Getting married is a whole lot more fun than it used to be. Sure, you can still get married in your parent's church and have the reception at a club or restaurant, but destination weddings are popular with today's Southern brides for a reason--it's a one-stop, all-inclusive way to celebrate your marriage with family and friends not for just a couple of hours, but for the entire weekend.

There are so many fabulous wedding venues in the South it's hard to narrow it down to the "best"; the list below is more mood-oriented--from the mountains to the beach, with some great urban options in between. We went to the experts--Southern Living, and everybody's favorite Southern style blog, Draper James, for the best of the best.

All of these venues have wedding directors and preferred vendors, so once you decide on the venue, leave the work to the director--they're pros, and once they know the kind of wedding you want, they'll go to work lining up the vendors to make it happen. That's one of the big advantages of a destination wedding, especially if you're from the South--when you get out of town, you don't hurt anybody's feelings when you don't ask your manicurist's sister-in-law's neighbor make an armadillo groom's cake. 

Mountains

Inn at Blackberry Farm

Tucked away in the Great Smoky Mountains just outside Knoxville, Blackberry Farm is the perfect venue for the couple who love the outdoors. It's the epitome of rustic chic combined with world-class cuisine, most of it locally sourced. You and your guests can fly fish, hike, shoot clays, or get totally pampered at the spa. There's also paddle sports, archery, or just sitting in a rocking chair watching a slow-paced world go by. They go all out for the holidays, so if a magical Christmas wedding where it's not too cold is your dream, the Inn might be your perfect venue. 

Urban

City weddings venues lack the all-encompassing entertainment that resorts provide, but the wedding directors at these locations work with you to schedule activities for your guests, including transportation. 

Ogden Museum of Art

When you're looking for a wedding weekend where the fun never ends, New Orleans is the obvious choice. And in N'awlins, the Ogden Museum of Art is an elegant venue that's in the Warehouse Arts District, just a quick beignet away from the French Quarter. The Ogden isn't just any museum, the Library where many weddings are held is a Beaux-Arts delight from 1899, and there's a rooftop terrace with a skyline view. 

The Castle at Rockwall

Are you the girl who wants to go full Princess for your big day, complete with a castle and a Cinderella carriage? Yes? Then the Castle at Rockwall is the venue for you. Located just outside Dallas, this venue sits on ten beautifully landscaped acres, with options for indoor or outdoor events. There's also a bar for your cocktail hour(s) before the wedding and in the down time before the reception. It's a castle, with stone fireplaces, a stunning garden and gazebo, an ornate balcony, and several choices for the ceremony itself. 

By the Sea

Jekyll Island Club

Are you a Zac Brown sort of bride--you need your toes in the water? Or are you more the string quartet sort of formal? When you choose the Jekyll Island Club on the coast of southern Georgia, you can be both. The elegant retreat for earlier Vanderbilts and Cranes, Jekyll has several venues for all kinds of weddings. You can get married on the beach at the Beach Pavilion, in the magnificent Sunken Garden at Crane Cottage, or on the Riverfront Lawn. Book spa or tee times, shop around the quaint villages of St Simons or Jekyll, or do nothing at all. The resort runs shuttles on a regular schedule so you can park the car and forget the keys. 

The finishing touch on any wedding is the band--long after your guests have forgotten (you hope) some fraternity brother's ill-advised toast, and that the bar ran out of the good bourbon, they'll remember the band. Music Garden represents the best bands in the Southeast--from R &B to pop, country to Motown, and zydeco to swing. We'll match your band to your venue and wedding style, for a night you'll never forget.