Artistic Terrain Wedding

February 7, 2023

A Terrain wedding offers a modern approach to a garden wedding. This Philadelphia wedding venue comes with a lot of conveniences to simplify designing a unique experience for your guests. Dianne and Prince used modern, artistic details to create a joyful celebration for their loved ones.

A bride and groom lean on each other in the yard at their Terrain wedding.

A Terrain Wedding Reception

If you want to have a Terrain wedding, you actually get to choose from several locations. They currently have venues in Glen Mills and Devon with a third in Doylestown opening in the summer of 2023. Each is a little different but keeps the same focus on incorporating comfort into a garden setting. Venue rental costs can vary quite a bit depending on the time of year and day of the week you’re hoping to get married. Generally, you can expect a Terrain wedding to cost somewhere between $4,500 and $8,000.

A bride sits on a staircase surrounded by her bridesmaids wearing blue nightgowns.

A bride looks out a window at a historic Philadelphia wedding venue.

A closeup photograph shows the details of a the puffy sleeves on a wedding dress.

A bride looks over her shoulder as she walks out of her house.

Dianne and Prince’s Terrain wedding took place at the Devon location. This spot has an emphasis on creating an indoor/outdoor experience for your event. They also cut out the need for a lot of rentals by providing things like chairs, place settings, and decor.

A floral installation hangs over reception tables for a Terrain wedding.

A groom helps a bride carry the train of her wedding dress.

Wedding guests pose during cocktail hour at an outdoor wedding reception.

The in-house caterers at Terrain create beautiful dishes too! They emphasize locally-sourced, seasonal dishes, so you know they’re not pumping out the same boring food at every event. At Dianne and Prince’s wedding, they created decadent spread for cocktail hour and a multi-course seated dinner that was a hit with guests.

Wedding guests sit in front of a reclaimed mantel decorated with white flowers.

A server carries a tray of vegetarian appetizers.

Wedding guests share small plates during cocktail hour.

A Modern Philadelphia Wedding Venue

Since Terrain is a garden center, you might expect it to feel rustic. That could severely limit event design. The Devon location that Dianne and Prince chose actually has a flexible interior. A Terrain wedding could definitely play up the more traditional garden aesthetic, but Dianne and Prince were able to take a more modern approach. They worked with Design by Terrain to create big floral installations in minimalist palettes. They hung from the ceiling and integrated the details from the tablescapes. With the candles on the table, the decor put an elegant spin on the reclaimed barn wood interior.

Wedding guests sit on a white bench beside a clapboard building.

Wedding guests sit around an outdoor table at a Terrain wedding.

Wedding guests laugh and drink red wine.

A Terrain wedding is a great option for anyone who wants their guests to be able to explore and connect with each other. The outdoor cocktail hour gives folks a chance to enjoy the creatively styled garden center. Flowers cover reclaimed mantels. Shaded tables offer places to sit while people enjoy cocktails and eat the colorful food. The space is full of little surprises that create incredible candid moments.

Plates and cups with scraps of food sit on a cocktail table in a garden.

Wedding guests in pastel and floral outfits pose together for a photo at cocktail hour at a Terrain wedding.

Dianne and Prince’s Artistic Reception

When Dianne and Prince reached out to me about photographing their Terrain wedding, they surprised me by telling me that they’d actually been married for three years already. “Technically,” Dianne said, “this wedding is like a grand anniversary celebration.” They pulled out all the stops, though. They described their vision for their wedding this way: “We just want people to have a good time and for them to see the effort that we’ve put into making this day memorable for everyone.”

Guests wave napkins as a bride and groom enter their reception.

Guests eat salads at a candlelit table at a Terrain wedding.

A family member gives a toast during a wedding reception at a Philadelphia wedding.

Dianne and Prince listen to speeches and laugh at their reception table.

Their attentiveness was clear from the time they started getting ready with friends to their reception exit. Dianne designed the wedding, and guests credited her with single-handedly bringing everyone together. She even had a hand in customizing her dress design. It didn’t originally include sleeves, so she had them added.

A bride and groom cut their wedding cake beneath a custom neon wedding sign.

A bowtie sits beside a floral arrangement during a wedding reception.

Lights blur behind a floral arrangement at a Terrain wedding reception.

Even though Dianne had an eye for design, she didn’t share wedding photography inspiration with me. Prince and she really trusted that my approach to photography would capture their Terrain wedding the way they wanted to remember it. Dianne and Prince’s guests brought as much creativity and joy to their wedding as the couple did. Their photos show how enthusiastic they were and how much the unpredictable in-between moments colored the day with laughter and warmth.