(Photo above is of Brianna & David’s wedding courtesy of Whimsical Photography)

The Sutherland – Wake Forest, NC Wedding Venue

Historically rich and timelessly beautiful, The Sutherland estate dates back to the 18th century. When planning a wedding at The Sutherland, we have a few tips.

There are 4 main areas:

  1. The house
  2. The walled garden/lawn
  3. The Groom terrace (for cocktail hour)
  4. The Pavilion
  • Wedding ceremonies normally are in the walled garden unless raining, then in the Pavilion.
  • Cocktail hour is held on the groom’s terrace unless raining, then in the Pavilion.
  • For wedding ceremonies, we normally set up 1/2 way along the left wall of the walled garden.
  • For cocktail hour we can either set up a speaker or plug an iPod/Ipad into the house sound system.
  • Wedding receptions are commonly in the Pavilion but can be in the walled garden if 100 ppl or under. If in the walled garden, we set up on the porch of the house.
  • The Pavilion holds up to 200 ppl.
  • We normally set up along the middle of the back wall with the dance floor in front of us.
  • Uplight and dance floor lights look great in this room!
  • The Pavilion has floor-to-ceiling clear walls with brick columns. Stunning!

Sample Wedding At The Sutherland

When I first met Brianna and her parents, I knew this was going to be a day full of love and celebration at The Sutherland in Wake Forest, NC.

Brianna and David’s wedding ceremony was held at Crossroads Fellowship and officiated by her Father.  That is so special!!  After the ceremony, the 200 guests made their way to The Sutherland where I was set up for the reception.

As the guests arrived for the social hour in the walled Brides garden, I had a playlist of country and soft rock playing that they had given me.  The guests enjoyed refreshments and visiting while photographers Whimsicalous Photography and videographers Black Dog Films stayed at the church with the wedding party to get some shots.  They also had a live painter that was starting a portrait of Brianna and David.

After pics were done and the wedding party arrived, the guests were invited into the pavilion where I was for dinner and dancing (and to get out of the heat). I left music playing and went to line the wedding party up with help from planners Christy and Lena from The Sutherland. I introduced them to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and they all entered to loud applause. They had their first dance to an edit their friend made of “Flesh Of My Flesh” by John Lucas. The Parents’ dances were next with Brianna and her Father first. Their dance started with “Butterfly Kisses” then into a minute of ”Brown Eyed Girl”.  It was such a sweet dance and you could tell that they had been waiting for this moment!!  David and his Mother caught everyone off guard with their choreographed swing dance to “It Is Well With My Soul”. These may be my favorite set of Parents’ dances yet!! Her Father welcomed everyone and blessed the meal.  The salads were already served and the Cook Shack buffet opened shortly. During dinner, I played more country and soft rock.

After dinner, Brianna and David snuck away with the photographers to get some more pics and I opened the floor for 20 min or so with some ’70s that filled it with almost everyone in the room by the end of the first song.  When pics were done, I cleared the floor and we had a shoe game.  The cake cutting followed and guests were invited to the dessert stations for personal Nothing Bundt Cakes and a Howling Cow Ice cream sundae bar. Brianna and her family used to stop by there after the NC State Fair!

I opened the floor back up with some Beach music and line dances along with some top 40 and Hip-Hop that kept the floor packed for the next 2 hours. We paused for the bouquet toss to “Singles Ladies” before ending the night with ”Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.  They had a sparkler exit from the parking lot.

Thank you so much, Brianna, David, Mr & Mrs. Teague, Christy, and Lena!!  I loved every minute of this wedding!!


Bunn DJ Company believes DJing is more than just showing up and pressing play. It’s also more than just knowing how to choose songs and mix them together. Being wedding DJs at The Sutherland is about creating experiences and atmospheres. That’s what our DJing philosophy boils down to. We don’t want to just provide the perfect music. We want to create the perfect day. That’s why we excel in what we do. And this wedding was a perfect example of that. Working with this awesome couple to create the day they envisioned is something we’ll never forget. And it’s a service we provide all our weddings again and again.


Photo Gallery From Past The Sutherland Events