Callaway Resort & Gardens Reviews

We are so very grateful for the time and service extended for our special day!!! Thank you!!!

We had the wedding or our dreams at Callaway on 3/18/2017! It was a small intimate wedding that started at Ida Mason Chapel, which was absolutely beautiful.. words cannot describe this little chapel. Then we had the outdoor reception in the Ironwood Courtyard at the Lodge and Spa, beautiful outdoor venue, with huge fireplace! There were a variety of rooms for guests to stay in, from budget in the Mountain View inn ( pet friendly btw) to the Lodge and Spa rooms which were gorgeous! We stayed there for your wedding night, and Leslie Brown, the wedding consultant , upgraded us to a
exquisite suite at no extra charge! Since most of the guests were family , the stayed in the Southern Pines cottages, which are walking distance to the reception area. These were very nice, slept 8 and very affordable. We were disappointed that it was raining the morning of our wedding, as we were afraid that we were going to have to move the reception inside, but Leslie watched the weather...and waited. and waited.. and finally it blew over, and the set-up began around 3pm.. she know how much we wanted it outside.!
You cannot go wrong booking here .. it is just a beautiful setting and very affordable! The service is amazing.. The food was delicious.. since half of the guests were vegetarians, Leslie let us choose different food groups to be served. The price below was including the lodging, and we chose the Sycamore Package...You can spend a lot less and still have a beautiful wedding!

It was more than we had hoped for or imagined. Most of our guests have reached out to us to let us know how beautiful and enjoyable the entire weekend celebration was for them. Our cabin accommodations were comfortable and it was great having everyone close together. The staff couldn't have been more accommodating or gracious.

Callaway Gardens is a wonderful place to have a wedding. Very inpsirational and the staff is excellent. The staff at Callaway Gardens helped to make a special day just perfect.

We rented the Chapel for our wedding. Working with Sharon Raney was an absolute pleasure . Her professionalism accompanied with sincere caring was most appreciated . All went exactly as planned. The volunteer at the Chapel was also delightful . We could not have had a better experience.

Sharon Raney and her entire staff removed the stress from having a wedding and worrying what could go wrong. She was attentive and reassuring in all phases of the wedding weekend, which allow us and our guests to sit back and enjoy the very special occasion.

Callaway Gardens gave me the wedding of my dreams. They were more than accommodating in working to ensure that we received the venues we wanted, the hotel reservations we needed, and worked promptly to make all details come together as planned. Sharon, the wedding coordinator was a true joy to work with! She was there when I needed her night and day! She will work hard to make sure you get exactly what you want, and goes over and beyond to do so. Sharon and the staff at Callaway were exceptionally friendly, and I would highly recommend their services to anyone who is looking to have their wedding at Callaway Gardens. You won't be disappointed!

We had our wedding in the Ida Cason Callaway Chapel on 10/12/13. The Chapel is absolutely breathtaking with the stone floor and stain glass windows. The pipe organ that played before, during and after the wedding added just that special touch to make my wedding perfect. I would highly recommend the Chapel to anyone looking for a beautiful and unique setting for your ceremony.
The staff at Callaway Gardens were so helpful and went above and beyond my expectations. They walked me through every step of the way. I would highly recommend Callaway Gardens for the perfect Wedding.

Loved my wedding at Callaway in the Discovery Center! Would not have changed a THING!

Everything about our wedding at Callaway Gardens was like a storybook wedding. And, though many stresses preceeded the wedding, as often happens, the wedding went off without a hitch. We became engaged at Callaway, got married there, and will spend happy times there for years to come. Choose Callaway Gardens as a vacation spot if you are thinking about getting married, and remember that they can plan for a wedding at any venue within the gardens.

Excellent, romantic venues. Many choices for large or small intimate weddings. Superb food and service

Having the opportunity to create my own wedding package made the experience unforgettable. The courtesy and attentiveness of the staff was wonderful. I highly recommend using Callaway Gardens for your most memorable events.

