The San Antonio Botanical Garden

Twenty weddings and elopements later, I can confidently say the San Antonio Botanical Garden is my favorite wedding venue in San Antonio.

Whether you’re planning an intimate elopement, a brunch wedding, or a celebration of love with hundreds of your favorite people, there’s a space here that feels like it was designed just for you.

Because there are so many areas where you can say your “I do’s,” it can feel a little overwhelming deciding which one is right for you. Hey, that rhymed!!

I’ve put together this guide of all my favorite ceremony locations, portrait spots, and a few logistical tips I’ve learned after photographing weddings here for over a decade. Below is a map to help you navigate yourself around the expansive gardens:

This blog post includes photos & info about the following spaces:

• Betty Kelso Center

• Wisteria Arbor & Greehey Lawn

• Sacred Garden

• Lucile Halsell Conservatory
  • Napier Family Orchid Pavilion
  • Fern Grotto
  • Palm & Cycad Pavilion
  • Gretchen Northrup Tropical Conservatory
  • Courtyard

• Amphitheater

• Auld House & Patio

• Kumamoto En

The Betty Kelso Center

If you’re having a large wedding (over 100 people) you’re probably picturing the BKC. With both indoor and outdoor spaces for your guests to spread out, the Betty Kelso Center is the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s primary reception venue, accommodating large celebrations while still feeling connected to the gardens themselves.

I’ve seen couples transform the indoor reception space with hanging floral installations, elaborate tablescapes, exciting dinner activations, and incredible dynamic lighting. Honestly, every wedding I’ve photographed here has its own personality. Throw down a checkerboard dance floor to instantly uplevel your reception photos.

Using the Betty Kelso Center comes with some really great logistical perks. There’s a private entrance into the Botanical Garden for you and your guests, a dedicated getting ready area, private bathrooms, and tables + chairs are included.

Plus, your rental of the Betty Kelso Center includes access to Greehey Lawn, Wisteria Arbor (where most couples have their ceremony), Sacred Garden, and Sensory Garden.

Pricing for up to 250 guests:

• Starting at $6,000 Sunday
• Starting at $4,000 Monday – Wednesday
• Starting at $7,500 Thursday
• Starting at $9,500 Friday
• Starting at $11,500 Saturday
• An additional $1,000 for 250-350 guests

Includes 100 chairs, 10 round tables, and security when there’s over 100 guests

Wisteria Arbor & Greehey Lawn

Steps from the Betty Kelso Center (literally, there are concrete steps up to the grass) lies the breathtaking Wisteria Arbor atop Greehey Lawn. While I’ve seen some couples use the steps for their ceremony, most couples use the Wisteria Arbor for their ceremony backdrop with guests seated on the lawn. The nearby trees perfectly frame the ceremony and photos by the walkway fountain add a dynamic touch to your lush photo gallery.

Wisteria Arbor and Greehey Lawn are included in the rental fee for Betty Kelso Center, but they are also available for a standalone rental in the morning which is great for micro weddings, elopements, or if you’re wanting your ceremony at the Botanical Garden and your reception elsewhere.

Pricing for 10 – 50 guests:

• Starting at $750 Monday – Thursday
• Starting at $1,500 Friday – Sunday

Pricing for 50 – 100 guests:

• Starting at $1,500 Monday – Thursday
• Starting at $2,000 Friday – Sunday

Includes 100 chairs, 10 round tables, and security when there’s over 100 guests

Available in the morning only from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Sacred Garden

If you’re planning an elopement, micro wedding, or looking for a beautiful corner to have your first look, the Sacred Garden may be the perfect spot for you.

Just a short walk from Wisteria Arbor and through the Rose & Old-Fashioned Gardens, you’ll find yourself standing beneath a massive weeping willow whose branches drape over the circular pathway surrounding the sculpture at the center of the garden. Benches and wooden trellises line the path, inviting you to slow down for a moment and take in what truly feels like a hidden secret garden.

