Anchorage 1770

Built as a tabby mansion on the Beaufort River, Anchorage 1770 works as an inn first and a wedding venue second, which shapes what it does well: small, unhurried weddings where much of the party sleeps on the property. The house stands in Beaufort's historic district a few steps from the Beaufort Marina, with sailboats in the frame from most of the ceremony sites.

Couples pick between three formats rather than a menu of packages — an elopement, a small-group wedding, or a full buy-out of the property. Ceremony and reception space includes the fourth-floor rooftop deck, the gardens with the river behind them, and the porches that wrap the house. The Ribaut Social Club, the inn's own restaurant under chef Byron, handles food and doubles as a rehearsal-dinner room, and there is a rooftop bar above it.

Guest services run further than most inns manage: staff arrange kayak and paddleboard rentals, fishing charters, spa bookings and in-room massage, private yoga, and restaurant reservations, and the inn keeps bikes, beach chairs, croquet, and bocce on hand. Meeting and retreat space accommodates up to 20.