James A Michener Museum:
A Artistic Indoor/Outdoor Setting

The Michener Museum is a particularly unique combination of art, nature, and modernity. When you pair this unique wedding venue with the Catering By Design team (also behind Bolingbroke Mansion and downtown favorites ONE North Broad and the College of Physicians ), you'll have a memory for the history books!

Things we love about the Michener Museum:

The variety
The Michener Museum offers expansive options for perfect portraits. With its numerous graceful gardens lush with leafy greens and colorful blooms, alluring sculptures and works of art scattered throughout the grounds to get creative with. The modern facets of the museum intertwined with the charming stone architecture surrounding the front entrance create even more spectacular spaces.
The reception space
The large room big enough to house over 150 guests- with plenty of space for dancing- is surrounded on three sides by the vast floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The clear glass not only allows an amazing amount of natural light, but it also helps to make the space feel even bigger when filled with party guests. It also helps encourage guests to connect out into the sculpture garden throughout the reception
The accessibility
Most couples have older family or guests with mobility issues. The free parking lot close in the rear, series of ramps leading to the entrance and reception space, and accessible doors help to ensure the family can also enjoy the day with no worries of how to include everyone safely.
The museum
You can have the option to keep selected galleries available for your guests to enjoy throughout your cocktail hour. So if your friends & family are more of an art crowd and less inclined to be happy just drinking & small talking, this is a great diversion.

The Michener Museum:
Things to Plan Around for Your Wedding

For us, it's hard to see anything we don't love about the Michener Museum, but over the years, there are a few things you'll want to plan around for your

Things to consider about the Michener Museum:

The Bridal Suite
If you choose to get ready at the Michener Museum, they have a pretty spacious conference room that you'll have access to with two walls of windows. However, most brides that we've worked with choose to keep the blinds down, because these windows over look the sculpture garden (and therefore are usually buzzing about with wedding preparations). If you're not comfortable with opening the blinds for some beautiful light once you're decently covered, we recommend finding a nearby hotel as an alternative getting ready location.
Open to the Public
The museum does not close to the public until late afternoon, so there may be visitors throughout the day to navigate while finding the perfect place for portraits. But with the limitless options, we always have somewhere fairly private to capture our couples and their loved ones, even if there is the occasional curious onlooker watching from afar.
Wear sunscreen
The outdoor courtyard is exceptionally enchanting with its luring fountains, sculptural pieces, and large open space. But on a bright sunny day, it can become a home for harsh light shining down on your ceremony and make it hard to keep those eyes open portrait time. We always think it is important to make sure to tour the space at the same time of day as your ceremony will be and consider the placement of the sun when planning out your ceremony configurations.
Respect the artists
Although most of the sculptural elements on the grounds are a part of the museum's permanent collections and therefore are fair game for portraits, some of the artwork cannot appear even in the backgrounds of photos, particularly if you'd like to submit your wedding for any sort of publication. It is important for us to be considerate and respectful of the artists and museum policies while also capturing your meaningful day.