Because the pathway wraps all the way around the willow, I love photographing my couples from the opposite side of the circle. The cascading branches naturally frame them, creating portraits that feel intimate, almost as if you’re tucked away in your own little world. It’s one of those spots where every angle offers something a little different, making each photo feel unique.

Pricing for up to 10 guests:

• Starting at $550 Monday – Sunday

Available in the morning only from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Lucile Halsell Conservatory

If I had to pick one favorite venue for a San Antonio Botanical Garden wedding, it would have to be Lucile Halsell Conservatory.

The conservatory is made up of five unique biomes, each with completely different plants and its own personality. They’re essentially magnificently architected greenhouses with ceilings and walls made almost entirely of glass, creating the dreamiest filtered light for portraits. It’s one of those rare places that photographs beautifully no matter what time of day you’re there.

It’s also one of my favorite backup plans when the Texas weather decides not to cooperate. If it’s raining, we can step inside and still have gorgeous portraits. If it’s the middle of August, it’s usually much cooler than being out in the gardens. And on those surprisingly chilly winter mornings, it’s nice and warm inside.

Fair warning: if you hire me, there’s about a 99% chance I’m taking you over here.

As of the writing of this blog, the Orchid Pavilion and Tropical Room are under construction as major improvements are underway thanks to generous funding from the City of San Antonio. Read more about the evolution of Lucile Halsell Conservatory here.

Pricing for up to 400 guests:

• Starting at $4,500 for up to 200 guests
• Starting at $5,500 for up to 400 guests

Includes 100 chairs, 10 round tables, and security when there’s over 100 guests.

Available in the afternoon only from 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Napier Family Orchid Pavilion

The Orchid Pavilion is always changing and somehow it’s always more gorgeous than the last time I’ve seen it.

Colorful orchids fill the room, koi fish swim through the pond below, and there are multiple paths that wind through it all allowing for us to get creative with fun angles for your wedding photos. Whenever the San Antonio Botanical Garden hosts an artist residency or installation, this is often one of the spots where you’ll find art pieces and they’re so fun to incorporate vibrant color into your photos.

Logistical Fact:  There are restrooms in the Orchid Pavilion!

Fern Grotto

The Fern Grotto is always a crowd favorite.

Between the massive Monstera leaves, lush tropical greenery, and the waterfall spilling into the pond, it feels like stepping into another world. I love letting couples explore the pathway that leads to and under the waterfall while I trail behind with my camera in hand.

Palm and Cycad Pavilion

The Palm and Cycad Pavilion is the largest greenhouse in the conservatory and the only one with a second story.

The ceilings soar overhead, a wall of greenery stretches toward the glass roof, and a spiral walkway leads you past a stunning century-old ponytail palm. One of my favorite portraits to create is photographing my couple from the overhang above while they stand below surrounded by all the plants.

Kleberg Desert Pavilion

The Desert Pavilion always reminds me of West Texas.

It’s filled with towering cacti, sculptural succulents, and some of the coolest desert plants you’ll find anywhere in San Antonio. Whenever the desert rose is blooming, it becomes one of my favorite biomes to stop for portraits. There are steps you can take to walk around the back of the plants which always makes for fun framing in portraits.

Gretchen Northrup Tropical Conservatory

Also known as the Tropical Room, this biome is currently under construction, but is set to open again in the fall of 2026. I’m looking forward to exploring the renovations including a steel walkway you can traverse high above a tropical canopy below, as shared by Hannah Roberts. For now, enjoy these portraits from over the years.

Don’t Skip the Courtyard

The area outside the conservatory deserves just as much attention as the greenhouses themselves.

One of the coolest things about the Lucile Halsell Conservatory is that you can actually host your wedding here too. Ceremonies and receptions can take place in the private courtyard surrounded by the greenhouses, creating a wedding that feels completely tucked away from the rest of the city. Your guests can even wander through the conservatory throughout the evening, which makes for such a fun and unique experience.

The courtyard itself serves a stunning backdrop for portraits and is truly an iconic image of a San Antonio Botanical Garden wedding. Just behind the lawn lies a pond filled with koi fish, stepping stones to bring you from one side to another, and a constant rotation of impressive planting displays. 

