Venue Spotlight: Glen-Ella Springs Inn and Restaurant

Photo by Melissa Schollaert

The afternoon sun is fading into warm evening light. Guests are seated on the grass of a fairytale-like meadow. Green trees surround the open space and pockets of color, wildflowers,  appear as if they were lightly painted onto the grass. The sounds of falling water are distant yet present. The Wedding Tree is only missing a bride beneath it, as she comes ever closer down the aisle. Such is the image you may find at Glen-Ella Springs any given weekend. 

The Glen-Ella Springs wedding weekend is all about one thing: the experience. Owners Luciana and Ed Kivett put great emphasis on the wedding experience not just for the bride and groom, but for all guests who attend: “What really gives me a lot of joy is creating a really special environment for our guests. The guest experience to me is a priority,” Luci said.  

Glen-Ella is the woodland wedding getaway of dreams and we are thrilled to include it in our venue spotlight this week! Finding the right venue can be an overwhelming task for couples, so here are four things you need to know about Glen-Ella. 

Photo by Melissa Schollaert

1. Glen-Ella Springs is full of history.

Glen and Ella Davidson began welcoming guests to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the late 1800s. After being restored in 1986, by Bobby and Barrie Aycock, Glen-Ella Springs was up and running for twenty years before it was sold again to its current innkeepers, Luci and Ed in 2008. Since then, the Kivetts have worked hard to maintain its historical integrity while keeping it modern. “We believe that guests really enjoy the historic aspect of the property but it’s important to be very fresh,” Luci said. If you love history, this venue is a must. It’s even listed on the National Register of Historic Places! 

2. There’s a full-service restaurant that provides catering- and they take special requests! 

Glen-Ella’s restaurant caters all of their events, providing guests with a true fine-dining experience. Since Glen-Ella weddings usually consist of a full weekend affair, the restaurant can be enjoyed more than once. For the big event itself, couples can choose from a preselected menu, or create a personalized one. If you ever find yourself at a tasting, make sure and try some of their signature dishes, like the pecan-crusted rainbow trout or their shrimp and grits dish. It won’t disappoint!

3. Glen-Ella only does one wedding per weekend.

Who says destination weddings have to be in Fiji or Hawaii? Glen-Ella is a different kind of destination for couples, their friends, and family to unplug, and you get the whole mountain getaway to yourself. “When we have a wedding on Saturday, we don’t have a wedding on Sunday,“ Luci said. That means it’s all about you; no back-to-back ceremonies, no running into another bride in the bathroom, no rushing.

4. Glen-Ella is the for the “Woodsy Chic” bride.

If words like pastoral, natural, peaceful, etc. come to mind when you’re thinking about your wedding, there’s a good chance you’re a Glen-Ella bride. “I have a term that I use that I feel like describes us that is ‘woodsy chic,’” Luci said.  “We are completely in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Forest. We are completely engulfed by woods. A kind of tag line we use is historic, rustic, refined. There’s a rusticness to it, but we want our guests to have a refined experience.”

Glen-Ella’s appeal comes not only from it’s “rustic, refined” style but from owners Luci and Ed themselves. Entirely committed to each couple’s wedding weekend experience, “it’s personal for me,” Luci said.  “There are a lot of couples that are not interested in having a relationship; they just want more of a business relationship. I do have to say with us, it’s very personal. The experience is important to us and it relates to the setting, the hospitality. It’s super important that our guests feel welcomed.”

To learn more about this venue or to schedule a tour, visit their website.