douglas ellington house wedding
wedding venue guideUpon my first arrival at the Douglas Ellington, I was astounded that a place such as this was only a short drive away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Asheville. I parked my little Subaru in the gravel parking lot and looked up into the tree canopy, gently swaying with the breeze as a hawk screeched in the distance. The only sounds to be heard was the faint trickle of a stream and Lauren’s footsteps as she walked out to greet me.
As we walked up the hill, the house slowly revealed itself through the dense foliage. Once we reached the clearing, there it was, the home perfectly framed by the trees along the stream - it felt like peering into an oil painting from long ago. To this day I still can’t believe a home as historic and full of life allows weddings to be hosted there. A living museum indeed.
Amanda and Danny’s Douglas Ellington House wedding highlighted all the best there is about the venue, with a welcome dinner hosted in the grand hall and their ceremony in the meadow the next day. Nature made its presence known during the ceremony, with a three-legged-bear and screeching pair of red tailed hawks in attendance.
Guests are welcome to explore the grounds all throughout cocktail hour and the reception, before hopping on the trolley to take them to the Pulp (a basement bar located inside the famous Orange Peel) to party all night long. The happy couple stayed on site at the cottage, soaking in the last of the landscape the day after their wedding before returning back to reality.
In this Post
The Story Behind the Douglas Ellington House
The Douglas Ellington Home was aptly named after its former owner and architect, Douglas Ellington. He was an internationally renowned architect local to Asheville, NC, and was primarily known for his Art Deco style of architecture. Much of Asheville’s historic architecture was thanks to Douglas Ellington, and you can still find the buildings he designed today.
The S&W cafeteria, Asheville City Building, First Baptist Church, and the Asheville High School all carry his fingerprints. Remnants from those builds were taken to the Douglas Ellington Home to create what you see today. You can feel the love and passion he had for creating unique and beautifully designed spaces the moment you step across the threshold into his home. This was his passion project and he was adamant about building the home entirely by hand, and it shows in every corner and detail.
You can read more about the history of the home on the Douglas Ellington website, Wikipedia page, and in countless hardcover books and periodicals sure to be discovered in the Asheville library and bookstores.
Today, the property includes:
A late 19th century, historic stone and brick home
8 acres of private Appalachian splendor including grassy field, stream running through the property, storybook home, old growth forest
One-bedroom cottage, available to book and stay the night in
Douglas Ellington Venue: Quick Facts
Location: Asheville, NC (Blue Ridge Mountains)
Venue type: Historic home and garden
Property size: 8 acres
Ceremony locations: 3 options
On-site lodging: 1 Cottage, reserved exclusively for the happy couple
Best months: September & October
Getting Ready at the Douglas Ellington House
Amanda and Danny stayed at the one-bedroom cottage on site for their wedding weekend, so naturally they got ready on the property the morning of their wedding.
Amanda in the cottage and Danny in the upstairs bedroom with the Juliet balcony. Their close friends were fluttering in and out of the cottage and home all morning, while Amanda and Danny stayed tucked away in their respective spaces. The excitement of what the day held was palpable.
Amanda’s Space / The Cottage
The cottage has little natural light and felt a bit…cozy with 2 hair and makeup artists, 2 photographers and 1 Super 8 filmmaker, Amanda, and her closest friends. So we opted to pare down our camera gear to just the essentials (2 cameras max/each) and to take turns photographing her getting ready, with only 1 photographer from our team in the cottage at a time.
Doing so kept the energy of the room calmer, and allowed more space for us to navigate the room to find the best light and angles. We used what natural light that was available (mainly in the bathroom), flash, and creatively utilizing the headlamps from the makeup artists to photograph this portion of the day.
Danny’s Space / Juliet Balcony Room
Danny’s room, located upstairs in the main house at the end of the hall, also didn’t have much natural lighting to utilize so we opened the door to the balcony to let in as much light as possible. His room had more space for us to move around in (and he naturally didn’t have any hair and makeup artists), so it was much easier to photograph.
We were able to use primarily natural light for his photos, with the occasional flash image. I would say you could comfortably fit 3-4 people total in this room, but any more would start to feel tight.
The Ceremony
One of the highlights of Amanda and Danny’s ceremony (among many things) is the three legged bear who hobbled in to watch - the unexpected guest of the year. The bear is local to Chunn’s cove and likely wandered over because he could smell the delicious food from Mikasa Asheville. He sat in the treeline, watching the couple say their vows, for the entire duration of the ceremony.
