10 Beautiful Southern Illinois Wedding Venues

Southern Illinois is a hidden gem for couples getting married in the Midwest. Whether you’re from around St. Louis, looking for a unique destination, or just looking for a venue right in your backyard, Southern Illinois has a lot to offer! As you move further downstate closer to Shawnee National Forest, the landscapes get beautiful, textured, and lush. Even if you’re not down for hiking on your wedding day, there are so many stunning wedding venues in Southern Illinois! As a St. Louis-based wedding photographer, I prioritize amenities, an amazing team, and beautiful light when I’m helping couples pick a venue. While it’s tough to narrow it down, I’ve done my best to gather 10 of my favorite Southern Illinois wedding venues from which to choose!

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The Best Wedding Venues In Southern Illinois

The Hangar Wedding and Event Venue

The Hangar | Bryson B Photo

Just outside of Greenville, Illinois, The Hangar Wedding and Event Venue offers a unique blend of modern charm and full service amenities. As a former aircraft hangar, this unique venue boasts a spacious interior with tall ceilings that can accommodate up to 250 guests, making it perfect for both intimate gatherings and bigger celebrations. When I photograph here, I LOVE taking my couples out for sunset photos by the pond and for night photos when the stars come out. Check out one of our full wedding days at The Hangar!

For more information, please visit https://www.thehangarweddingandeventvenue.com/

Style: Modern
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 250
Phone Number: 618-975-6415
Address: 1 Embry Drive, Greenville, IL 62246

A Pocket Full of Sunshine

A Pocket Full of Sunshine | Bryson B Photo

A Pocket Full of Sunshine is a charming, cozy venue located in Mt. Vernon that just oozes natural warmth and beauty. Comfortably seating up to 240 guests, the venue’s main features are a gorgeous barn, covered patio, beautiful pond with a fountain, and an intimate wooded ceremony area. A Pocket Full of Sunshine is one of few venues that can truly pull off a great wedding during any season, all while helping you with your decor, place settings, and offering plenty of dedicated space for getting ready. My first time photographing at Pocket Full of Sunshine, the couple wanted to steal away for some sunset photos. After the short session, I literally turned to the owner, Talia, and asked, “How much did you pay nature to get such amazing light here?!” It was that beautiful.

For more information, please visit https://www.apocketfullofsunshine.info/

Style: Modern Barn
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 240
Phone Number: 618-472-1823
Address: 11384 East Idlewood Road, Mt. Vernon, IL  62864

Olde Wicks Factory

Olde Wicks Factory | Bryson B Photo

One of the largest and most full-featured venues in the area, The Olde Wicks Factory stands as an amazing destination for those dreaming of a stunning wedding day with every amenity you’d expect from a top-notch venue. Sitting in the middle of Highland, Illinois, Olde Wicks is a sprawling, 80,000-square-foot venue and, with its capacity to host up to 500 guests, is truly is a canvas for a vibrant, classy, memorable wedding. The venue has multiple spaces for different wedding vibes, including dedicated “getting ready” spaces, the Grand Hall, The West Hall, The Gatsby Room, The North Patio, The Main Hall, and the Stained Glass Hall. Along with a long list of amenities, Olde Wicks is a great choice for a variety of wedding days!

See my full review of Olde Wicks HERE!

For more information, please visit https://www.oldewicksfactory.com/

Style: Industrial + Architectural
Starting Price: $$$
Capacity: up to 500
Phone Number: (618) 651-6323
Address: 1100 5th St., Highland, IL 62249

Main Street Abbey

Main Street Abbey | Bryson B Photo

Main Street Abbey - Reception | Bryson B Photo

Main Street Abbey, located in Columbia, IL, is a beautifully restored historic church that offers a stunning blend of architectural charm and contemporary styling. With a capacity of up to 250 guests, the Abbey features gorgeous stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, dedicated prep areas with lots of natural light, and a spacious reception area. This venue provides a timeless setting for any wedding! Pro Tip: Go out for night photos on the patio with your photographer - there are tons of places to get creative!

See a FULL wedding day at Main Street Abbey!

For more information, please visit https://mainstreetabbey.com/

Style: Historic + Church
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 250
Phone Number: (618) 719-2335
Address: 340 S Main St, Columbia, IL 62236

Cedarhurst Center for the Arts

Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mt. Vernon is an art lover's dream. This venue can accommodate up to 400 guests and offers both indoor and outdoor spaces surrounded by stunning interiors and a picturesque campus. The entire property includes four unique venues to suit different needs and styles. Make sure to go out for sunset photos! With the pond and so many interesting textures and architectural features, you’ll have endless options to get some amazing photos!

