9 Amazing Garden Wedding Venues in and Around New York City

Do you love lush gardens, manicured lawns, and gorgeous greenery details? Care to channel your inner Downton Abbey character at your wedding ceremony? If so, New York City couples are in luck and don't need to travel very far to have a romantic garden-style wedding. From local botanical gardens and riverside estates to farm-to-table properties and rooftop gardens with city views, these striking green spaces are a perfect way for a cosmopolitan couple to escape the urban jungle when they say "I do."

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Venue versatility is the name of the game at the 52-acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Couples can choose to have their ceremony at the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, the Italianate Osborne Garden, or the Cranford Rose Garden before moving on to celebrate in either the Palm House (that hosts 250 guests seated) or the Atrium (that hosts 125 guests seated). The Patina Restaurant Group exclusively manages catering throughout the BBG, but couples must also pay a site fee to the Garden itself, which is partially donated to its preservation.

Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa

Buttermilk Falls is a private retreat, located just 75 miles from New York City. It's the perfect fit for couples who love the warmth of a rustic-chic destination wedding. While couples can marry outdoors on the open grounds, The Barn at Buttermilk is versatile enough to be transformed into the epitome of country elegance. Buttermilk boasts 18 guest rooms, including four carriage houses, that can comfortably sleep 50 guests, as well as a state-of-the-art spa and enclosed pool perfect for pampering the bridal party. The venue can easily accommodate up to 200 guests, but many couples have held intimate celebrations of about 50 guests, opting to use catering by the hotel's in-house restaurant, Henry's.

Wave Hill

Wave Hill is a lush, green estate in the Bronx's Riverdale neighborhood, with 28 acres of romantic gardens, historic structures, and striking views of the Hudson and New Jersey Palisades. It's a terrific choice for NYC couples who crave a garden-side celebration without leaving the confines of the city. Wave Hill is located just 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan and is easily accessible for guests traveling from Westchester, Connecticut, and northern New Jersey.

Weddings only take place in the evenings after the grounds close, so every event remains intimate—from the ceremony beneath the pergola and the first dance in the historic Armor House to beautiful portraits in the secluded Aquatic Garden. Farm-to-table cuisine is provided through exclusive caterer Great Performances, which utilizes its own Katchkie Farm in Columbia Country, New York for nearly all the culinary elements of your event.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

For 13 years, Blue Hill has cultivated a reputation for refined farm-to-table cuisine, generous hospitality, and elegant design at both its New York City restaurant and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the Rockefeller barn-turned-Westchester locale. The Pocantico Hills agro-restaurant includes two separate dining spaces: a 14-seat dining room (with a reservation calendar that rivals the chicest city spots), and the elegant HayLoft space, which hosts weddings for up to 260 guests.

The HayLoft is, to put it lightly, the elite of elite for foodie couple nuptials. No epicurean detail is overlooked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, making the meal a celebration unto itself. For couples craving a bit of the Blue Hill experience outside of NYC and Westchester, it has now launched On the Road, bringing the company's storied cuisine, staff, style, and expertise to weddings outside the greater New York City area.

New York Botanical Gardens

New York City couples have long loved the so-close-but-so-far feeling of the New York Botanical Gardens. Its storied grounds and palatial Palm Court conservatory offer a worlds-away feeling but with a city-centric level of service. Now that esteemed restaurateur Stephen Starr (of Buddakan, Morimoto, and Caffe Storico fame) has acquired catering, that feeling has been elevated even more.

Starr serves guests in multiple reception locations, including the grand-scale Garden Terrace—a classic ballroom with hand-painted murals and oversized arched windows overlooking the arboretum—for seated dinner parties of up to 350 people. More intimate weddings of up to 100 guests are seated in the newly-renovated Stone Mill, the city's first LEEDS-certified event space, with reclaimed wood details at the bank of the Bronx River. Ceremonies can take place at multiple locations around the garden, with site fees varying by location.

Glenmere Mansion

With 150 acres of rolling lawns, sweeping views, formal gardens and magnificent mansions as your muse, Glenmere Mansion can conjure up many unique wedding experiences. The former industrial titan's estate-turned-posh-boutique-hotel has hosted tented weddings for 400 on the Meadow. It's also been used as a private country estate for a more hushed-over wedding weekend. No matter the celebration size, the common denominator here is luxe—the self-proclaimed "classic 19-suite playpen" has been lovingly remodeled for today's most discerning clientele with a full-service spa, Turkish baths, and a helicopter landing pad for guests. Glenmere is just a 50-mile hop, skip, and a (Catskill) jump from Manhattan.

Sunday in Brooklyn

If it's your dream to say "I do" in a rooftop garden atop the city, then Sunday in Brooklyn is the venue for the wedding day of your dreams. With a capacity of up to 150 guests, the venue will work closely with couples to design their event on any (or all) of the rooms (they have both a sunroom and a covered garden, as well as spaces with cozy fireplaces). Whether you're envisioning a ceremony in the garden followed by an intimate seated dinner, or a standing reception in the entirety of the venue, this stunning Williamsburg restaurant is perfect for a city wedding surrounded by greenery and—and the food is said to be excellent.

Celebrate at Snug Harbor

Located on Staten Island in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens, Celebrate at Snug Harbor weds stunning architecture, a beautiful botanical garden, and delicious cuisine. The impressive 83-acre property boasts manicured gardens and a mix of Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, Italianate, and Victorian structures. With multiple options for where to exchange vows (a few popular spots include the Rose Garden and the Tuscan Garden), the venue's event design team works hard to create a custom experience for couples.

620 Loft & Garden

Located at the iconic Rockefeller Center, 620 Loft & Garden is a unique Manhattan venue that mixes striking views of Fifth Avenue and St. Patrick's Cathedral with lush gardens and a fountain in a rooftop setting. The historic site is very customizable, with both indoor and outdoor spaces available for wedding ceremonies, receptions, and events.