We are delighted that you are considering the Asheville Botanical Garden for your wedding. The Asheville Botanical Garden is a 10-acre, non-profit botanical garden containing a diverse collection of plants and trees native to the Southern Appalachian Mountains. For a small fee, we allow the use of the Garden for wedding ceremonies. All fees are used towards the maintenance and upkeep of the grounds and facilities.
All weddings at the Asheville Botanical Garden require advanced application and approval. Please reach out to our wedding coordinator at weddings@ashevillebotanicalgardens.org for a copy of the application form and for any further information.
Wedding Locations
The Asheville Botanical Garden provides a lovely setting for an outdoor wedding. Weddings at the Garden are subject to weather with very limited covered areas and there is no indoor space for weddings. There are many lovely places to choose from for a small ceremony in the Garden. For larger ceremonies we suggest the Gazebo & Sunshine Meadow. A small Gazebo in the Sunshine Meadow can provide some cover for the wedding couple in case of rain.
Group Size & Duration
We allow small, (30 people maximum) simple, ceremony only weddings with no reception. Children and the wedding party must be included in your total head count. Our wedding ceremonies are generally 2 hours including time for photos, setup and takedown. If you are planning something longer than 2 hours let us know.
Rentals & Seating
We do not provide chair or tent rentals. You may carry in your own chairs or we have several benches located in the Sunshine Meadow you may use for your ceremony.
Music
We do not have electricity at any of our wedding locations in the garden. Acoustic music is allowed or you may use a battery powered speaker for music.
Flowers & Decorations
In order to keep seeds from invasive plant species out of the Garden we ask that you consider your decorations carefully. Potted plants, ferns and fresh arrangement from a florist are all acceptable. Dried herbs, flowers or bittersweet are not allowed. Commercial flower petals or birdseed that has been microwaved for two minutes may be tossed. You may decorate the Gazebo or other areas with non damaging removable materials. Please use push pins to attach decorations to any structures and remove them at the end of the event.
Visitor’s Center & Restroom Access
The restrooms are located inside the Visitor Center and are only accessible during Visitor Center Open Hours. The Visitor Center and restrooms are closed in the winter from December through March. Visitor Center hours vary seasonally and are generally 10 am – 4 pm depending on the time of year. If you want access to restrooms for your wedding, please double check your timing with us as visitor center hours are subject to change.
Parking, Garden Hours & Accessibility
The gates to the gardens open at sunrise and close at sunset, you may schedule a wedding at any time from sunrise to sunset. Please make sure to schedule so that all vehicles are out of the parking lot by sunset on the day of your wedding. There are 2 handicapped parking spaces in the parking lot. The entrance and the front of the garden bordering the creeks are accessible to persons with disabilities. The Sunshine Meadow & Gazebo are a short walk from the parking lot and may be reached by wheelchair on hard packed gravel pathways.
Weekend Overflow Parking
Most likely you will find adequate parking at the Garden parking lot. However if you arrive and find the lot full, there is overflow parking nearby at 118 W.T. Weaver Blvd. We have permission from UNCA to use permit lots P29, P31 or P32 on weekends. Lot P29 (or Vivian Lot on the google map below) is closest to the Garden, but does have quite a few stairs to navigate down. These lots are 0.2 – 0.4 miles or a 5-10 min walk on a greenway/sidewalk to the Gardens. Click here for Google Map: Parking at 118 W.T. Weaver Blvd.
Wedding Pricing
Pricing varies with the total number of people in your party. Please include children, the wedding party, officiant, photographer etc. in your total count.
$150 – 1-10 people
$200 – 11-20 people
$250 – 21-30 people
Membership
All wedding couples will receive a one-year membership to the Asheville Botanical Garden. Membership includes a 10% discount in the Visitor Center Gift Shop, checkout privileges in our Cole Library, quarterly New Leaf newsletter mailings and discounts on educational tours and programs offered through the Gardens. Your membership becomes active when you make your wedding payment.
Respecting the Garden
Care should be taken at all times to preserve the plantings, the wildlife, and the permanent structures in the Gardens. This is a Botanical Garden with many sensitive species and habitats, please make sure your wedding complies with our garden rules.
- All species are protected – Do not pick or collect plants or plant parts, or remove/modify any
- natural features on the property.
- NO DOGS ALLOWED.
- Support rare plants by staying on established paths or lawns, and out of garden beds.
- No sports games (football, frisbee, etc) or bike riding.
- Help protect our trees by not climbing or hanging hammocks or tight ropes on them.
- To respect resident wildlife, no drones or radio-controlled vehicles are allowed.
- Access stream only in designated areas – please don’t climb down banks at random.
- Unauthorized vehicles are not allowed to enter the Gardens.
- Please supervise children at all times to protect them and our special plants.
- No fires or smoking. The BGA is a designated tobacco-free zone.
- No overnight camping permitted.
Reservation & Payment
To reserve a date please email our wedding facilitator at weddings@ashevillebotanicalgardens.org for more information and an application form. Once your application has been approved, you may make your wedding payment in order to confirm & reserve your wedding date. All wedding payments are non-refundable, cancellations due to weather are non-refundable.
After application approval and wedding payment has been made you will receive a confirmation
letter. This will contain all of your wedding information and is the final step in booking your wedding with us.
Once you receive confirmation, you are all set for your wedding at the Asheville Botanical Garden!