My Favorite Wedding Venues in Northeast Ohio

Northeast Ohio has an amazing variety of wedding venues it can be very overwhelming to choose the perfect one for your wedding. I’ve photographed more than 100 weddings and I wanted to compile my knowledge to build a list of some of my favorite venues to document love stories. Northeast Ohio has everything from a beach-style wedding to a downtown, city wedding, to historical estates. When choosing a wedding venue, the first step is to establish the style of your wedding. What does your wedding day vision look like? Something that helps me plan for events is creating a mood board so everything down to the smallest detail looks cohesive bringing my thoughts to life. Do you love the modern city style or do you gravitate to a more refined style with the intricate architecture? This list will help visualize your thoughts and what a wedding day looks like at each venue.

Stan Hywet

Garden | Historial | Estate | Akron

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is at the top of my list probably because I’m a little bit biased lol. I worked at this beautiful Estate for nearly 10 years. I started working here in High School in the Carriage House Cafe so it is very near and dear to my heart. My husband worked with me here as well in our college years and we worked many weddings there too! Every inch of this place is stunning and filled with history.

The main reception area is in the Manor House lower level where your guests can walk through part of the Museum tour and party the night away in the historic Estate of the Seiberlings who founded the Goodyear Tire Company. When you book a wedding here you can also take your engagement photos here as part of your wedding package. The grounds are probably the reason I love photographing weddings here so much. They are just STUNNING! And having worked here for a good amount of time I know the grounds like the back of my hand lol. We had two hours for our wedding photos here and we still didn’t go to every garden on the grounds lol.

Another great thing I love about this venue is your guests can also take a self-guided tour of the Mansion and walk the grounds free of charge while they wait until cocktail hour. This was great for our Catholic wedding because there is typically a large gap of time between the ceremony and reception time and this allows a fun thing for your guests to experience on your wedding day!

Check out this wedding featured on the Brides and Weddings Blog

Truss

Modern | City | Cleveland

Truss is one of Cleveland’s newest wedding venue locations. If you love the skyline of Cleveland and a more clean, modern style, this is the perfect venue for your wedding. The rooftop views are absolutely breathtaking. The night of this wedding, you could see the fireworks from the rooftop for the Guardians game that night! Definitely a favorite location of mine to photograph!

A modern feat in engineering, perched atop the country’s largest mass timber building, Truss gets its name from its most defining feature–the 55-foot-long timber and steel trusses spanning the entire venue, making it free of any interior columns. Fluted glass, steel, and bronze accents, a marble bar, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a custom-designed professional audio system all contribute to a space that is unlike any other in the region, offering you a special setting while allowing your event to shine no matter the occasion.

Western Reserve Historical Society

Historical | Estate | Cleveland

The Western Reserve Historical Society is an absolute dream to photograph! With its two different Mansions and stunning architecture, it makes for a very regal location for a wedding.  The seven-acre campus of the Cleveland History Center in University Circle provides an elegant backdrop for your wedding and reception as guests enjoy stunning decor, classic architecture, and historic collections from cars to clothes. For a truly ornate and historic setting, reserve the Hay McKinney Garden and Reception Hall and entertain in the early twentieth-century elegance of the Gilded Age. Or for a more intimate setting, choose the lush Hanna Courtyard Garden then motor on over to the Crawford Rotunda for your cocktail hour and reception where guests can dance and dine among antique and classic automobiles, rare aircraft, and motorcycles.

Photos taken while second shooting for Marissa Camino Photography

Orchid House Winery

Modern | Garden | Aurora

The Orchid House Winery was previously ThornCreek Winery and has been rebranded to the Orchid House Winery by the owners of Sapphire Creek Winery. This location is a great mix of modern style with lush gardens. The grounds are so majestic with lots of greenery and a beautiful outdoor tent reception area. The inside of the buildings has a very modern style that makes for stunning portraits and getting ready space.

Photos taken while second shooting for Amanda Eloise

Ariel Pearl Center

Modern | Historical | Cleveland

Ariel Pearl Center Is absolutely stunning inside for a more elegant style wedding with grand windows to let it a ton of natural light. Located in a beautiful historic 1923 bank building, it features marble columns and floors, bank vaults, stone walls, and large arched windows under an intricate decorative plasterwork ceiling with magnificent crystal chandeliers. This stunning historic building was built in 1923 as the Pearl Street Savings and Trust Bank, which was designed by the famous architects, Hubbell & Benes, who also designed the Cleveland Museum of Art, West Side Market, City Club, Masonic Temple, and other famous historic buildings.

If you love the look of marble and natural light and prefer to have your wedding indoors, this is the perfect location for your day! It is also not too far from the Cleveland Museum of Art if you would like to continue the look of marble outside for your wedding portraits!