For more information, please visit https://cedarhurst.org/

Style: Gallery + Architectural
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 400
Phone Number: (618) 242-1236
Address: 2600 E Richview Rd, Mt Vernon, IL 62864

Dragonfly Wedding Venue

Dragonfly Wedding Venue is a dreamy, full-featured wedding venue in southern Illinois. Sitting on 36 acres in Herrin, Illinois, Dragonfly is a picturesque location that specializes in outdoor weddings while having plenty of indoor options for ceremonies and receptions. With a capacity of up to 300 guests, Dragonfly offers a serene and natural backdrop for any wedding day. I love photographing this venue, and it really comes alive at night with the abundance of string lights throughout the property. So beautiful!

For more information, please visit https://dragonflyherrin.com/

Style: Nature + Contemporary Barn
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 300
Phone Number: 1(800)942-5395
Address: 1826 West Oak St., Herrin, IL 62948

The Ink House

The Ink House | Bryson B Photo

I just LOVE a wedding venue with cool history! Having formerly been the site of a local newspaper, The Ink House is just that: A sweet venue that just oozes historic charm! Situated in Edwardsville, Illinois, the venue can accommodate up to 250 guests and offers a variety of spaces, including the striking Press Room and a charming outdoor patio. The Ink House is known for its exquisite décor and impeccable service, making it an ideal choice for couples looking for a stylish and seamless wedding day.

For more information, please visit https://www.inkhouseevents.com/

Style: Modern Industrial
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 250
Phone Number: (618) 692-9506
Address: 117 N 2nd St, Edwardsville, IL 62025

Garden Grove Event Center

Garden Grove Event Center in Carbondale, IL, is an all-inclusive, elegant wedding venue that has hosted over 1000 events - ranging from intimate weddings to 300+ guest-count celebrations. Garden Grove offers three distinct locations with distinct ceremony and reception areas: The Courtyard for up to 450 guests, The Loft & Terrace for intimate gatherings, and The Wedding and Event Garden for up to 180 guests. Each space is equipped with getting-ready suites and beautiful styling. With all the surrounding nature and beautiful, open-air ceremony spaces, Garden Grove lights up in the fall when the trees turn colors, though it’s beautiful year-round!

For more information, please visit https://www.gardengroveeventcenter.com/

Style: Ballroom + Garden
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 450
Phone Number: (618) 727-4436
Address: 1215 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, IL, 62901

Loveland Estates

Loveland Estates | Bryson B Photo

Located in Pocahontas, Illinois, Loveland Estates is a modern, cozy waterfront wedding venue that offers tons of amenities and is a gorgeous, turnkey solution for your wedding day.  This modern ranch-inspired wedding venue is nestled among lush scenery on a serene lakefront and provides a stunning backdrop for a modern, “boho-infused,” wedding. With ample indoor and outdoor options for your guests, Loveland Estates can host weddings of up to 215 guests, making it a great choice for larger celebrations. As a photographer, this venue has it all! Amazing light at sunset and a top-notch team make weddings here at Loveland a total joy to capture.

See my FULL review of Loveland Estates

Style: Estate + Greenhouse
Starting Price: $$$
Capacity: up to 215
Email: lovelandestatesevents@gmail.com
Address: 519 Stevenson Dr, Pocahontas, IL 62275

The Woods Event Center

The Woods Event Center in Robinson, IL, nestled beside Crawford County Forest Preserve and near Oak Glen Golf Course, offers a rustic and peaceful setting for weddings. This venue, set on eight acres, accommodates up to 300 guests across its main floor and loft. It features expansive windows for natural light and views, two dedicated getting-ready spaces, a ceremony stage, beautiful vaulted ceilings, and many other amenities that couples would expect from an experienced venue. As its name would suggest, The Woods is surrounded by lush, towering trees and nature. This venue is just breathtaking in any season!

For more information, please visit https://www.thewoodseventcenter.com/

Style: Modern Barn
Starting Price: $$
Capacity: up to 300
Phone Number: +16184693838
Address: 10584 N 600th St, Robinson, IL 62454

Loveland Estates | Bryson B Photo

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Wedding Venues FAQ

HOW MUCH DOES A WEDDING COST IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS?

The average cost of a wedding in Southern Illinois was $22,000 between 2016-2019. In 2020 the average cost was brought down to $19,044 due to the rise in elopements related to the effects of the pandemic. However, experts are predicting that cost to rise in 2024 and beyond.

HOW MUCH DO WEDDING VENUES COST IN Southern Illinois?

Venue investments vary widely depending on your guest count, amenity preferences, and of course… Location, location, location! Southern Illinois wedding venues roughly begin at $2,000-$4,000 for 50 people, but average between $6,000-$10,000 for larger weddings.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SIZE OF A WEDDING?