Meanwhile, a pair of red tailed hawks flew overhead and screeched their approval. Suffice it to say, there truly is magic at the Douglas Ellington.
There are 3 distinct ceremony sites at the Douglas Ellington, listed below ↓
The Open Meadow
The ceremony for A + D was in the grassy meadow, with the home perched on the hill in the background. As the wedding began, Amanda gracefully descended the home’s stairs and into the hands of Danny as he awaited at the bottom. Together, they walked over the river bridge and to their ceremony, hand in hand.
The Front Steps
One of the most iconic locations on the property is the front steps at the base of the home. With the sounds of the trickling stream and wind rustling the leaves high in the trees, you’re immediately enchanted by the land’s attraction. And who knows? There might really be fairies hiding in the tiger lilies.
A stagelike and perhaps the most perfect entrance into this historic building.
The Heart of the Home
Another location you could choose for your ceremony is inside the home in what used to be the grand dining room. Historical artifacts and original artwork from Douglas Ellington adorn the walls and shelves with the chandelier overhead softly illuminating the room. You feel as if you’re a part of history while you create your own.
This struck me as the antithesis of a barn, country club, or otherwise “traditional” wedding venue.
Portraits Around the Property
For their individual portraits, we photographed them in 2 different spaces: Amanda’s was taken just outside the cottage in the small grassy lawn under the trees, and Danny’s indoors in the grand hall.
I wanted to highlight the venue with 2 distinct locations for their individual portraits. For their portraits together, we utilized the golden hour sunlight near the reception tent in the large grassy lawn and highlighted the cocktail hour space with a few portraits near the side of the house (in front of the cocktail hour bar).
Home Exterior
I would first take you all around the perimeter of the house to photograph you among the unique architecture before going across the bridge to the grassy meadow. I want to highlight the uniqueness of the entire property, what makes it special, and capturing its spirit (and yours) in a single photograph.
Meadow
A little grassy patch near the gravel parking lot had the most beautiful sunset light right before dinnertime. It came streaming through the trees, and the smoke from the catering briefly caught the sunlight, streaming rays of light right onto the couple.
Wrought Iron Gate
One location that I feel like has been overlooked is the wrought iron gate near the cottage that goes down to a separate parking lot. It feels medieval and otherworldly.
Indoors
And of course, there is the inside of the house, filled with charm and character and all the motifs and objects that truly make the Douglas Ellington a home. While it is dark indoors, there are plenty of ways to creatively photograph this space.
The Reception +
after Party
The cocktail hour flowed seamlessly into the reception because the guests were able to wander all over the grounds and the space invited guests to join the reception tent.
Most of cocktail hour happened near the main house and at the lawn at the bottom of the stairs while the reception space was located at the top of the hill across from the bridge. It’s a bit difficult to articulate the size and scale of the space without seeing it yourself, but it is more expansive than you might think.
Since the Douglas Ellington is a historic home in a populated neighborhood, there is no dancing or loud music allowed at the venue.
So, Amanda and Danny hosted their reception dinner here under a large tent before inviting their guests to hop on the trolley to join them at the Pulp for partying late into the night. There were multiple trolleys for guests to easily hop on and off, perfect for large groups, and they were dropped off directly in front of the Pulp.
The Pulp is a basement bar underneath the historic Orange Peel, and yes, it’s definitely as cool as it sounds.
What a Douglas Ellington House Wedding Day Looks Like
For reference, this is what Amanda and Danny’s wedding day at the Douglas Ellington looked like from start to finish. They prioritized individual portraits prior to the ceremony with no first look to save that moment for the aisle. And instead of traditional group photos, they opted for a brief private, family-only cocktail hour so the couple could be photographed spending quality time with their folks instead of lining up for group photos.
A+D booked Douglas Ellington for Friday - Sunday and stayed at the on-site cottage.
For photography, they booked us for a full wedding day of photography and Super 8 coverage, entirely on film.
Wedding Day Timeline
2:00 PM: Photography begins. Getting ready in the cottage and main house
3:15–4:30 PM: Portraits (no first look; solo portraits)
4:30–5:15 PM: Guests arrive by trolley every 15 minutes
5:30 PM: Ceremony (about 15 minutes long)
5:45–6:45 PM: Cocktail hour, starting with a private family cocktail hour for group photos, then couple portraits
7:00 PM: Welcome and dinner in the tent
7:45 PM: Cake cutting
8:30–9:15 PM: Trolleys to the after-party at Pulp
9:20 PM: Amanda and Danny leave for Pulp
9:30–9:40 PM: Photo op with Orange Peel Marquee and grand entrance to reception
10:30 PM: Late-night food
Midnight: Photography wraps
Timeline tips:
Start getting-ready photography coverage near the end of getting ready, so photos don’t show half-done makeup.
