Location: 312 E. Mason Street, Franklinton, NC 27525 Capacity: Up to 700 guests (amphitheater); 200 guests (Grand Hall) Type: Estate / Manor House Website: thecarolinamanorhouse.com
The Carolina Manor House is a restored Queen Anne house on 10 acres of century-old oaks in Franklinton, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built as the private residence of Dr. J.H. Harris, a Franklinton physician, and the current owners restored it and opened it as a wedding venue in 2023. A full wedding rental buys 12 hours of exclusive access to the house and grounds, with the ceremony itself allowed to start no later than 4:30 p.m.
The house keeps its porches, a main hall and getting-ready suites. Beyond the house, the property spreads across several distinct settings: Lula's Wedding Chapel, an open lawn amphitheater and a patio, with a cellar below the house itself, so a wedding weekend can move from room to room without repeating itself.
The Grand Hall
The Grand Hall is the reception room, 4,400 square feet under high ceilings and chandeliers, with glass sliding doors, a built-in bar, and a catering prep area behind the scenes. It is fully enclosed and climate controlled, so it doubles as rain backup for an outdoor ceremony. The venue sets it for up to 200 guests, with tables and chairs included, and the open floor plan leaves the layout to the couple: long tables or round, where the dance floor sits, what lounge furniture goes in.
Lula's Wedding Chapel
Lula's Wedding Chapel is tucked into the grounds apart from the house, built to hold up to 120 guests. Couples who want their vows outdoors and their reception indoors use the walk between the chapel and the Grand Hall as the hinge of the day, a change of scene between the ceremony and the party that follows.
The Grounds
A 60-by-60-foot patio with string lighting and a fixed bar handles cocktail hour, with two fire pits in the adjoining outdoor gathering area for the evening. An amphitheater with graduated outdoor seating is available for an additional fee and is built to hold up to 700 guests, the option for a couple whose ceremony list runs well past what the Grand Hall or Lula's Wedding Chapel can seat. Below the house, the Bourbon and Wine Cellar seats up to 25 for a rehearsal dinner or a smaller gathering, with a bar built from reclaimed wood. Four elevated treehouse cabins, each holding up to 4 guests, come with one night's stay included in a full wedding rental, so the couple and their party can spend their wedding night on the property.
What We Design Here
With this many settings, we choose a palette that travels with the couple from room to room and holds together all day. We work in warm tones, ivory, soft gold and dusty color, set against the house's white trim and the deep green of the oaks, so the flowers feel like part of the grounds.
Scale changes by room. The Grand Hall's ceiling height suits taller, more architectural arrangements and structured tablework. Lula's Wedding Chapel asks for looser, lower work that sits comfortably among the live plantings. The cellar's low ceiling and close walls want small, quiet pieces; a single low arrangement per table is often enough in a room with that much character of its own. Across all of it, the goal is texture and structure that hold up in both daylight on the patio and the warmer light inside the hall after dark.
Practical
Franklinton is about 35 minutes from Raleigh. The venue provides parking on-site for roughly 100 cars, and couples are free to bring their own vendors at no additional cost. The venue is happy to share recommendations. The 4 treehouse cabins are included with a full wedding rental. The events team can be reached at 919-426-5649 for tours, pricing, and availability.
Hidden Door Floral Studio is a Raleigh wedding florist designing for weddings across Raleigh, the Triangle and North Carolina, and happy to travel beyond. To talk about your wedding at The Carolina Manor House, schedule a consultation.
Planning a wedding or event here? See our wedding and event flowers.