Most weddings that I photograph in Southern Illinois are between 80-200 people, while larger non-western weddings can be upwards of 400 people. Micro-weddings usually have 50 guests or fewer, and an elopement typically has fewer than 10 guests. That might consist of the couple, two sets of parents, the officiant, and the photographer.

WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A WEDDING VENUE?

I suggest looking for a Southern Illinois wedding venue that can accommodate all parts of the day, too much travel to multiple locations can throw a wrench in your timeline and become more of a hassle than it’s worth. Ideally, a wedding venue has two prep suites, a space for the ceremony and reception, and is centrally located or has onsite opportunities for unique photographs.

WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR TYPES OF WEDDING VENUES?

Historic buildings, estates, modern barns, greenhouses, and gardens can all be excellent Southern Illinois wedding venues depending on your needs. Once you’ve booked your venue, the next step is a photographer! Feel free to reach out below or see how I do things differently here.

Looking for a boring, cookie-cutter wedding photographer?

Didn’t think so!

Angie + Chuck - Wedding Photography in Pocahontas, Illinois

I had so much fun shooting this wedding in Pocahontas, Illinois! This venue is a gorgeous, private venue with all the features and special details you could want! I’ll do a full write-up of it soon, but for now, let’s chat about Angie and Chuck!

This story began as so many classic tales do… On Facebook marketplace with a slab of walnut lumber. I was looking to build a coffee table for my living room and stumbled upon this guy, CS Log Rescue, selling beautiful lumber not too far from where I live. So, I messaged him and went out to his shop to pick a new piece for my future table! As we were chatting, it came up that I was a photographer, and Chuck asks, “You do any weddings?”

Long story short, two months later was their wedding date, and we made it happen! Angie and Chuck are so sweet, full of joy, and were a pleasure to work with and have in front of my camera. I could not have dreamed of a better group of folks with which to spend my day photographing a wedding! See below for some of my favorites from that day at Loveland Estates!

Need your own wedding photos taken? Happy to help!

Moses and Emily - Greenville, Illinois Engagement Photography

Engagement Session Photography in Southern Illinois

I’m so excited to share a bit of Moses and Emily’s engagement session with you! I think we were met with probably the best light I’ve ever seen in my whole dang life. That, paired with these two awesome humans made for a session for the books! I shot, like, DOUBLE the amount that I normally shoot for a session like this. They were that good.

Emily and Moses are such a sweet couple with a great sense of adventure and joy. They were down for anything! Stare into the sun for a second? You got it. Lay down in the leaves and trust that I won’t drop my camera on their faces? Done. Moses is also a kick-butt blacksmith. I know, cool, right? Check out his work here.

Take a sec and look through all this warm, vibrant goodness. Emily and Moses, you are rockstars!

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Recently engaged? Need a dude with a camera? I’m a dude and have, like, FIVE cameras

Kyle + Brooke - Hidden Lake Winery Wedding Photography in Aviston, Illinois

I can’t say enough good things about Kyle, Brooke, and their wedding at Hidden Lake Winery in Aviston, Illinois! Throughout this entire year, at every step of the planning process, they’ve been totally stoked and excited about their wedding. Being a WAC (Wedding in the Age of COVID [I just made that up]), paired with the occasional rain showers on the day of, a less-chill couple would have had a difficult time matching Kyle and Brooke’s energy and smile-content. Needless to say, this one was one for the books (or a blog, in this case).
Hidden Lake Winery really is the perfect solution for a compact, single-location wedding day. The wedding party got ready in the cabins, which offered a private and quiet place that still kept the bride and groom out of sight of each other. The ceremony and reception were held at the Majestic Falls section of the venue, characterized by a tranquil pond, awesome water features, and massive trees lending depth and scale to the ceremony.
This wedding featured:

• Custom sunglasses for each member of the party (totally rad)

• SAND! (you had to be there)

• A plant tube (official scientific name)

Scroll down to see some of my favorites from the wedding day! Congrats Kyle and Brooke!

{Nerd stuff for photographers}: This was my first wedding shooting DUAL Nikon Z5s, the latest (at the time of writing) mirrorless offering from Nikon. These little guys are fast, agile, have GREAT battery life, and really fantastic sensor performance. In almost every way, I believe they’re a welcome upgrade over my previous D750 cameras. The in-body stabilization (IBIS), the electronic viewfinder, and the live-view autofocus are those simple, next-generation features that mirrorless shooters have been enjoying for years now. And since the cameras are mirrorless I can now scoff at DSLR shooters for no other reason, so I have that going for me…

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