We had our wedding in the Ida Cason Memorial Chapel and it was absolutely wonderful. We then had our reception at the Magnolia Hall. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and the staff worked with us in any way they could!

The service was wonderful. The staff was very helpful.

Our reception was held at the beautiful Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens. Absolutely beautiful venue for wedding reception.

Our wedding at Callaway was everything we hoped for! Our ceremony was in the Chapel and it was beautiful! There is so much natural beauty in the Chapel that a little candle light is all we needed. Our reception was at the Discovery Center and it was perfect! Sharon Raney the wedding coordinator at Callaway and the staff went above and beyond to make sure that our day was flawless. We truly could not have asked for more romantic and elegant spaces. The gardens created such a sweet place for our wedding! The food offered by the Callaway Chef was delicious! It was so much more than typical wedding food. They were also willing to tailor the menu to fit our specific needs and price point. Over all we had a very pleasant experience and have very fond memories of our wedding!

We got married in the Discovery Center at Callaway Gardens. The location was amazing. I was worried we may have to deal with rain so we chose an inside venue. Callaway cannot guarantee where they move your wedding or reception site if it rains, so we chose the Discovery Center so we would not have to worry about rain. I was personally glad we did this as it rained every day up to the wedding, but not the actual day. The staff was very friendly, professional and easy to work with. They are set in what they will or will not provide and there are additional costs for a lot of things. But it was totally worth it. The wedding was like a fairy tale. We got engaged at Callaway, got married there, and will continue to vacation there as often as possible as it has become a very special place to us. If you are looking for a fairytale wedding, Callaway is a great location.

We got married at the Sibley Center and loved the setting! The weather was very cold and so the doors were closed for everyone's comfort and then we had our reception at the Lodge. It was a beautiful ballroom even though I had never thought I would want to have a reception in a typical ballroom. Callaway was very flexible and made sure we had everything we needed- we loved the food choices and the service from all of the staff was outstanding!

It was a beautiful venue, but hard to keep people away from the wedding site during ceremony.

This is where my husband and I were wed. Callaway gardens is one of the most beautiful places around, and this is where I've wanted to be married since I was a little girl. The staff is SO nice, and they really bend over backwards to make sure that all your dreams come true. You can pick almost anywhere in the gardens in which to get married, which gives you a TON of options. Yes, it's expensive, but honestly it's worth it. The scenery is worth it in itself.

Choosing Callaway Gardens to marry was not a difficult choice. My husband and I have been members for years and I had been dreaming of the venue for our wedding for about as long. We were married March 5, 2022 and the daffodils were in full spectacular bloom and the garden was clearly waking up. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day.
The Ida Cason chapel is a small gothic stone chapel perfect for a smaller wedding. It is deep in the garden and does take a little effort to get to. That is part of the charm and we prepared our guests as to what to expect via our invitations. The chapel seats approx 75; our guest count was 50. Everyone had a seat and was comfortable. The chapel has beautiful stained glass windows depicting the four seasons. Because of the stained glass I found that simple decor - candles and a little greenery is all we needed. We had an early afternoon ceremony on a beautiful sunny day showing off the chapel as she should be. The cost was reasonable for the rental and we were allowed rehearsal time the evening before as well.
There is an organ and an organist that can be hired. However we used a small Bose speaker and a playlist. The acoustics are wonderful so whatever your musical style - you should be fine.
Our reception was in the Cypress Room at the Callaway Lodge and Spa on property. The room was set as desired including a dance floor. We hired 3 Goats Tall as our day of planner and Lynda did a wonderful job decorating and keeping everything running smoothly.
In addition to our reception we also hosted an informal lunch with my bridesmaids and rehearsal dinner for the wedding party Friday afternoon and evening at the Piedmont Dining Room at the Lodge and Spa. Their Chef is fantastic! The food is/was really good. There was no thing we put in our mouths that we didn’t really enjoy. The staff and servers at the Piedmont were attentive and friendly.
The girls had salads, sandwich’s and champagne, dinner was the Seafood Buffet as it was a Friday night and our wedding dinner consisted of seared pork tenderloin w caramelized onions, buttermilk mashed potatoes and broccolini. The seafood buffet had pretty much everything you could imagine from fish, to crab legs, to peel and eat shrimp, to made to order shrimp and grits and all the sides and desserts you could imagine. We will definitely be doing a date night or three.
All in all our experience was very positive and we would recommend this venue for a wedding or other event.