Amphitheater

Featuring a beautiful wisteria-covered arbor that stretches across a lengthy gazebo, the Amphitheater is surrounded by stone walls and steps that give the space its name. It’s a venue that often gets overlooked while exploring the gardens. You can see it from the path above, but you have to wander down into the space to truly appreciate how immersive and secluded it feels.

I’ve photographed weddings here where the ceremony takes place in the courtyard with the wisteria arbor behind the couple, followed by a reception in the same space. Tables can be tucked beneath the gazebo while others spill out onto the lawn.

Honestly… it gives me major Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette garden party vibes. Not the actual Marie Antoinette, but the colorful, dreamy, garden party version from the movie.

Pricing for up to 100 guests:

• Starting at $2,500 Monday – Sunday

Includes 100 chairs and 10 round tables

Auld House & Patio

The Auld House is a 150-year-old pine log cabin donated to the Botanical Garden in 1976 by the Auld family.

This historic home is perfect for micro weddings and intimate elopements, especially if you’re looking for something with a little more character and history. There’s a covered back patio that makes for a great summertime ceremony, and the air-conditioned house is perfect for your sit-down meal with all your guests seated together at a long table.

Portraits around the Auld House are equally lovely. The century-old building itself creates a rustic Texas backdrop, and during the summer the nearby field often fills with thousands of native wildflowers. It’s one of those surprises people don’t expect to find tucked away inside the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Pricing for up to 40 guests:

• Starting at $500 Monday – Thursday
• Starting at $950 Friday – Sunday

Includes 100 chairs and 10 round tables

Kumamoto En

Just steps from the main entrance, Kumamoto En feels unlike anywhere else in the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Surrounded by four bamboo walls, you’ll find a koi pond crossed by a small ornamental bridge, turtles and ducks wandering around, rolling grassy hills, and a charming gazebo tucked into the back of the landscape. Gifted by San Antonio’s sister city, Kumamoto, Japan.

It’s a peaceful place to exchange vows in a truly tranquil setting as it can easily be blocked off for privacy. Also a beautiful place to have a first look.

Pricing for up to 10 guests:

• Starting at $400 Monday – Sunday

One Garden with Endless Possibilities

One of my favorite things about San Antonio Botanical Garden weddings is that they never look exactly the same. While the photos throughout this guide can help paint a picture of what your own wedding photos might look like, keep in mind that the gardens are always growing and evolving. Plants grow, flowers bloom with the seasons, exhibits come and go, and Texas weather has a mind of its own. A spot overflowing with wildflowers one year might look completely different the next, and honestly, that’s part of the magic.

What does that mean for you?

Your wedding photos won’t look exactly like anyone else’s.

The best part is that choosing one area for your ceremony doesn’t mean that’s the only part of the Botanical Garden you’ll get to experience on your wedding day. We can totally wander! Depending on your timeline, we can explore the Conservatory, sneak away to the Sacred Garden, pop into Kumamoto En, and frolic across Greehey Lawn. Some of my favorite galleries from the Botanical Garden include photos from several completely different areas, all within the same day.

With so many unique spaces packed into one garden, we can create photos that feel tropical, colorful, romantic, woodsy, and completely tucked away in nature without ever leaving the property.

After photographing weddings and elopements here for over a decade, that’s still one of my favorite things. I know my little corners and must stop at photo spots, but there’s always something new to discover.

So choose the ceremony space that feels most like you and we’ll explore the rest together.

Ready to Plan Your Wedding or Elopement?

Keep in mind that pricing, rental options, guest capacities, and available spaces are always subject to change. And just like the plants themselves, the gardens will continue to grow and evolve! The Garden you see in these photos may look a little different by the time your wedding day rolls around.

For the most up-to-date pricing, availability, and information about hosting your wedding at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, visit their Private Events & Rentals page or reach out to their events team directly at rentthegarden@sabot.org.

Looking for a photographer and videographer who knows the San Antonio Botanical Garden inside and out?

Let’s create colorful, candid photos and nostalgic wedding films that feel like you.

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