Montage Palmetto Bluff

Twenty thousand acres of Lowcountry maritime forest between Hilton Head and Savannah surround Montage Palmetto Bluff, a luxury resort built along the May River in Bluffton. Two chapels anchor its ceremony options: Somerset Chapel, whose east- and west-facing arched windows seat up to 185, and the smaller May River Chapel, a 712-square-foot sanctuary overlooking the salt marsh with room for 120.

Receptions spread across more than 50,000 square feet of event space. The Village Green — home to the ruins of the Wilson Mansion — holds tented parties of up to 500, as does the 6,696-square-foot Wilson Ballroom, while the Oak Ballroom at River House seats 175 inside a wraparound veranda facing the river. Moreland Landing, a riverside pavilion with an oversized stone fireplace and a five-story treehouse wrapped around a live oak, hosts traditional oyster-roast welcome parties. The culinary team builds wedding menus around Lowcountry seafood and produce from regional farms.

Wedding parties stay in 200 guestrooms, suites, and cottages plus a collection of village homes, with a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, a 13,000-square-foot spa, and Duffy-boat ecotours filling out the weekend. The property sits about 30 miles from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and 96 from Charleston.