Say “I Do” to a Golf Course Wedding

July 14, 2014

When you reach the 7^th hole of The Currituck Club, a Rees Jones-designed course along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, you may find a weathered wood cross or a flower-covered arch perched on the edge of the tee deck. As general manager Jack Stone explains,  “This is a million-dollar view — what better setting for a wedding?”

Event coordinator Ashley Earnhardt says, “We take guests out to the tee in an old fashioned white trolley. After the ceremony, the bride and groom ride to their reception in a decorated golf cart.”  Earnhardt says she has arranged “Par-fect” pictures of golfing guests, monogrammed beer cozies, wedding cakes shaped like giant golf balls and centerpieces depicting golf greens.

Golf courses provide some of the most dramatic places in the world to say “I do:” striking red rock formations, masses of flowers, terraces perched on the edge of canyons, mountains and deserts and the list goes on. If you both happen to have a passion for golf as well as for each other, can it get any better?

Take Arrowhead Golf Club just outside Denver, Colo., where ancient red sandstone rocks jut skyward out of the “flat iron landscape.” Extreme elevation changes on this Robert Trent Jones Jr. course not only provide golfers with a challenging round, but also afford couples a highly memorable setting for their special day.

Arrowhead’s glass-enclosed Roxborough Room looks out to the mountains while its Tent Pavilion nestles up to behemoth red rocks. Since it is adjacent to the range, catering director Whitney Cole says, “We leave some balls and pads out there just in case guests want to try out their skills.”

A popular option leading up to the big day in Arrowhead is a golf outing with players receiving a 20% discount off green fees. Indeed an added perk in having a golf course wedding is the opportunity to arrange events like tournaments, putting contests, pitching challenges and night glow golf with guests.

Up to ten wedding guests get a free round of golf at Landings at Spirit Golf Club in Chesterfield, Miss. Set in a river valley near the bluffs of Wildhorse Creek, the Landings’ banquet room’s expansive windows reveal superb vistas of the Roger Null-designed golf course.

With seven golf courses and four different places to stay, Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., offers couples many choices: the Wedding Garden overlooking Wild Turkey, the Emerald Ballroom at Grand Cascades Lodge, the outdoor pavilion at Minerals Hotel and the Celtic-style Ballyowen Golf Club.

“A lot of couples make a weekend out of it playing golf, going to the spa and enjoying our pools,” says Chelsea Vander Groef, Crystal Spring’s public relations director. “All couples receive a complimentary foursome at Black Bear, Great Gorge or Crystal Springs courses.”

Or, why not have your wedding where stars like Elvis and Priscilla have honeymooned —  in classy Palm Springs, Cali. A desert oasis ringed by mountains promises incredible views wherever you look and the golf couldn’t be better. For example, Indian Wells Golf Resort has 36 superb holes and their Callaway Performance Center can custom fit you for clubs just in case you’re looking for a unique wedding gift.

At Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort, weddings can be held on the driving range and groom cakes are baked in the shape of a golf cart. Tee up at SilverRock Resort, home to a celebrated Arnold Palmer Course, or the JW Marriott Desert Springs Golf Club Resort’s pair of exceptional courses where your decorated golf cart can be personalized with your names and a bunker may feature a large heart in honor of your special day.

Don’t be surprised, as you play into the18th green of the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge course in Charlotte, N.C., if you see a couple holding hands under a flowered arch as they marry on the South Lawn. In addition to the South and North Lawns, Ballantyne has a ballroom, a full service spa offering wedding day salon services, massages and other treatments.

With a golf-themed wedding you have so many ways to go from place cards, bag tags and attendant gifts to favors, invitations and wedding cakes. And remember that traditional ritual where the bride and groom walk under an arch of crossed swords? Why not use golf clubs?

There is no telling what you can conjure up when you plan your wedding – or vow renewal ceremony – with golf in mind.