The Great Smoky Mountains is one of the most popular wedding venues in our region, largely because of the plethora of absolutely beautiful venues found in our area. Brides-to-be have no shortage of locations to choose from when they start the planning process, but sometimes the variety of choices can be overwhelming. Today we’re covering one amazing venue that every bride and groom should consider when looking for a location for their wedding: Bluff Mountain Inn.
Just the Facts
Bluff Mountain Inn is a unique wedding site in Tennessee, owned and operated by a certified wedding planner and a professional photographer. They offer all-inclusive packages that include a wide variety of services, and help you plan your wedding from day one. Working with Bluff Mountain Inn really takes the stress out of planning your wedding.
“We are an all-inclusive wedding venue,” said Mary Davis, Associate Photographer for Bluff Mountain Inn, “We take care of everything from A to Z. Basically, you just have to show up and we take care of everything from your hair and makeup to your photography, setting up your reception, the ceremony, everything.”
The inn is located in Sevierville, far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Pigeon Forge to ensure a peaceful wedding day, but close enough that you’re not going to be travelling hours up a mountain to get there.
The packages offered by Bluff Mountain Inn are designed to fit your needs. You can select all-inclusive packages designed for weddings with anywhere between 20 and 200 guests. Couples looking for a more intimate experience can also check out their Elope to the Mountains Package, which offers a romantic wedding for two. For the couples who already have everything set, Bluff Mountain Inn also has a simply DIY Package for venue rental options. Whatever package you choose, though, you’ll have access to the expertise of the Bluff Mountain Inn staff to help you coordinate and execute your wedding.
Some of the services they offer as part of their all-inclusive packages include providing a Wedding Planner to help you plan and coordinate your wedding, included rehearsals, set-up and break-down of the ceremony, providing a Minister or Justice of the Peace, on-site parking, a bridal suite, wedding music, management of wedding flowers, professional wedding photography, refreshments, Hors D’Oeuvres, and professional uniformed servers for the reception, your wedding cake, and so much more!
The Venues
The five-acre estate is home to several venues that offer different experiences, depending on the preferences of the couple. On site you’ll find numerous locales perfect for a beautiful outdoor wedding. They also have a Country Chapel on site that mirrors the historic country chapels found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Barn at Bluff Mountain Inn is a space that combines the beauty of nature with the comfort of the indoors, and can comfortably hold up to 200 people! They even have a Garden Reception Room, perfect for smaller groups of 50 people or less and climate controlled for your comfort. After the wedding you can also take advantage of the beautiful Honeymoon Suite found on campus, complete with a deck where you can relax in the mountain air.
Outdoor Venues
The majority of the inn’s clients prefer an outdoor ceremony, and for good reason. With sweeping views of the mountains, beautiful gardens, and wide open spaces for guest seating, Bluff Mountain Inn is the perfect place for outdoor weddings. Check out the photos below to see some of the beautiful outdoor spaces you and your guests can enjoy.
Right out front with a weeping willow, this outdoor venue is absolutely beautiful!
Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn. You can see the weeping willow area in action.
The garden is the perfect place to take a stroll or get pictures
Co-owner, Rick, leads us through the archway to another beautiful outdoor venue
Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn. Another action shot of a wedding at the in.
Country Chapel
This chapel was built in 2007 and is designed like the historical chapels in the National Park
Built in 2007 by Bert Barrett, who designed and built houses in south Florida for many years, the Country Chapel harkens back to the historic one-room chapels you’ll find scattered throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The chapel easily seats 75 guests, and is climate-controlled, meaning summer wedding guests can find respite from the heat. It sits at the top of the Inn’s entryway, and faces the Garden Pergola and the Garden Reception Room.
Like the historic chapels from which it draws inspiration, the building is a one-room structure with a central aisle and pews on each side. The pews themselves were imported from an actually church in West Virginia, and reupholstered for the chapel. The front features a vintage mantle as well as stained glass windows. There are also windows on both sides, drenching the room in natural light. The inside of the chapel was renovated in 2012, and is a truly beautiful venue.
The Barn at Bluff Mountain Inn
The Barn brings the outside and inside together for a beautiful rustic venue.
