For various reasons including the fact that this is a second wedding for me, we have decided not to have the traditional church wedding in our hometown. (also we really don't have a "hometown anyway) We are in our mid 30s and will be paying for the wedding ourselves, what we are looking for is the perfect location. I'm thinking beautiful gardens, southern mansions, horse and carriage etc. This will be a small affair of around 60-70 members of our families and closest friends. We want to make a weekend of the event and are looking at something within 5 hrs. driving distance of Knoxville, TN. We are in the early stages of planning for September 2002, please help us with a location -city, state, and even site if you know the perfect place!

Karen and Mark,

This is the most interesting question posted here in a long time. I'm going to ask around for some ideas this weekend.

Hope you get some helpful suggestions.

Stone Mountain, GA would be lovely.

Congratulations!

It's about an hour farther than you want to travel, but have you considered Charleston? We were there a few weeks ago and saw some absolutely lovely wedding parties coming and going. The town is full of old mansions that are open to the public and may be available to rent. Or, you might consider leasing out an entire B&B--there are some gorgeous ones. The town is also known for its carriage rides. IMHO, I think it would be a wonderful place for an intimate wedding.

Here's a possibility: The Gordon-Lee House in Chickamauga, GA, just over the TN line. This antebellum mansion is located in the Chickamauga Battlefield arena. It now functions as a B&B, and has a wedding chapel on the grounds. You could have the ceremony, etc. there, but locate guest housing and pre-wedding entertainment in nearby Chattanooga, where there are more dining and lodging options. For example, a business associate recently hosted a really unusual rehearsal dinner at the Tennessee Aquarium. Just a thought. Here's the addy for the Gordon-Lee House:
http://www.fhc.org/gordon-lee/
Here's info on aquarium rental:
http://www.tennis.org/PlanVisit/facility.html

I am going to top and old post for you concerning the Opryland Hotel in Nashville TN because I think it is great. Someone was asking about having their wedding there, which is where I had mine and I will tell you it can be made wonderful. We had our rehearsal dinner at the restaurant made to look like an old plantation home and the wedding was in the gardens, just wonderful!

Try Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. They have a B&B there too.

Try Oak Alley in New Orleans.

Hey People she wants it within 5hrs of Knoxville, read the WHOLE post!

Try the columns Hotel in New Orleans. There is also another mansion on the same street, but I can't remember the name. We were at a wedding at the Columns Hotel in New Orleans this past May and it was beautiful. The food and drinks were wonderful. They have a website, I think its www.thecolumns.com

Thanks for the suggestions. Teh homes in New Orleans sound great but as I stated earlier, we want to travel NO FURTHER than 5 hr. drive from Knoxville and prefer about a 2-3 hr. drive. We ar elooking into the Gordon-Lee house as well as Opryland Hotel (had actually already thought of that but want to be maybe a little closer to home) Any other recs?

Here's a b&b a friend stayed at and highly recommended. It's also close to you.

The url:
http://www.evinsmill.com/

I did a search for you and here's what I came up with. Hopefully, they are within your 5 hour range. let us know what you decide.

Greenville, Ga. (south of Atlanta)
http://www.grandwisteria.com/index.htm

Wilmington, NC.
www.poplargrove.com

Karen and Mark:
How about Lynchburg, home of Jack Daniels? It's about 3 hours or less from Knoxville. I've been there a couple of times. Lovely place. Miss Mary Bobo's is famous for lovely dining in an old Southern atmosphere. The distillery tour is a must. Go to Google and bring up Jack Daniels web site. They've got all the details there.
John

Yea Karen and Mark-Get married in a distillery, maybe you'll get free samples and that will save on your bar bill....

Sept02, huh?! Not sure of the exact distance, but try your neighbor to the east: North Carolina. You should check into Asheville or Blowing Rock:
Asheville: Grove Park Inn
Blowing Rock: Green Park Inn
--One place I love in B.R. is Moses Cone Manor; link below:
http://www.blowingrock.org/mosescone.html
--Or try Biltmore House in Asheville for a garden party go to: http://www.biltmore.com/

They beautiful rolling hills won't be as hot/humid as other places. The colors change in B.R. the first two weeks of October.

Budget Idea: Rent a small house in either town(especially one w/ a view) have it there and catered.

Let us know what you decide--we'll promise not to crash it!

I second Becky's suggestions, but would steer you away from the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock. I stayed there last year and unless it has been renovated since then, it hasn't been very well maintained. It is a lovely old inn, but needs some TLC before you'd want to hold your wedding there.

The Biltmore House in Asheville is closer to you and their standards are first class.

Arabella is right about the accomodations at the green park inn--not topnotch, but the main hotel floor is good for a wedding/reception.

Asheville will probably be closest on interstate 40.

Y'all are the absolute best. As I have only lived in the Knoxville area for a short time (4 years) I have never made it out to the fabled Biltmore Estate and I certainly didn't know that they had a whole wedding specialist team. I have already contacted them to inquire. It will be possibly a little more than we would like to spend but who cares!?!! I am very excited. The only problem is that they were already COMPLETELY booked for all weekends in SEpt. 02, they did however have an opening one of the Oct. weekends which we are booking right away. It will still be warm then anyway. AGAIN, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!

Charleston, SC is the obvious choice. Not sure of the distance.

Beware of the comments about Blowing Rock, NC. Blowing Rock, as I discoverd to my dismay this spring, is a foul little tourist town. Think Gatlinburg. Asheville is lovely, but not very "old south" Good luck.