Plentywoods Wedding Venue in Elkins, Arkansas
Plentywoods is one of the newest wedding venues in Northwest Arkansas. It officially opened in fall 2023. I took the 30-minute trip from downtown Fayetteville to Elkins recently and toured the venue with the owner, Marsha, and her daughter Morgan.
The view and scenery
The first thing I noticed driving up to the venue was the view! Incredible view up the White River Valley towards Fayetteville. It was noon light but I could totally imagine making sunset wedding portraits with that view every time I’ll work at the venue.
Venue design and architecture
This place is big and thoughtfully designed with photography in mind. You can close the large windows behind the indoor ceremony area to prevent silhouetting, for example. This is actually a huge advantage! Many venues offer large windows for natural light but no way to control it if it gets too bright. Secondly, I love the balance between the modern design elements and the rustic barn flair. The exterior is mostly white and stone – the floors are polished concrete, very modern. Then you have all the warm brown colors and barn design elements to contrast, I love it.
The bridal suite
The bridal suite on the upper floor is large! Super spacious, with a warm pink and gold color palette. with vanity stations, a bathroom, a covered balcony (and a killer view) – a floral sofa, a kitchenette, and its own storage room. I have never been to a bridal suite with its own storage. This is another thoughtful design element that few think of. Almost every time I show up for getting ready photos, the bridal suite is a bit of a mess. What usually happens then, the bridesmaids designate a corner or a sofa to put everything in so we can get clean backgrounds in the photos. With a storage room built in, that problem is no more. Another cool photography-related thing about the suite – the large windows offer plenty of natural light photography inside. They’re also facing west, so you’ll not have harsh sunlight coming in as you’re getting ready in the morning and afternoon. It’s like they thought of everything for photos! Last but not least is the grand staircase leading up to or down from the bridal suite. This means that for inside ceremonies, the bride gets the prettiest entrance. For outside ceremonies, the couple can walk up the exterior stairs into the bridal suite and make their grand entrance down the stairs. Either way, incredible staircase photos will happen!
The groom’s suite
The groom’s suite is on the first floor, right as you enter through the main entrance. It is smaller but features a full bathroom with a shower, a sofa, and counter-height seating. The color palette is a soft green and natural wood. The windows are also facing west, so you’ll have naturally soft light for photos in there.
Pricing, capacity, and more
Plentywoods’ pricing is transparent, which I love and that’s something that I apply in my photography pricing and collections. Nobody wants to fill out a form and set up a call two days later to find out how much a rental is. The venue can host up to 350 guests and offers multiple ceremony areas.
Fall 2023 Saturdays are $5000
Fall 2023 Fridays and Sundays are $4500
Winter and Spring 2024 rentals are $5500
My photos from the visit (May 2023)
