Schermerhorn Symphony Center

From behind the camera

Filming at Schermerhorn Symphony Center: what we've learned.

Best first look spot

Outside, in the Martha Rivers Ingram Courtyard, the garden beside the hall. Inside, any of the marble staircases make a beautiful setting.

The light

Like most venues built around indoor spaces, the ceremony spaces here are wrapped in windows, so the time of year and your ceremony time shape how your ceremony looks. The reception happens in the Laura Turner Concert Hall, the symphony's own hall, where your event design team sets the look, so it stays consistent whatever the season or hour.

The ceremony

In the main lobby you walk through on the way into the Laura Turner Concert Hall, with tall windows all around.

The reception

Laura Turner Concert Hall. The orchestra seating converts to a 5,700-square-foot hardwood dance floor under 60-foot ceilings and eight nickel-silver chandeliers.

If it rains

Almost everything here happens indoors. The front steps are a favorite portrait spot, and cocktail hour often spills into the Martha Rivers Ingram Courtyard, the garden beside the hall; both may move inside if it rains. If the venue's rain plan kicks in, we adapt our lighting and angles so your photos and film still look beautiful.

Drone-friendly?

Yes, with a catch. Downtown Nashville has controlled airspace, and big events nearby (a game at the stadium, a festival on Broadway) can bring temporary no-fly restrictions on any given day. Our FAA-licensed pilots check the airspace and what's happening around the venue ahead of your date, and when we're cleared to fly, we'll get you the aerial footage.

One tip for your timeline

Getting ready, the ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception all happen under one roof here, but it's a sprawling venue with multiple levels, elevators and staircases. Don't underestimate how long it takes to get from one space to the next, and build a little buffer early in the day for first looks and your reception room reveal.