planning a Atlanta Wedding

What To Know First

• The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta notes on its wedding page that a Fulton County marriage license is applied for in person by the couple. Source.
• Hotels in this guide list wedding planning help on their own pages. Several Marriott family hotels name Marriott Certified Wedding Planners, and The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta gives couples a list of recommended wedding planners and works with your own planner. Source.
• Room blocks for out of town guests are offered on the wedding pages of Loews Atlanta Hotel, Epicurean Atlanta, Bellyard and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. 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.

Choosing A Neighborhood

Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown each give a hotel wedding a different feel. Buckhead has the grand hotels along Peachtree Road and the Paces Ferry roads. Midtown puts you among the towers, close to the Fox Theatre and the restaurants of Peachtree Street. Downtown has the largest ballrooms in the city, built for big guest lists. The compare table lists every hotel with its neighborhood and seated guest count.

Building The Weekend

The best thing about a hotel wedding is that the whole weekend can happen in one place. Plan the welcome party or rehearsal dinner in a restaurant or private dining room, the wedding in the ballroom or on the terrace, and a farewell brunch the next morning. Ask each hotel how many rooms you can hold in a block and until what date.

A Sample Day, Built From The Sunset

• Getting ready in a suite 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 for the city lights.

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

When To Book

Saturdays in spring and fall are the most asked for dates at Atlanta hotels, so start there if your date is fixed. If it is flexible, ask each hotel about a Friday or a Sunday, or a winter date, when food and beverage minimums are often lower. Book the photographer and filmmaker soon after the venue, because the best dates go for us too.

Questions For Every Hotel Tour

• What is the seated number for our guest count with a dance floor?
• What is the food and beverage minimum on our date, and what is included?
• Which room is the backup if we plan anything outside?
• Where can we take portraits, and which public areas are off limits?
• How many rooms can we hold in a block, and until when?
• Can the rehearsal dinner and the brunch happen in the hotel?

Getting Married In Georgia

The license comes from the Probate Court. The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta notes on its wedding page that a Fulton County license is applied for in person, so book your appointment early and check the county's own page for the current fee and what to bring.