Photos taken while second shooting for Marissa Camino

Catawba Island Club

Waterfront | Destination | Catawba Island

Catawba Island Club is a unique and beautiful spot for a wedding, located on the western shore of Catawba Island on Lake Erie. The food is handcrafted in our kitchen and the sunsets are stunning! From the rehearsal dinner to the ceremony and reception, as well as a next-day breakfast, CIC will make your experience special.

If you love the idea of a destination wedding, but don’t want to venture too far for friends and family to attend, then this location fits your needs! You definitely don’t feel like you are in Ohio with the waterfront ceremony and beautiful cliffs in the background. The tented reception space is gorgeous for photos and allows for all of your guests to celebrate your marriage!

Photos taken while second shooting for Marissa Camino

Gervasi Vineyard

Vineyard | Estate | Canton

Gervasi Vineyard I always love vineyard wedding locations because it automatically gives an elegant style with beautiful grounds. Gervasi is such a gem in Canton, Ohio with its stunning architecture and gardens. Inspired by the splendor of a Tuscan villa, The Pavilion is our signature wedding venue. Its open-air structure offers breathtaking views of our vineyard and a spring-fed lake. The Pavilion is available from May through October and can accommodate up to 300 guests.

If you prefer an indoor setting, consider The Villa Grande, with its elegant ballroom and warm, welcoming atrium. This space can hold up to 120 guests.

The Conservatory is a charming option that’s suited to couples looking for a more intimate experience. This unique, tranquil greenhouse can accommodate up to 40 guests for ceremonies and receptions amid lush greenery.

Photos taken while second shooting for Hannah Donze photography

Highfields Event Center

Modern | Garden | Hudson

Highfields Event Center  is a hidden gem In Northeast Ohio. Our private oasis, located on 20 acres of private fields And woodlands, is the perfect balance of natural scenery and modern convenience. The space was designed with sleek industrial architecture and a touch of farmhouse charm, truly making it the best of both worlds for couples. Custom built with Weddings in mind, our fluid indoor/outdoor venue space in the ideal backdrop for your wedding dreams to come alive.

The elegant and private indoor venue accommodates up to 175 guests. The adjacent terrace offers flexibility for a tented reception, outdoor cocktail hour or open air dancing.

Photos taken while second shooting for Marissa Camino

Blue Heron

Garden | Modern | Medina

Blue Heron is set in the beautiful undulating valleys of Medina County, Blue Heron Brewery and Event Center is an artisanal brewery that makes flavorful beers in the most flavorful styles that offer world-class menu design, exceptional service, and stunning facilities for events big or small. Whether your event has 25 guests or 450, our inviting, vaulted-ceiling lobby with a beautiful stone fireplace, exceptional 1,500-square-foot patio with an amazing view, or grand ballroom is perfect to hold a rehearsal dinner, small party, reception, or ceremony. And, the extraordinary, undulating terrain that surrounds the facility provides opportunities for beautiful, unforgettable wedding photos.

Greystone Hall

Historical | Estate | Akron

With an imposing seven-story stone facade, Greystone remains one of downtown Akron’s most majestic structures. Originally built by the Freemasons in 1917 for their business and social gatherings, the building now offers exceptionally appointed spaces for banquets, meetings, and special events.

Upon entering Greystone’s first-floor lobby, the marble walls and floor immediately convey an unmatched level of elegance and sophistication. Regardless of its location within the building, your event will receive the highest level of attention and service from our staff – making it memorable for years to come.

A grand staircase or elevator will carry your guests to the second floor which features three unique rooms. The Barrister’s Lounge is anchored by a twenty-foot bar and fireplace, with Greystone’s original Billiards Room accessible through a set of adjacent double French doors. These rooms accommodate more intimate functions from 50 to 80 people.

The two-story Ballroom comprises the remainder of the second floor. Large windows, a tiered balcony staircase ascending to the third floor above, and ornate décor combine to make the Ballroom a signature banquet space. More than 200 guests can gather to enjoy fine dining, dancing, and entertainment from the Ballroom’s main stage.

Venue Wish List

This list is wedding venues that I have not had the pleasure of photographing a wedding yet, but would love the opportunity! If you are planning a wedding at one of these locations, I offer a special discount on my wedding photography collections.

1. Cleveland Museum of Art
2. The Old Courthouse
3. Lago East Bank
4. The Shoreby Club
5. The Glidden House
6. Gordon Green
7. Mooreland Mansion
8. Manakiki Golf Course
9. Lake Erie Building
10. Sapphire Creek Winery
11. Cleveland Botanical Gardens
12. White Rose Barn
13. The Club at Hillbrook
14. The Wellspring
15. Holden Arboretum