planning a Buckhead Wedding

What To Know First

• Both people must appear in person at the Fulton County Probate Court with current ID to get a marriage license, and the license does not expire. Source.
• If neither person lives in Georgia, the license must come from the county where the ceremony happens, which is Fulton County for Buckhead. Source.
• The Fulton County license fee is $68.50, or $28.50 with a certificate from a qualified premarital education program, and each includes one mailed certified copy. Source.
• Georgia no longer requires premarital blood tests. Source.

How I Would Pick The Time

Set the ceremony from the sunset, not the other way around. Portraits start about an hour before it, and twenty minutes right at sunset is worth more than an hour at noon.

One Venue Or Two

Many Buckhead couples marry in a church and celebrate somewhere else. If you do, ask the church how long the ceremony slot runs, ask the reception venue when your guests can arrive, and leave real time for the drive in Peachtree Road traffic. If you would rather keep everyone in one place, the hotels, the Atlanta History Center and the Buckhead Club all say they can host both.

Church Rules To Check Early

Several Buckhead churches publish their wedding rules and fees. Some host members only, some charge members and non members different rates, and most set their own rules for music and photography during the service. Read the policy before you set a date, and send it to me so I know where I can stand.

A Sample Day, Built From The Sunset

• Getting ready in a room with a big window, about five hours before sunset.
• A first look and portraits of the two of you, about three hours before sunset.
• Family and wedding party photographs right after.
• The ceremony about ninety minutes before sunset.
• Cocktail hour, while I take the two of you out for golden hour.
• Dinner and toasts, then ten minutes outside at blue hour.

Move every line together if your ceremony time is fixed by a church, and protect the golden hour portraits. They are the photographs couples frame.

The Rehearsal Dinner

Buckhead has many restaurants with private rooms that say they host rehearsal dinners. Ask each one for its seated number, whether you can have the room to yourselves, and what time you have to be out.

Questions For Every Tour

• What is the seated number for our guest count with a dance floor?
• What does the rental include, and what is the food and beverage minimum on our date?
• Where does the ceremony go if it rains, and when do we decide?
• Where can we take portraits, and which areas are off limits?
• What time can vendors load in, and when does the music stop?