Highland Brewing Wedding Venue | Asheville NC
Highland Brewing Wedding Venue | Asheville NC
Asheville is known for its many different craft breweries. But did you know that Highland Brewing Company was the first craft brewery in Asheville? Since opening, Highland has continued to expand and in 2018, they opened up the Event Center & Barrel Room. These two spaces are perfect for couples wanting a brewery wedding in North Carolina. If you’re a beer lover, having a highland brewing wedding is definitely something to consider! What makes this venue unique is that they have two separate event spaces to choose from and depending on the package you choose, you can have your ceremony on the rooftop.
Why Couples Love Highland Brewing Weddings
Location
Highland Brewing is located in East Asheville. It’s close enough that all rideshare companies service the area, & there are plenty of hotels nearby for guests to stay at. The Asheville airport is only a twenty minute drive and it’s about a 2 hour drive from the Charlotte airport. Highland is close enough to the Blue Ridge Parkway that you could spend the morning doing a first look in the mountains and still be back with plenty of time pre-ceremony for wedding party and family photos.
Rooftop ceremony views of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Highland Brewing offers two different packages where you can say “I do” with the beautiful blue ridge mountains in the backdrop. The classy clear “ghost” chairs for the ceremony are included and they have an option to have your cocktail hour up there too. The sun sets behind the catwalk staircase & is absolutely stunning! It’s a great option if you’re wanting an Asheville rooftop wedding.
Industrial-chic architecture
The design of both the barrel room & event center are gorgeous enough that you don’t even need a ton of decor! If you are a decor lover, they offer a bunch of in-house options to rent. My personal favorite is the greenery on the stairs & lights in the event center & the greenery on the barrels in the barrel room! It totally transforms the spaces.
Large guest capacity
The event center can hold up to 200 guests, so you don’t have to limit who gets invited.
Craft Beer
As the first craft brewery in Asheville, Highland Brewing sure does have some of the best beer! I am not even a beer person but their daycation gold is SO GOOD. They also have a pilot program where they brew different new recipes every week. The week of your event you’re able to choose one to have served at your reception along with all of the rest of their regular offerings. They also have liquor package options as well & make some reaaaally tasty signature cocktails!
Indoor/Outdoor Spaces
Both event spaces come with a patio area directly outside for guests to hang out. The barrel room patio is perfect for some cornhole boards for a brunch wedding.
Event Spaces at Highland Brewing
The Event Center
The Event Center is perfect for guest counts of 80-200 guests. April-November the Event Center package includes the use of the rooftop. If it rains, the backup plan is ceremony in the event center and then cocktail hour on the mezzanine. The space features tall ceilings, large windows allowing tons of natural light, exposed industrial beams, market lights, a stage an built in AV system for your DJ, wedding suite, built in bar with a live edge bar top, & plenty of space.
Rooftop Ceremony Space
The rooftop is available April through November for the event center package & the morning time barrel room package. It features stunning mountain views and can be used for your cocktail hour as well. It’s also a great spot for family and wedding party photos before the ceremony as well as golden hour photos.
The Barrel Room
The Barrel room is perfect for couples wanting a small wedding venue in Asheville. There are two different packages you can choose. One is a morning time ceremony on the rooftop with an afternoon brunch reception in the barrel room. The other is an evening time intimate wedding where both ceremony & reception happen in the barrel room. I usually only recommend this package for smaller guest counts, or if you have a floor plan where the guests are able to be seated at their dinner tables for the ceremony. That way there doesn’t have to be a ton of moving furniture during cocktail hour. The evening barrel room package also works perfect for smaller weddings where your ceremony is somewhere else and then you want a nice room for your reception. It’s also excellent for post-elopement & rehearsal dinners. The barrel room features live plants suspended from the ceiling, barrel-lined walls, skylights, and a patio.
What Makes a Highland Brewing Wedding Unique
Highland Brewing includes drink packages in every quote. It’s a laid back vibe with sunset mountain views & you don’t need to decorate too much. They also allow you to bring in your own caterer as long as they are full service! Some of my favorites are Celine & Company, Catering by Corey, & SMASH.
Best Photo Locations at Highland Brewing
The Meadow
The Meadow is the outdoor area near the volleyball courts. There’s a beautiful forest that makes the perfect backdrop for photos. There’s also a disc golf course and a picnic area. This is a popular spot to take couples photos & wedding party photos.
The Can Wall
The coolest part about having your wedding at Highland is that you get to go back into the canning area of the warehouse where beer cans are stacked 10-12 feet high. The can wall makes for some awesome and unique couples photos.
The Rooftop
Nothing is better than natural light for photos! The rooftop is perfect for wedding party & family photos.
