the end of Liberty Bridge and has one of the best views of Falls Park. If there wasn’t already enough scenery right there, you’re close enough to walk all around downtown Greenville.
Outdoor Recreational Areas
This section includes three of my favorite state parks in South Carolina, and I’ve been to them all! While a few state parks have actual wedding venues (like the Table Rock Lodge, Atalaya Castle at Huntington Beach, and the Legare-Waring House at Charles Towne Landing), you can also call the office at your favorite park to get information about getting married there! For more popular parks, you can avoid crowds by getting married on a weekday or during the winter. If you have a small number of guests, you can ask about renting a picnic shelter with a view.
Read more about all 48 South Carolina state parks!
Table Rock State Park
This park in Pickens County has something for everyone, whether you want to hike for days or just drive to a pretty view. While there are several photogenic places that could work for a few guests, there is also a small venue with a patio that overlooks Pinnacle Lake and Table Rock. Since cell signal is spotty here and it can get crowded on weekends, I would recommend using this venue for a small wedding if everyone is planning to stay in the park and you’re not expecting many other vendors. Read more about Table Rock and why I love it!
Caesars Head State Park
One of my favorite views in the state is sunset over the mountains from the Caesars Head overlook in northern Greenville County. The overlook can be reserved during non-peak times so that you can have some privacy. Caesars Head State Park is about an hour from downtown Greenville. Read more about Caesars Head!
Devils Fork State Park
Elopement at Devils Fork State Park on Lake Jocassee (Salem, South Carolina).
This park in Oconee County is the only public access point to Lake Jocassee, one of my favorite places in the state. You can rent villas here, and some have a view of Lake Jocassee. You can also rent a pontoon for up to 10 people, or charter a private boat tour, and get some amazing views of the mountains over the water and some of the waterfall coves. Devils Fork State Park is about an hour from downtown Greenville. Read more about Devils Fork!
Want to know more about what each state park has to offer? I’ve been to each of them, so you can read about my experience with them!
South Carolina Botanical Gardens
This is part of Clemson University, which has strong roots in agriculture and tons of people who are passionate about plants. There’s endless scenery from around the whole state of South Carolina. There are also venues and ceremony spaces to accommodate a small number of guests, including a covered gazebo in case it rains that day. The South Carolina Botanical Gardens are in Clemson, about 40 minutes from downtown Greenville.
One great thing about gardens is that they’re made to look beautiful at any time of year. In the “pretty” times of year, you’ll have a wider window for when you’ll get spring or fall scenery. Read about the South Carolina Botanical Gardens and finding spring and fall color!
City and County Parks
Falls Park in downtown Greenville
The city of Greenville has some really wonderful parks, such as Falls Park and Rock Quarry Garden, where you can have waterfall and garden scenery close to wherever you go out to eat afterwards.
Falls Park is the most famous place in the upstate, where a 20-foot waterfall is in the middle of downtown, right below a curved suspension bridge.
Rock Quarry Garden is smaller than Falls Park and allows you to reserve the park for small gatherings. Read more about where to elope in downtown Greenville, and ideas for what to do together in Greenville after you get married!
Courthouse or Post Office
A post office? Hear me out on this one:
First of all, one venue in upstate South Carolina actually is an old post office that was converted into a wedding venue, but kept the aesthetic of a 1940s post office.
The Old Post in Easley, South Carolina
Second of all, a post office can provide a notary public, who can take care of the paperwork for you to become legally married. My friend signed as a witness in a UPS store for a couple who wanted to be legally married before their actual wedding ceremony. This is a quick way to start the day before you head out for an adventure together!
Churches
This is a great option for couples who want intimacy for their ceremony, but still like the idea of a church wedding. One good thing about getting married in a church is that it comes with officiants!
If you don’t want to get married at the church you attend, you can ask your pastor to come with you to a chapel that isn’t affiliated with a parish, like Pretty Place or Cliffs at Glassy Chapel.
Private Property
You could even get married at your own house! If a family member or friend has a beautiful house or land that you love, you could ask them to be a witness to your wedding.
A backyard wedding doesn’t sound glamorous, but using your home as your wedding venue can be really special. Make it as pretty as you want, and it’ll still be that pretty the next day!
Somewhere that’s Special to You
If there’s a place that you think is pretty, you can reach out to whoever owns the space. It could be private property, or it could be owned by a university, the city, or the county.
At the end of the day, it’s about you two. It doesn’t matter how crazy your ideas sound to anyone else, especially if you’re not having guests.
How do you want to remember your wedding day?
Ready for the best day ever?
Photo by Shehzad Ziaee
My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love being outside just as much as we love being on the couch and watching Pixar movies.
One thing I love about Greenville is that it’s everything you DON’T think about when you picture South Carolina, but it’s still picturesque. Whether you’re into mountains, waterfalls, lakes, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.
I can’t wait to meet you!
