Photo: Kevin Wimpy Weddings at Carnton Your wedding will go down in history… From two American Presidents to socialites at soirees, Historic Carnton Plantation has been a gathering place for ladies and gentlemen over the last two centuries. Now, the history of Carnton has been memorialized in the best-selling novel The Widow of the South. Make your wedding a part of our tradition as you wed in the one-acre 1847 restored garden under our magnificent one hundred fifty-year-old Osage orange tree or on one of the two Greek Revival porches of the house. Then host your reception under the star-speckled sky in the garden or in the brand new Fleming Center. To treat your guests to a true back-in-time experience, we will open the 1826 McGavock family home and invite them inside for a walk-through tour and glimpse into the history of Tennessee.

Wedding and Reception Options

Option 1: Exclusive use of the grounds including the Fleming Center, gardens, and area around house and porches for your wedding and/or reception Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

$3,000 – Wedding location is either on one of the porches, in or around the Fleming Center, or in the garden area. Reception is in the fenced area adjacent to the garden or in the Fleming Center. Set up begins at 9 a.m. on the day of the event. Wedding may begin any time of the day in the garden; after 5:30 on the porches and Fleming Center. Reception must end by 11:00 p.m. with clean-up completed by midnight. All rentals: tents, tables, chairs, etc. are the responsibility of the renter and must be rented through Music City Tents and Events. Rental includes use of the bridal changing room, a one-hour rehearsal the day before the event and a two-hour photo session for your bridal portraits. Center + Patio Capacity: 250, Garden Capacity: 500

Option 2: Wedding and/or reception in the garden Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

$2,000 – Wedding location is either on one of the porches or in the garden area. Reception is in the fenced area adjacent to the garden. Set up begins at 9 a.m. on the day of the event. Wedding may begin any time of the day in the garden; after 5:30 on the porches. Reception must end by 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 p.m. on Sunday with clean-up completed by midnight. All rentals: tent, tables, chairs, etc. are the responsibility of the renter and must be rented through Music City Tents and Events. Rental includes use of the bridal changing room, a one-hour rehearsal the day before the event and a two-hour photo session for your bridal portraits. Garden Capacity: 500

Option 3: Rehearsal Dinner or reception ONLY Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

$2,000 – You may use the Fleming Center for your rehearsal dinner or wedding reception. Rehearsal dinner or Reception must begin after 5:30 pm and must end by 11:00 pm with clean up done by midnight. Set up for event may begin at or after 3 pm.

Option 4: Exclusive use of the grounds including the Fleming Center and gardens for your wedding and/or reception Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

$1,000 – Wedding location is either on one of the porches, in or around the Fleming Center, or in the garden area. Reception is in the fenced area adjacent to the garden or in the Fleming Center. Set up begins at 9 a.m. on the day of the event. Wedding may begin any time of the day in the garden; after 5:30 on the porches and Fleming Center. Reception must end by 10:00 p.m. with clean-up completed by midnight. All rentals: tent, tables, chairs, etc. are the responsibility of the renter and must be rented through Music City Tents and Events. Rental includes use of the bridal changing room, a one-hour rehearsal the day before the event and a two-hour photo session for your bridal portraits. Center + Patio Capacity: 250, Garden Capacity: 500

Add-on House Tours
$350 – The house will be opened for one hour, immediately after the ceremony, for a walk-through tour of the house.

Add-on Cleaning Fee
$150 – Major cleaning of all food and drink trash is the responsibility of the renter. Carnton provides use of a large dumpster for trash removal. For a fee of $150, Carnton will clean the grounds of flowers and any other non-perishable items. This fee is MANDATORY if use of the Fleming Center is included in the rental.

Music City Tent and Event Rentals is Carnton’s exclusive vendor for tents and other rentals. Call Janette Jay Sherley at 298-9222 or email her, jsherley@musiccitytents.com for all your rental needs.

You may choose any licensed caterer. Alcohol - served by a licensed bartender - may be served. Proof of insurance by any outside vendor is required and must be submitted to Carnton Plantation at least two weeks in advance.

To truly make your event go down in history, choose Historic Carnton Plantation.

Contact: Elizabeth Stout
1345 Carnton Lane, Franklin, TN 37064
Telephone: 615-794-0903
Fax: 615-794-6563
www.carnton.org
elizabeth@carnton.org

The following photos were featured in Modern Bride:

Photos: Michael Howard

Wedding Testimonials

Our daughter's wedding at Carnton was absolutely beautiful last October 26. Elizabeth was a joy to work with in the planning! – Bette.

Dear Margie, Elizabeth and Lisa, Thank you so much for helping RHS have its best prom ever! The kids and teachers were absolutely thrilled with the beauty of Carnton and the historical setting! Our experience was wonderful and couldn’t have been possible without your staff. Thank you again for your help in giving the kids a once in a lifetime memory! Sincerely, Barb – Co-chair.

Historic Carnton Plantation, thank you so much for letting us get married in your beautiful garden! Carnton will always be special to us. Thank you for the gift bag full of goodies! Elizabeth, thank you for everything! Our wedding was an event that our friends and family will never forget! Thanks again! Love, Jason and Trisha.

Elizabeth, Thank you so much for your flexibility with the dates for our wedding. You have gone above and beyond. Thank you, Cheryl.

Dear Carnton, It’s a little late, but thank you for helping us throw such an amazing wedding at Carnton! Our July 5th wedding was so perfect and Carnton was so amazingly picturesque! We’re certain that no other venue would have been adequate. Thank you! Emily and Eric.

Carnton Plantation was a perfect venue for our summer wedding and reception. The gardens were absolutely beautiful and it the location was great for our guests who were from Illinois and Minnesota! I can't tell you how many people we've had tell us our wedding was the most beautiful wedding they've ever seen because of the gorgeous tree we married under, the gardens, and the house itself. As our party favor, we opened Carnton to guests for a tour while we took our photos after the wedding. It gave the guests something to do while we took our pictures and it was really interesting too! – Beth.

We absolutely loved Carnton Plantation! It is a beautiful venue with gorgeous natural surroundings that require no decorating at all. They underwent a change in wedding coordinators while we were planning, but the transition, at least for us, went relatively smoothly. They were extremely flexible and quick to answer my questions.– Meagan.