Lowndes Grove

Built in 1786 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Lowndes Grove is the Charleston peninsula's rare surviving waterfront estate, set on the banks of the Ashley River in the Longborough neighborhood. The property is operated by Patrick Properties Hospitality Group, the team behind several of the city's landmark event houses, and has been voted Charleston's best wedding venue multiple years running.

Couples typically use the grounds in sequence: a ceremony on the river-facing lawn, cocktails on the piazza or the bluestone, brick, and oyster-tabby terraces, and a reception under the permanent tented terrace, with the manor house's formal parlors and three-story spiral staircase open throughout the event. A private second-floor suite is reserved for getting ready starting at 9 a.m., and the adjacent River House can be added for extra preparation space. Food and beverage are handled in-house by the Patrick Properties catering team, and the dock stretching 700 feet over the Ashley doubles as a portrait spot and send-off point.

Seated dinners run up to about 300 guests with tenting, while cocktail-style receptions can reach 500. The estate sits a few minutes from downtown Charleston, with weekday tours and a limited number of Saturday appointments.