The Barn at Bluff Mountain Inn is an awesome venue for couples looking for a rustic or country wedding. The great thing about this venue is its ubiquity. You can dress it up as an elegant setting for an upscale affair, or dress it down as a simple country location.
The barn features 2400 square feet of covered outdoor space, so you’ll have plenty of room for a wedding with up to 200 guests! It’s the perfect mix of the outdoors and indoors, too, with open air windows on three sides. The sides also roll up and down, as well, so you can enjoy the event regardless of the weather!
Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn. The Barn prepared for a wedding.
Garden Reception Room
The Garden Reception Room in all it’s glory. Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn.
The Garden Reception Room is the perfect place for wedding parties of 50 people and under. People who have climate control as a must-have on their checklist will be happy to hear this room stays comfortable year round. You can let the outside in too, if the weather is nice, with the large double doors opening to a spacious deck surrounded by trees. Like the barn, decorations can dress this venue up or down depending on your preference.
Your guests will be able to enjoy a deck right outside the Garden Reception Room. Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn.
Honeymoon Suite
The honeymoon suite is included in the Elope to the Mountains package.
When your wedding’s over you’re going to want a place to relax and take in the majesty of the mountains. Bluff Mountain Inn has you covered here too! Their on-site honeymoon suite is a beautiful mountain hideaway, complete with a private entrance, Jacuzzi tub, and a fireplace. You’ll be able to chill on the deck with your new husband or wife as you take in beautiful views and crisp mountain air! The Honeymoon Suite is included with the Elope to the Mountains package and is available as an add-on to other packages as well!
Not Just A Wedding Venue – Going Beyond Typical Customer Service
The Bluff Mountain Inn Staff. Bottom, from left to right: Mary, Jennifer, and Talia. Back, left to right, Rick and Rhonda.
The Bluff Mountain Inn staff prides themselves on making their clients’ experiences unforgettable.
“We love catering to our clients. Anything that they need we try to go above and beyond. Photo-wise, I have them bring all their ideas to me, and I try to recreate everything that they would like. I think that what sets us apart is just that we’re a great team, and we care about our clients!” said Mary.
Bluff Mountain Inn makes goes the extra mile to make the planning process easy. After booking online, your personal wedding planner works directly with you to get every detail right. You can coordinate over the phone, by email, or even by text, which many of their younger clients love! The wedding planners at Bluff Mountain Inn are up to date with the times, one of the first things they do to start the planning process is setting up a Pinterest board where the bride and the wedding planner can coordinate ideas.
“We’ll do a tour and go over the packages. Once we get started with the whole process, they’ll book online and we’ll plan online. We’ll stay in touch over the phone or by email. Also, we’ll make a Pinterest board, that’s kind of where [the planning process] gets started. We’ll start moving forward and just have them pin all kinds of things so I can get a vibe of what they want to do, ideas, things like that, to help them do the planning that way.” said Talia, a wedding planner with Bluff Mountain Inn.
Photo by Bluff Mountain Inn. One of the staff’s favorite weddings was the Disney wedding, which included Prince Charming as the groom, fairy bridesmaids, and Donald Duck (in full costume) as best man!
They aren’t afraid of themed weddings either! Two of the staff’s favorite weddings were a Twilight and Disney-themed wedding. The Disney wedding included a best man in a full Donald Duck costume and fairy bridesmaids, whereas the Twilight wedding completely mirrored the penultimate wedding between Bella and Edward from the Twilight series! “We had a very intricate arbor set up front,” said Mary about the Twilight wedding, “We had aisle runners. The reception was just immaculate. If [our clients] have specialized details, we do our best to do it exactly how they like.”
Their dedication to their customers also extends to same-sex couples. While some wedding venues decline marrying same-sex couples, Bluff Mountain Inn is happy to accept anyone. During our interview they told me several stories of couples that came to them unsure and worried about rejection, only to leave happy as can be. All of the vendors they employ for their all-inclusive packages are also happy to serve same-sex couples as well. In fact, one of their most famous customers are Val and Sofie, the couple whose Supreme Court case lead to the striking down of the state’s gay marriage ban. “We’re friendly to all,” said co-owner Rick King.
