5.0
Praised by couples for:
Amenities
Quality catering
Guests comfort
Where natural history meets timeless romance
Holds ceremonies and receptions
Gorgeous venue! The event coordinator was very helpful. The approved and recommended vendors were great as well.
Brooke W.
5.0
Fernbank is a beautiful venue! We had our first date there, and my fiancé proposed there, so it was incredible to round it all out with our wedding. The staff is communicative, friendly, and easy to work with. We actually had our point of contact change twice throughout the planning process, but each transition was quite smooth and didn’t lead to any bumps in the road for us. We’ve gotten so many compliments from guests about how cool our venue was. If you’re looking for something really unique, Fernbank is the place for you!
Tia B.
5.0
Deals
OfferPermanent
Great Hall/ Cafe rental
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OfferPermanent
Great Hall/Star Gallery rental
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AWARD WINNER
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Nestled on 65 acres of pristine forest in Atlanta, GA, Fernbank Museum of Natural History offers couples an extraordinary wedding venue where natural history meets timeless romance. Whether you dine beneath towering dinosaurs in the Great Hall, exchange vows under a constellation-lit ceiling in the Star Gallery, or celebrate al fresco on our forest-view terrace, our iconic spaces create unforgettable moments that will leave your guests in awe.
Event Spaces & Capacity
The Great Hall -Our signature space features an 86-foot glass ceiling that bathes the room in natural light, with magnificent dinosaur skeletons creating an awe-inspiring backdrop. Rental includes access to the Lobby.
Accommodates: up to 500 guests for a standing reception and 350 guests for a seated dinner.
Rental fess: $6,000 on Saturdays and $5,500 Sunday - Friday.
Fernbank Café —a modern, elegant space with expansive forest views.
Accommodates: Up to 125 guests for a standing reception, 100 for a seated dinner, and 200 for a ceremony.
Rental fees: $3,500 on Saturdays and $3,000 on Sundays (please note, there is a $6,000 rental minimum for Saturday evening events)
Star Gallery- Romance meets wonder in this dramatically lit space featuring a fiber optic ceiling that displays the constellations.
Accommodates: Up to 125 guests for a standing reception and 100 for a seated dinner, and 200 for a ceremony.
Rental fees: $3,000 on Saturdays and $2,500 Sunday - Friday (please note, there is a $6,000 rental minimum for Saturday evening events) .
Stephensen Hall (Up to 300 guests for a standing reception, 150 for a ceremony). Perfect for your ceremony and cocktail receptions.
Additional Spaces: Terrace, Plaza, conference rooms, exhibition galleries, and our Giant Screen Theater offer even more possibilities. Total venue capacity reaches up to 2,500 guests for standing receptions.
Services & Amenities
Included with Rental:
• Tables, chairs, and dance floor
• Get-ready room for the wedding party
• Event setup and breakdown
• Complimentary on-site parking
Available Services:
• Full beverage service with beer, wine, and liquor ($4,000 beverage minimum on Saturday evenings). Specialty cocktails, martinis, craft beers, and special orders upon request
• Approved catering vendors to select from
• Private exhibit and giant screen theater rental
34+ years in business
Speaks English
Small team (2-10 members)
Amenities + details
Amenities
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
Ballroom
Historic Venue
Museum
Venue Service Offerings
Bar & Drinks
Awards and Affiliations
2012 'Best of Weddings'
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.012 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 2
Brooke W
5.0
Gorgeous venue! The event coordinator was very helpful. The approved and recommended vendors were great as well.
Tia B
5.0
Fernbank is a beautiful venue! We had our first date there, and my fiancé proposed there, so it was incredible to round it all out with our wedding. The staff is communicative, fri...
endly, and easy to work with. We actually had our point of contact change twice throughout the planning process, but each transition was quite smooth and didn’t lead to any bumps in the road for us. We’ve gotten so many compliments from guests about how cool our venue was. If you’re looking for something really unique, Fernbank is the place for you!
Any questions?
Colie T
5.0
Fernbank was such an amazing venue for our reception, and our guests couldn't stop raving about it! After looking at another wedding venue, we landed on Fernbank because they can a...
ccommodate large groups, and it's reasonably priced compared to other venues. Their caterer list has good, well-known places to work with, and their bar package has good options as well. Lauren was great to work with through the entire process! She helped us design the floorplan for the cocktail hour and reception, and made our night run smoothly! Even if you aren't as nerdy as me, the great hall truly transforms into an beautiful event space, and it felt good supporting a local museum I've been visiting since I was a kid!
