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THE VENUE GUIDE
The Bradford Wedding venue
A local wedding photographer’s perspective of this STUNNING location! A beautiful European style villa with room for getting ready, ceremony, reception, all while taking care of your guests and creating a gorgeous experience.
A EUROPEAN DREAM RIGHT IN NC
The Bradford wedding venue in North Carolina near Raleigh is the perfect choice if you are looking for true elegance. Imagine stepping across the iconic slabs and sunlight streaming through with natural outdoor elements, and saying I do at this magical location!
When I first stepped onto the ground at The Bradford, I was in complete awe. It is one of the most stunning wedding venues in Raleigh, North Carolina and definitely lives up to its reputation.
The venue’s spacious and versatile indoor and outdoor spaces allow for a range of styles, from classic to modern and chic.
A wedding day at The Bradford begins with you getting ready in a personalized bridal suite and other getting ready rooms if needed. The suite is filled with natural light, offering the perfect setting for hair and makeup artists to work their magic.
As the ceremony draws near, guests make their way to the outdoor ceremony space, where they are greeted with breathtaking views of the estate’s expansive grounds, with multiple options for where you can hold the ceremony itself.
After the ceremony, guests can enjoy a cocktail hour on the venue’s sweeping front lawn. The indoor options allow for more space, as well as plenty of coverage in case of bad weather. You can mingle and celebrate with your loved ones, then dance the night away at the reception!
The Bradford Wedding Venue FEATURED WEDDINGS
BROWSE A FEW OF My FAVORITE WEDDINGS AT THE BRADFORD TO GET A FEEL FOR HOW THINGS LOOK AND FLOW
Let's see more of each location...
THE BRADFORD HIGHLIGHTS
THE BRIDAL SUITE
The bridal suite on the top floor has plenty of room for getting ready with a group, makeup stations, a coffee area and a sweet vintage couch. It’s also a great spot for robe photos, with beautiful natural light coming in from the opposite side.
THE BRADFORD HIGHLIGHTS
THE Courtyard
The Courtyard is the area in between the main house and the reception building, and it’s definitely not an area to under estimate. You can have your ceremony in multiple spots on the grounds, but you can see here this greenery area is such a great choice with absolutely amazing lighting. The paved area is also a great cocktail space and photographs well when the sun is higher in the sky.
THE BRADFORD HIGHLIGHTS
INDOORS
The outside of The Bradford gets a lot of attention, and for good reason. However, the inside can be just as impressive! Even though it’s more under stated, that just adds to the elegance of the set ups that are inside. It’s an amazing space for reception tables, cake, and more but you could also opt to have your ceremony inside too. Doesn’t that make you feel good that if it really was raining hard, your ceremony would still be incredible if it was moved indoors?
THE BRADFORD HIGHLIGHTS
THE FRONT
The front of the Bradford is of course, the star of the show. Heading down the driveway is just such a stunning view no matter what lighting, but I think it is a MUST to carve out a bit of time for sunset photos here on your day. I love it from far away to show the full house, close up on the stairs with the door as a backdrop, and pretty much everywhere for the most luxurious results!
FAQ
A FEW OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SHOOTING WEDDINGS AT THE BRADFORD NC.
Should we both get ready at The Bradford?
There is a dedicated getting ready suite for you and your party that is very comfortable, and there are multiple extra rooms that your partner can get ready at. If your partner also has a lot of people wanting to get ready you could possibly do that somewhere else, but the venue is out farther from the main Raleigh city area and there is plenty of space to utilize.
Where do you recommend taking our formal portraits here?
The venue is of course stunning from literally every angle and every room. My top favorite spots are in the courtyard during the earlier portion of the day, right in front of the house when shaded (mid afternoon) and of course the iconic driveway photos (best right before sunset time.) Inside also can give a minimalistic elegant look as well.
What time should we schedule our ceremony to begin?
It depends on when the sunset is during your date, which I can give you a custom recommendation when you inquire. However, typically around 5:30pm is a good general first guess here. There are things to take into account like if you’d like to do a first look or not that will also be a factor!
Do they allow for sparkler exits? Should we do one?
As of writing this, yes sparklers are allowed at The Bradford and are such a beautiful way to end the night and get those magical photos as well!
HI, I'M RAE
GET TO KNOW THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Hey, my name is Rae and I’m a natural light photographer of 16+ years who has fallen in love with my city of Raleigh and the wonderful people I get to work with here in the wedding industry.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of The Bradford. Of course it is a wedding photographer dream with the images that come out of a Bradford wedding, but also the people there are so professional, kind, and very good at making magic come to life. I would love to hear more about your wedding day here!
THE HEART
behind the photos
Luxurious details, sweeping tablescapes, they’re all great. I love em too.
But the reason I’m passionate about weddings is because of the unplanned moments. I look back on my own wedding day and cherish the people that showed up for me, the surprising tears and the wild dance floor tricks that maybe weren’t gonna be featured on a big wedding publication, but that make me smile.
I’ve photographed weddings in different languages, on an island, in the South, in New York, in LA… and here’s what I’ve learned is always true.
At the end of the day, weddings are always about humans at our best, celebrating ourselves and the people we love.
