Cartersville is a county seat in its own right, but plenty of Bartow County couples still make the short trip off I-75 to Rome for their wedding day, about 22 miles away, for a very different kind of venue than the farms scattered around Bartow County.
Bartow County couples looking for something other than an outdoor farm or barn find it in downtown Rome: a historic building with a full kitchen, real restrooms, and one address for the ceremony, reception, and everything between. The drive from Cartersville is a short, familiar one off I-75, the same corridor most Bartow County residents already use to reach Rome or Atlanta.
As the Bartow County seat, Cartersville has its own courthouse square and its own sense of civic identity, but that does not mean every couple wants a hometown wedding. A good number head toward Rome instead, off I-75, about 22 miles away, for a venue with a different feel entirely.
River Arts Venue sits on 5th Avenue in Rome's River Arts District: a warehouse-style hall with arched beams and polished concrete floors, not a repurposed pasture. The full kitchen means a Cartersville couple's caterer works with real equipment, and the Loft upstairs gives the wedding party its own space to get ready.
Because Cartersville sits so close by, the venue also works well for the events around the wedding itself. An engagement party or a bridal shower does not need its own separate venue search when the Meeting Room is available for a smaller gathering.
A River Arts wedding is rarely just the wedding day. The engagement party, the bridal shower, and the Monday morning vendor meeting can all happen at the same downtown Rome address.
The full Northwest Georgia wedding guide: spaces, pricing, and everything Cartersville couples ask about.
Engagement parties, bridal and baby showers, and the rest of the celebrations that lead up to the wedding.
Book the Meeting Room for a rehearsal-dinner planning session or your next off-site, no extra drive to Atlanta.
A River Arts wedding is not confined to a single room. Each space below is bookable on its own, or combine them for the full day.
The flagship space for the ceremony and reception: an open floor, arched beams, and a full kitchen, with the Loft included, up to 200 guests.
An upstairs lounge of couches and soft seating where the wedding party can gather beforehand or slip away to during the reception, up to 30 guests.
Right-sized for a small ceremony or an easy rehearsal dinner, seating 50 or 75 reception-style.
Take over every space for a weekend buyout: Big Room, Loft, Office Suite, and studios, scaling to 300 guests.
There is no single fixed wedding package, since every wedding books a different mix of hours and spaces, but the starting points are public. The Big Room, with the Loft included, starts from $200+ an hour with a 3-hour minimum, and a weekend whole-building buyout for the largest celebrations starts from $2,500+ a day. For a smaller Cartersville gathering, like a rehearsal dinner or an intimate ceremony, the Meeting Room runs $125+ an hour Friday through Sunday with a 3-hour minimum, or a Monday through Thursday block from $200+ up to $300+ depending on the time of day.
Your total depends on the hours and spaces you book, so request a quote for your date and see how much further your budget goes toward the caterer, the photographer, and the honeymoon.
See what past couples and guests have to say about their day at River Arts Venue.
Read our Google reviewsPlanning from a neighboring town? River Arts Venue is an easy drive from these nearby communities too.
About 22 miles, off I-75 into downtown Rome.
Regularly. Even as the Bartow County seat, Cartersville couples still choose River Arts Venue for its historic downtown building and full kitchen, different from the area's farm and barn venues.
Yes. The Meeting Room is sized for a smaller gathering like a shower or engagement party, so a Cartersville couple can keep the whole celebration at one venue.
Every space at River Arts Venue is fully indoors, so there is no separate rain plan to arrange. The ceremony and reception happen in the same climate-controlled building either way.
Whatever the size, from an intimate ceremony to a several-hundred-guest celebration, check live availability and request your date. A deposit secures it, and we'll help with the details from there.
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