Sowing Clover P
5.0
I've photographed a couple weddings at Fernbank and its truly one of the best venues in Atlanta. I've shot over 150 weddings across the southeast and this is one of my favorite lo...
cations. The amount of creative space both inside and outside to work with in making portraits in almost unending. Also, it's just a very classy environment. I hope to photograph another wedding here soon! - Chris Jones
Kaylyn J
5.0
The Fernbank Museum is such an awesome and special wedding venue! As museum buffs and science nerds, we loved having our wedding at Fernbank, and our guests really enjoyed the uni...
que space! Lauren was also amazing to work with and did an excellent job making sure that everything was perfect for our wedding!
Lauren J
5.0
Y'all-best reception venue ever!!!!
We loved working with Lauren to have our wedding here. It was seriously one of the coolest venues (even taking away the dinosaurs)! The room its...
elf is gorgeous and there are so many amazing staircases to take pictures on. My husband and I stood on one that looked out at the dance floor and we just watched everyone have a fun time from above. It was SO cool. Lauren was also SO easy to work with!!
This is also a super affordable venue if you have a wedding on the larger side. We had around 260 people fit very comfortably in the space. They also include a ton of other areas in the museum (in/outside) for cocktail hour. You do have to use their preferred vendors for catering, but wasn't an issue because Bold was out of this world. Our guests absolutely loved everything about Fernbank! Thanks again Lauren!
Response from Fernbank Museum of Natural History
It was so wonderful working with you and your husband on your wedding, and I am so happy t...
o hear that everything went well! Thank you for the kind words and I wish you both the best in your marriage!
Miranda G
5.0
Everything was perfect! Sarah P. was such a pleasure to work with and she helped make our day wonderful, even when the weather tried to get in our way! We were all set up to have o...
ur ceremony outside and it started pouring; they were able to turn it around with just 30 minutes left so that we could have our ceremony indoors. And while it wasn't what we had originally planned, it was absolutely beautiful!
The only down side to using this venue was that we had to reach a beverage minimum for our Saturday evening wedding and we had to choose from one of their 6 accepted caterers. But they made up for it with excellent catering options, good drinks, and other great services. Fernbank provides a dance floor, tables, and chairs for your event, which really helped make up for the everything else. And the lighting in their space was already perfect so we didn't have to hire another vendor.
We really couldn't have asked for anything more from our wedding venue.
Ashley S
5.0
We loved having our wedding at Fernbank! Everything went as planned, and it was a gorgeous venue. It was nice to be able to have the ceremony and reception at one location since we...
had a lot of out of town guests that didn't know the area very well. Sarah was amazing to work with, she responded promptly to each and every one of my many emails. Im so glad that we were able to create memories at this amazing venue.
Stephanie H
5.0
We had our recent wedding at Fernbank, it was awesome! We had our ceremony in the cafe, cocktail hour upstairs in the entrance area, and our reception in the great hall (with the ...
dinosaur). It was such a great space and didn't need much decoration (we didn't have flowers, rather we had some uplighting which was great). Their event coordinator, Sarah, was great and so helpful and nice. I would definitely recommend Fernbank as a great wedding venue.
Lynsey S
5.0
We LOVED the museum the moment we drove up the drive.
Jennifer was the best part of the whole event she was helpful even though I did not have a wedding planner. She was there ...
for us every step of the way and the main dinosaur hall was GORGEOUS.
Samantha W
5.0
We just had our wedding at Fernbank, and it was the most amazing venue. It was completely transformed, and so beautiful! Our guests were blown away. Britain, the events coordinator...
we worked with, was amazing every step of the way. We wouldn't have changed a thing!
Katie K
5.0
Fernbank was a great venue for my wedding. I had my ceremony on the terrace and the reception in the Great Hall. It was beautiful and Britain, the event coordinator, was very helpf...
ul with the floor plan, walk-through, and set-up. She was also very accommodating with the possibility of a rain plan (even though it was unnecessary). And the best part - the dinosaurs made for amazing pictures!
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Fernbank Museum of Natural History
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