This is a beautiful venue, but it was difficult to cordinate.

The cost was high, but it did included 5 apps, 1 full dinner, and an open bar. Since they require you to use them for everything (catering, rentals, etc.) except the cake and DJ, you are limited to what they have to offer.

They can customize your wedding in any way you choose which is nice and there are a million diffirent locations inside the garden that you can choose from.

We had some difficulty, but nothing major, and over all it was a beautiful wedding.

The end result was wonderful.

However, if I had to do it again I am not sure I would. The contract was confusing with the weather section. The weather section said if the National Weather Service said a chance higher than 30 percent that day, that the venue would be moved. There was nothing about the day before, if the ground was wet, etc. It was very stressful waiting because there was no idea of if they were going to go by the contract or not. It also didn't say 30 percent or higher, so that was very misleading.

I didn't like the way the vendors broke down the ceremony area at the Sibley while we were taking pictures and during the reception. It looked very tacky. Also during the ceremony you could see them still setting up for the reception with the plates, etc. when we were told they would have enough time to have everything set up if they started as late as 2.

I felt the wedding coordinator should have been at the rehearsal that night to help answer last minute things.

We also had issues with our tasting. We didn't taste until a few days before the wedding when the contract said we would be schedule (I think ) like 30 days before to taste. We know there was a mix up in our menu and prices because a guy got fired, but we were not notified of this until we went to the tasting and we made out the menu back in November/December.

I also felt like with a nice place as the Sibley is that the room to get dressed should be set up a little nicer and user friendly-like air conditioning. I just feel these things would add to making someone feel the money that they are receiving for the venue is 100% worth it.

The event was beautiful and the food was delicious. It caused a lot of stress that the tables, etc were not ready until 2 hours after the agreed upon time so that the bride could put on her finishing touches. Also, the Callaway Gardens Billing office still has not returned calls about billing questions after repeated messages. They can not account for an extra $2000 on our bill and will not return my call. It may be a justified amount, but I wouldn't know.

What a heartbreaking experience. We were so excited for our small wedding at the chapel, where my family has gone for decades and where my grandmother's funeral had been held just a few years ago. Unfortunately, that was set to happen in April of 2020, and when it became apparent that that date was definitely not going to work, we managed to find a backup date in September (when all of this was sure to have blown over by). At that point, before they all went home, Callaway staff were willing to offer us a refund on our deposit, but we didn't want that. We wanted to still have our fairy tale wedding. However, when it became apparent that we weren't going to be able to fly, and that it would be highly irresponsible if not downright illegal to squeeze 75 people into that chapel, we finally gave up on having an in-person wedding in 2020 at all. At that point, we emailed repeatedly and left multiple voicemails, but have yet to hear back from them. As a wedding vendor myself, I get how hard last year was all around. But I also have a certain expectation of integrity, both for other vendors that I work with and Callaway Gardens as an entity that I grew up with and have cherished as a really special place since I was quite young. It pains me to have to say it, but I'm deeply disappointed in their handling of this. And with mandates and regulations potentially changing all the time for as long as this pandemic sticks around, I'd be hard-pressed to encourage anyone to entrust Callaway with a deposit at this point. If they can ghost me and stiff me for two grand, they can do it to you for the much larger sums that most of their packages involve.