When the leaves change, your vows can be exchanged.

Is a Fall 2023 destination wedding or honeymoon in your plans? In the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest, Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge is one dazzling location. Follow along with me as I research throwing a destination wedding there.

While traditional wedding colors trend around creams, pastels, and whites and blacks, a fall wedding at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge can be vibrant, especially as the leaves change at the end of October and beginning of November. I love the photos of the couples who seem like me: Outdoorsy. Wanting flair but not Big City expense. Enamored with nature.

Imagine tablecloths, dresswear, and bouquets mirroring the hues of fall. Think sweetgum leaves turning bright yellow. Dogwood leaves transitioning to a brilliant crimson, and hickory trees shedding their leaves of gold. It’s autumnal, real, and gorgeous.

You and I deserve a destination wedding – and our guests will have memories they’ll always cherish! Fall is the best time for hiking in cooler weather and the changes in the trees’ canopy makes the waterfall even more stunning.

Now is the time to secure your wedding in the North Georgia mountains. This season, I’m heading back to meet with the wedding planner and to check out the accommodations, catering service, and the activities for all ages.

Top 10 Things to Know About Weddings at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge:

• Weddings up to 150 guests are expertly accommodated.
• You supply the cake, photographer, officiant, music, and flowers and the Lodge fills in the rest with full catering, bar services, and additional services.
• Overnight accommodations include 57 modern lodge rooms, 14 cozy rental cabins and 24 wooded campsites.
• New: You can go glamping! Four furnished safari tents are super luxurious with a campfire feel.
• The cabins feature wood floors, living rooms and full kitchens. Couples enjoy the 1-bedroom cabin. For families and friends joining you, there are 2- and 3-bedroom cabin options.
• You can exchange vows on the partially-covered Veranda with panoramic views of the mountains.
• You can also wed at the top of Amicalola Falls – perfect for smaller weddings – knowing that it’s a public park and outdoor spaces can’t be cordoned off (your wedding may include the cheering public!)
• Wedding receptions and dancing in the Lodge’s Oak Hill Banquet Hall give you the security of knowing that inclement weather won’t interfere with your important day.

• Regardless of where you stay the night, people love convening at Cascades Restaurant at the Lodge for a breakfast buffet or sunset dinner, with floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the views. Traditional American and Southern classic cuisine is served.
• Onsite activities include zip lining, trout fishing, guided hikes, GPS scavenger hunts, 3-D archery and animal meet-and-greets. Ask the concierge to help you plan.

Amicalola derives from the Cherokee word meaning “tumbling waters.” While the 729-foot cascading Amicalola Falls is the park’s centerpiece feature, there are more trails. It’s fun to hike the 8-mile Approach Trail that leads from the park to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail.

Check out Georgia State Parks Leaf Watch. You’ll know when to hike in the peak of fall color. Get started on wedding and honeymoon planning by clicking here.

By LYDIA SEA, Traveler-at-Heart and considering a fun, fall wedding at Amicalola.