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Buford Wedding Venue
Lanier Islands Resort weddings
A 1,200 acre resort on the shore of Lake Lanier with a long list of lakeside ceremony spots, from a wooded point for 100 to a lawn for more than 500. A new chapel sits high over the water. Packages bundle catering, setup and a wedding night stay, and an intimate package covers 50 guests or fewer.
Ceremony And Reception Spaces
| Space | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Peachtree Green | Ceremonies and receptions for 500 plus | An open lawn above the lake, for receptions or tents. |
| Peachtree Pointe | Up to 350 | The largest lakeside venue, an amphitheater with a wooden stage, an arbor on the water and an indoor pavilion beside it. |
| Legacy Pointe | Up to 250 | A lakeside stage with an iron arbor and a tented reception area. |
| Peachtree Falls | Up to 150 | A stone footbridge, a brook and a waterfall. |
| Carriage House | Up to 150 | An open air pavilion with a stone fireplace. |
| Oliver Pointe | Up to 100 seated | A private wooded ceremony spot with lake views and a stone walkway. |
| Floating Venue | Up to 100 | A secluded spot on the lake itself. |
| Chapel on Lanier | Ask the venue | A new chapel and memory garden high above the lake. |
How It Photographs
Open lake views at every ceremony site, with a waterfall, a footbridge, arbors on the water and wooded points.
Venue Details
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Lodging | Rooms on site |
| Catering | Resort Packages, With An Outside Catering Package For Cultural Menus. |
| Website | The venue site |
Facts from weddings.lanierislands.com, weddings.lanierislands.com, weddings.lanierislands.com, read November 2026.
What The Venue Publishes
- Active or retired military and first responders get 10 percent off wedding food totals. Rehearsal dinners, luncheons and farewell brunches can happen on site.
How I Would Photograph A Wedding Here
A resort gives you many backdrops in one place, so the plan matters. I scout the spots that fit your timeline, pick one for portraits near the ceremony and one with a long view for golden hour, and keep the walking time short in formal shoes.
This venue publishes outdoor space, so I would plan around the sun. A ceremony in full midday sun means squinting guests and hard shadows, so look up the sunset for your month first and work back from it. Even if dinner is inside, twenty quiet minutes outside before sunset make the photographs couples frame.
A long view is worth planning for. I would find the spot where the view opens up behind you, then come back to it right at sunset and again at blue hour, about twenty minutes later, when the sky turns deep blue.
A big outdoor wedding needs a plan more than more cameras. Photo and film work as one team, we agree on the family photo list ahead of time, and we place ourselves before the procession so nobody blocks the aisle.
Ask where you will get ready. A bright room with a big window makes the dress, the details and those first quiet minutes look their best, and if it is close to the ceremony spot it saves time on a hot day.
Questions To Ask Lanier Islands Resort
- What is the food and beverage minimum for our date, and what does the package include?
- If it rains, which indoor room holds the ceremony, and when do we have to decide?
- Is there a suite for getting ready, and does it have a big window?
- Where is the shade at the time of our ceremony, and can the chairs face away from the sun?
- What time does outdoor music have to stop, and is the space private to us all day?
- Which areas of the grounds can we use for portraits, and when is the last call for the rain plan?
Send me the answers and your date, and I will plan the photographs and the film around them. Check your date.
Plan The Day
A Wedding Day At Lanier Islands Resort
Lanier Islands Resort lists outdoor space, so the ceremony time is the one decision that changes every photograph. I like a ceremony that ends a little more than an hour before sunset. The light is softer, guests are not squinting into the sun, and we walk straight from the recessional into portraits while the sky warms up. Lanier Islands Resort does not publish a rain plan, so ask for it in writing and walk the backup room on your tour.
The times below are worked out from the sunset in Atlanta on the 15th of each month, with daylight saving included. Move everything earlier in winter and later in June.
| Month | Ceremony | Portraits Begin | Sunset | Blue Hour Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 6:45 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM |
| October | 5:20 PM | 6:05 PM | 7:05 PM | 7:35 PM |
Getting ready photos usually start about two hours before the ceremony, so book hair and makeup to finish thirty minutes before I arrive.
Compare
How Lanier Islands Resort Compares
At up to 500 guests, Lanier Islands Resort is one of the largest venues in this guide, number 4 of the 17 that publish a capacity. Like most venues here, it does not put a full price online. 7 of the 26 venues in this guide do. Other resort venues in this guide are Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort, The Inn at Serenbe, Chateau Elan.
Questions About Lanier Islands Resort
How many guests fit at Lanier Islands Resort?
Lanier Islands Resort publishes up to 500 guests. Ask the venue which space fits your plan.
Will you photograph our wedding at Lanier Islands Resort?
Yes. I photograph and film weddings all over Atlanta. Check your date and tell me about your plans.
Found Your Venue
Tell me where in Atlanta you are getting married and I will tell you how I would photograph it.