Searching for a Cabin Wedding Venue?

Searching for a Rustic-Chic Cabin Wedding Venue?

After contacting literally hundreds of vacation homeowners on TripAdvisor, FlipKey, VRBO, HomeAway, etc., along with numerous barn venues, we were lucky enough to find the perfect backdrop for our rustic and romantic handcrafted wedding. Here is some info on our wedding venue, Memory Mountain at Wolf Laurel. Side Note: This is a long post so you may want to grab a cup of coffee and get comfy.

Update as of 2017: This post is from 2013 and Memory Mountain is now a wedding venue that even has a barn you can rent out! You can find more recent photos here. 

My original plan was to have a vintage, romantic and whimsical wedding in the mountains where we could have both our wedding and reception for our small wedding of 50 max guests.  Being that our budget is pretty tight I really wanted to find a lodge/cabin large enough to hold most of our wedding party or immediate family, and then be able to rent out another cabin nearby for us.  I thought this seemed like a simple enough plan but finding the “perfect” cabin wedding venue wasn’t turning out so easy.

First off, I wanted something rustic, but with some modern luxuries at the same time and finding homes that have the perfect blend of those two components was a task in itself. Second, we would need a house with some outdoor space, preferably private and would also need some options in case the weather acts up.

Most of the homes I was finding were either super tiny with TONS of acreage, right on top of other homes in a large resort area, or super huge but high on the mountain and with virtually no outdoor space. The other major issue I had was that once I mentioned the word “wedding” the owners wanted to charge me 5x as much. From a business point of view, that makes sense, but for a bride on a budget that was my biggest obstacle.

After sending out huuuunnnnndreds of emails {yes I can get obsessive and I have the outbox to show it} I felt deflated and as though I would never find the “perfect” venue I had dreamed up. This is when I began looking into barn venues because that was my second favorite choice.

Although most of the barn venues I contacted were out of our budget, I did find a few that could have worked but in all honesty they were either priced a bit too high for me to get excited over, were booked, or were in the middle of nowhere. 95% of our family and friends are coming from out of state so I wanted to make sure there would be “touristy” spots for them to visit and decent accommodations nearby.

This is when I started looking into a backyard wedding at my dad’s house, but after pricing out an event tent and other things we would need, it didn’t seem to be saving us as much money as we originally anticipated.

I was so frustrated and stressed and exhausted, but I knew I couldn’t give up. For some random reason I decided to search my junk email box to see if I somehow missed an email from someone. I never do this so it’s kinda funny that I did. There it was. The email response was regarding an antique log cabin in North Carolina that I had loved the minute I saw the photos. The email from vrbo somehow ended up in my junk mail and was now over a week old, but I responded as quickly as my fingers could type.

I always say that everything happens for a reason but at this moment in my life I truly felt that way. I set up an appointment to visit the property and met with Steve who built and owns 5 custom cabins located less than 30 minutes from Asheville, NC.

Steve is amazing and his wife Joy was super sweet. They made me feel comfortable right away and Steve showed me the custom log homes he built using reclaimed wood from wormy chestnut logs and various old barns, each one absolutely gorgeous and extremely unique. He shared stories with me about building the homes with his family and pointing out the amazing wood details, interesting antique furnishings, and updated kitchen and bathrooms. He even showed me his amazing antique collection and the furniture pieces he has upcycled.

Our family and friends are all so excited to come together and be able to stay in the unique, custom log homes for the weekend of our wedding. If need be, there are other vacation homes a couple miles away, as well as hotels for any additional guests that plan to stay for the weekend.

Oh and did I mention the trails that are walking distance from the homes, the amazing “props” Steve is going to let me use for the wedding, the various, beautiful outdoor locations we can use for the wedding ceremony, including the private dock {where he and his wife got married}, or the gorgeous chapel that he is currently building built in memory of his son and those children who have gone before us, the ATVs available to rent, or the amazing photo opportunities?

Yeah the list could go on and on and on. I feel so blessed to have found such amazing people and feel like I just uncovered a secret gem that I want to keep to myself, yet share with the world.

I wanted to post this for two reasons:

1.) So our family and friends will stop asking Eric or me to email them the links, haha

2.) For other brides and grooms looking for a rustic and romantic cabin wedding venue.

Contact Memory Mountain at Wolf Laurel

If you’re looking for a cabin wedding venue, or even just looking for an amazing place to get away with family or friends but are having trouble finding it, then I hope you found this post helpful. Check out their website and be sure to tell Steve I said hello.

Update: Our Handcrafted Cabin wedding

Wanna see how our wedding turned out? You can see photos from our handcrafted cabin wedding here.