Sarah P. Duke Gardens

the other side of the White Garden so we wouldn't have to walk through the garden to get to our 'starting' spot for the procession. The staff were wonderful to work with and answered all our questions. We could not be more pleased with our choice!

in the Doris Duke Center. It was the perfect location for an outdoor wedding and indoor reception. The garden was beautiful and well taken care of. I would definitely recommend this venue for a wedding or any other special event. Marcia, the coordinator at Doris Duke Center, is so nice and so easy to work with.

ho was dealing with my planning at duke gardens wasn't even there. You also have to take the risk of somebody who rude and unplugging the outlet to the stero and having you music cut off in the middle of your ceremony. Which happend to me.i could of killed somebody. Also your not allowed to have your flower girls through any flowers. No guests can blow bubbles or through rice. And there wasn't even anywhere for us to put our guest book and pen. It sucked. :(

e Amphitheater behind the Doris Duke Center. Our reception was inside the Doris Duke Center. The breathtakingly beautiful surroundings coupled with the convenience of the reception only steps away makes it a fantastic place for a wedding.

ere is no rain backup plan so be ready with umbrellas if it rains! It's quite expensive but we received lots of compliments on the venue.

antastic; the wood is beautiful, the lighting wonderful, and the layout of the space just right for a small to medium reception (around 150 people). We managed to secure both the Duke Chapel and the Duke Gardens for our September 22nd wedding and the weather and spaces could not have been more perfect. Securing both was rather difficult as there is no coordination between the Chapel and the Gardens and communication with the Gardens can be a bit of a struggle at times, but in the end everything turned out beautifully. If you can reserve the space you will not regret it!

ens and the Doris Duke Center we were told that the original contract for receptions held there was only for 3 hours. At the time we were unsure how long we wanted the reception to be for, and we were told that if we wanted to add an additional hour we could go ahead and sign the contract that day and to just let them know later about adding an hour and it would not be a problem at all. So, this is what we did. We told the event staff that we wanted to add another hour for a reception of 4 hours and booked all the vendors for 4 hours as well. At our reception, an event staff member I had not met before told us to get out after only 3 hours. He was exceptionally rude. He told us that he had to get out or pay a fine for the extra hour. Since it was our plan to pay for the extra hour anyway we told him that was fine. He then changed his mind and said he just had to get out now. We had to rush last dances, leave wedding cake uneaten on tables, skip wedding favors, and hurry through the sendoff. To top it off the Doris Duke Center is refusing to reimburse us for this enormous inconvenience of 1. getting kicked out of our own wedding, and 2. paying all other vendors for 4 hours of service. NO VENUE is worth what this place charges to be treated as poorly as they treated my family, myself, and my wedding planner.

ola in the Terrace Gardens)...beautiful, especially with all of the flowers in bloom! It was the perfect space for our ceremony. Note that the gardens will only allow 50 chairs for that specific location. If you have more guests in attendance, I would recommend the Amphitheater. A few of things to note: (1) Saturdays fill up fast (up to a year in advance), so call the Special Events Coordinator to hold your reservation. (2) If your are planning an outdoor wedding in Durham, note that there are usually heavy thunderstorms during the last week of June. (3) If you do choose to get married in the summertime, try to hold your ceremony in the morning hours. It is not as hot (we chose to have a ceremony at 10:30a in the early June).

..it was amazing and beautiful..loved loved it and so did all of our guests! Made for beautiful pictures!

do suggest you do a rehearsal onsite, no matter how casual your wedding. The day before our wedding there was bright yellow rope around some grass behind the pond....directly in line of ALL pictures to come. Thankfully the garden staff were still onsite and they kindly removed it and all was perfect. Even if you aren't a Dukie...it is hands-down a wonderful outdoor wedding location!