There may be no better way to introduce your out-of-town family and friends to natural North Florida than by having them take the drive down Centerville Road under the beautiful canopy oak trees and on to Bradley's Pond. Before they stop by the Retreat, make sure you instruct them on the importance of eating a Bradley's sausage dog with an old-fashioned root beer while rocking on the porch of Bradley's Country Store.

Then on to the wedding ceremony and reception itself, they'll enjoy the view overlooking the pond in a relaxing environment. The bridal walk down to the pergola at the ceremony site is stunning, and photos at the Retreat at Bradley's Pond always turn out so well.

When guests move from ceremony to cocktail hour, they can enjoy lawn games on the expansive lawn between the pond and the back porch of the Retreat. It's the perfect spot for a relaxing cocktail hour with family and friends. Add the right soundtrack and it's pure bliss!

Inside, the large brick fireplace is a beautiful focal point in a room that can fit 250+ guests, ensuring that there is still room those last-minute RSVPs. If your wedding is during the colder months, it's as easy as turning on the gas switch to get a roaring fire going. We DJ around 30-40 weddings and events at the Retreat at Bradley's Pond each year and are happy to recommend it as a great wedding venue to our clients. In fact, one of our DJs had his own wedding here!

😊 Ceremony Area
😁 Reception Area
👰‍♀️ Changing Room
👍 Wheelchair Accessible
👏 Indoor Event Space
🌳 Outdoor Event Space
🚘 On-Site Parking
🪑 Chairs & Tables
🥶🔥 Heating/AC
👩‍🍳 Commercial Kitchen
🧻 Restrooms
😌 Liability Insurance
🪵 Fire Place

• Since you're right across the street from the actual smokehouse source of Bradley's smoked sausage, we highly recommend including it at the wedding in some form. Most local caterers offer an hors d'oeuvre that features Bradley's Sausage that can be passed during cocktail hour. Want to feature other local foods at your wedding reception? Check out some ideas and discover which local caterers offer them by reading our post: 3 Bedrock Local Foods for Your Cocktail Hour.

• Speaking of cocktail hour, it's always fun having a bar up on the wrap-around back porch and we endorse this set-up! However, we highly recommend adding a bar inside as well so that once everything moves inside, the bar is easily accessible and (most importantly) people don't have to leave the party to refill their drinks. An inside -- rather than outside-only -- bar will help ensure your party keeps going!
  
  
• The cell phone reception can be a bit spotty with most carriers in this area of town, so we recommend keeping that in mind before deciding to include things in your reception that require your guests to have internet access (social media hashtags, Hey DJ DJ, live streaming, etc.).
  
  
• The performance cove at the Retreat really is the best place for the DJ to set up. It's out of the way of any area that you would want to set up a guest table and it's the perfect spot for a DJ, especially when you place the dance floor right in front of the DJ's table with the guest tables/high-tops beyond that. We also have plenty of outlets as needed back there.
  
  
• Amplify's uplighting adds a stunning touch of elegance and an opportunity to personalize your decor even more with any custom color you'd like. It's a big hit here!
  
  
• A live string duo/trio against the backdrop of the oak tree and pond during a ceremony is like something straight out of a movie and also very popular here. If you opt to not book live musicians here, however, we can definitely still play beautiful pieces from our sound system with our Ceremony Coverage option, which is also popular here.