Head straight to family photos after the ceremony before guests leave their seats so you’re not pulled into a receiving line.
Keep group photos to about 15 minutes, and make them feel like a gathering instead of a lineup for candid photos of everyone. Note: This is only feasible if there are fewer than 10 group photos.
Where to Stay Near the Douglas Ellington House
There are countless lodging options for you and your guests near the Douglas Ellington House. With close proximity to downtown Asheville and the Haw Creek area, you’ll surely find an option that fits your tastes.
Airbnb
For starters, there is always Airbnb. I recommend looking in the Haw Creek, Montford, or Biltmore Forest neighborhoods. The homes in Montford and Biltmore Forest are usually historic and beautifully upkept, whereas Haw Creek is right next door to the venue (and is where I used to live for a time).
B&B’s and Hotels
Next, there are B&B’s and hotels aplenty. I recommend going this route if you need a hotel block or if you’d like to stay downtown. My favorites are the Flatiron hotel, Wanderlust Lofts, and Beaufort House Inn.
General Locations Close to the Douglas Ellington House
If you’d like to stay close to the venue (no more than a 10 minute drive), neighborhoods like West Asheville, Montford, Haw Creek, Grove Park, and Woodfin are all close by.
Kinda Close by Locations
But if you’re hoping to get away from it all, stay in the mountains, and don’t mind a 20-40 minute drive into the city, there’s no better place to stay in nature than:
Photographing Your Douglas Ellington House Wedding
In all honesty, it’s hard to take a “bad” photo at the Douglas Ellington House. There’s so many beautiful locations around the property, that you can close your eyes and randomly take your pick.
But when I photograph couples here, I like to ask what initially drew you to this venue in the first place and use your answers to guide my choice in location and time of day to take photos.
If you love the whimsical, fairytale feeling of the Douglas Ellington, I would suggest taking photos in the front lawn by the tiger lilies, on the bridge over the stream that runs through the property, and on the Juliet balcony.
If you love the historic and old world nature of the home, there’s no better place than the grand hall indoors and around the perimeter of the home with its grand arched, stone doorways and crawling vines.
The lighting at the venue changes constantly depending on the season and time of day, so I work closely alongside you and your planners to put together a timeline that will make the best images possible, while also making your vision of your day come to life.
I’m a preferred film wedding photographer for the Douglas Ellington House. If you’d like your celebrated documented on film, send me a message. I would love to hear from you.
FAQ: Getting Married at douglas ellington house
Where is the Douglas Ellington House, and how do guests get there?
The Douglas Ellington House is located less than 10 minutes away from the center of downtown Asheville, tucked away in Chunn’s Cove. There is very limited guest parking on site, so for large weddings, guests arrive by trolley.
How much does a Douglas Ellington House wedding cost?
For current pricing, reach out to the Douglas Ellington House directly. Costs vary with your date and guest count.
How many guests can the Douglas Ellington House hold?
The Douglas Ellington House specializes in small weddings and elopements with fewer than 30 guests, but it occasionally hosts larger weddings of up to 100. Amanda and Danny’s wedding was on the larger end.
Is there a getting-ready space at the Douglas Ellington House?
Yes, there are several. The two I’ve photographed most are the cottage and an upstairs room with a Juliet balcony, both featured here. The main house also has a living room and library where the other half of the wedding party can spread out.
Can you choose your own vendors, and do you need a wedding planner?
Yes, you can choose your own vendors for your Douglas Ellington House wedding. To help you get started, the venue shares a list of recommended vendors (I’m one of them). The Ellington’s own team can guide you through catering, drinks, and rentals, so you’re not sourcing every piece on your own.
Where can you take photos around the property?
You can take photos nearly anywhere on the property with prior permission and guidance from their team who stays on site for the duration of your celebration. I share more about specific locations in the portraits section above
Amanda + Danny’s Wedding Vendors
Ceremony Venue - The Douglas Ellington Home
Reception Venue - Pulp at The Orange Peel
Photography + Super 8 - Superlove Film
Planning + Floral - Bobby Marks Designs
Catering - Mikasa Asheville
Bakery - Wake and Bake Cakes, Asheville
Photo Booth - Shutter Booth Charlotte
Makeup - @jazshepard
Hair - @juanjaar
Transportation - Grayline Asheville
DJ - Dr. Filth