The Barrel Room
If the barrel room isn’t being used for another event & you have the event center booked, most of the time the venue coordinators are okay with us sneaking in for a few photos in front of the barrel wall. It makes for a unique setting for your photos – especially with all of the live plants hanging in the ceiling planters.
Industrial Staircase
The catwalk and staircase are a great spot for some beautiful photos featuring the mountains or sunset in the distance.
Highland Brewing Wedding Day Timeline
Curious what your wedding day could look like if you book the evening event center and rooftop package? Here is what I would suggest for a mid-May Highland Brewing wedding.
Photographer Arrives to Getting Ready Location
Get ready at a hotel in downtown or a pretty airbnb nearby! I’ll take some detail photos and last minute getting ready photos before we head out to the venue.
Venue Opens to Vendors & Couple Heads to Venue
Highland Brewing allows three hours for your vendors to setup. If they don’t have another event booked for the morning, you’re able to add on more time if needed. But usually three hours is plenty! Any decor you’ve rented from Highland will be mostly setup by this point.
Couple Arrives at Highland
Have a drink from the bar, and do any last touch ups on your makeup or hair. My second photographer & I will take some wedding party photos of each side separately.
First Look
See your partner for the first time on your wedding day. We’ll take some individual photos of each of you after the first look as well.
Wedding Party Photos
I’ll take photos of the entire wedding party all together as well as finish up any from each side that we didn’t get to.
Immediate Family Photos
If you want to be able to enjoy some of your cocktail hour, we’ll try to get most of the family photos done ahead of the ceremony.
Ceremony Detail Photos
While you’re relaxing, I’ll take photos of all the ceremony details you spent time curating.
Guests Start Arriving
Tuck away to the wedding suite or the mezzanine & relax before the ceremony while guests arrive. You won’t need ushers because your included venue coordinator will take care of showing guests where to go.
Ceremony on the Rooftop
Say “I do” on the rooftop
Cocktail Hour on the Rooftop
Take the remaining family photos at the ceremony site, head to the meadow for some couples photos & then enjoy the end of your cocktail hour on the rooftop. While my second photographer is photographing you enjoying your cocktail hour, I will take photos of your reception space details.
Reception in the Event Center
Make your grand entrance from the mezzanine stairs or from the foyer. Then enjoy a delicious dinner.
Sneak Away for Sunset Photos on the Rooftop
Golden hour couples photos on the rooftop is a must have!
Toasts & Speeches
With the built in AV system, your guests who have speeches are able to use a wireless microphone so that they can stand right next to you – making for better photos!
Dancing!
Have fun with your guests dancing the night away. With your DJ or band on stage, that leaves plenty of room in front of the stage for your dance floor.
Sparkler Exit on the Front Steps
Say goodbye to family and friends, grab your getaway car, and head to the after party!
The End of your Highland Brewing Wedding
Highland Brewing allows one hour for cleanup after the event. So, make sure to have a list of everything you want to keep and take home to give to your planner! They’ll be able to pack it all up and either put it in someone’s car or in the vendor bay area for pickup on the Monday after your wedding.
Tips for Getting Married at Highland Brewing
Best seasons for rooftop ceremonies
The last weekend of May & the first weekend in November are definitely the best two weekends to get married at Highland! In May you get beautiful spring blossoms & in late October/early November you get peak fall foliage. The temperatures outside are just right & it’s usually not very rainy those times of year.
Rain backup plans
The rain backup plan totally depends on which package you’ve booked & whether or not Highland Brewing has any other events scheduled in their other space at the same time. For event center weddings, you’re generally able to also purchase the barrel room rental if you want a guaranteed rain backup plan for your ceremony and cocktail hour that is a separate space from your reception.
Sunset timing
Sunset definitely depends on the time of year. For early spring weddings, you’ll want to schedule golden hour photos around 7pm. For mid summer it would be around 7:30pm, and for late fall it would be 5:30pm.
Parking tips
Highland Brewing does have a public taproom that gets very busy on the weekends. I always recommend that couples hire a transportation company such as Young Transportation or Grayline Trolleys to transport as many guests as possible. For guests that do drive to Highland Brewing, it’s important to let them know that they are able to leave their car overnight in case they drink too much to be able to drive safely. Ride sharing companies like Uber & Lyft do service the area too!
Timeline suggestions
For Highland Brewing weddings, I always suggest getting as many photos done pre-ceremony as possible. This is because most of the time family photos after the ceremony are taken right next to the cocktail hour area, so guests will want to pull you & family members away from the photos to chat. I also always suggest taking some extra time to take photos in the meadow to get a nice variety of backdrops for your final album.
FAQ Section
Looking for the perfect place to celebrate? Check out my Asheville Wedding Venues Guide!
