Columbia’s BullStreet District has become one of the Midlands’ most talked-about places to get married, and a lot of that comes down to one building: The Laundry. Built in 1883 and recently restored, it’s exactly the kind of space that makes a florist’s job exciting — exposed brick, soaring ceilings, antique heart pine beams, and a half-acre lawn called The Grove with a view of the Babcock Building’s red dome. If you’re planning a Columbia wedding and looking for a venue with real character, this one belongs on your list.
A Building With Its Own Story to Tell
Most new construction venues give you a blank box and ask you to fill it. The Laundry does the opposite — nearly 8,000 square feet across two levels, with the kind of texture (concrete floors, exposed trusses, industrial windows) that most couples spend their whole budget trying to fake. That’s a gift and a challenge at the same time. The space already has a point of view, so the florals need to complement it rather than compete with it.
For a room this architectural, we lean into texture over color saturation — smoky garden roses, trailing greenery, and dried elements that echo the building’s age rather than fight it. The Grove, with its mature trees and skyline backdrop, is a different story entirely: soft, romantic arches and ground-level installations that let the view do most of the work.
Indoors, Outdoors, or Both
One of the reasons The Laundry works so well for Midlands couples is flexibility. Ceremony in The Grove at golden hour, cocktail hour spilling between the lawn and the industrial main level, reception under the original trusses — or the whole day indoors if a South Carolina forecast calls for it. Every version needs a slightly different floral plan, which is exactly the kind of planning conversation we love having early, not the week of.
If you haven’t settled on a venue yet, it’s worth comparing notes — we’ve put together a running list of venues we love in Columbia, from historic downtown estates to Midlands farm properties, alongside what to know about hiring a coordinator for each one.
Why We Recommend Booking Early
The Laundry opened in 2025 and has quickly become one of the most requested venues in downtown Columbia — which means popular Saturdays fill fast, especially in spring and fall. If it’s on your shortlist, reach out to the venue directly through their rental spaces page to check your date, and loop in your planning and floral team as early as you can. A venue with this much personality rewards a team that’s had time to actually walk the space, not just look at photos of it.
Planning Your Own Midlands Wedding
We’re based in Anderson, but we regularly plan and design for couples across the Midlands — Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Gilbert, and beyond. Whether you’ve already booked The Laundry or you’re still comparing venues, we’d love to help you build a day that feels unmistakably yours. Explore our wedding planning and coordination packages, browse our floral design work, or see the full list of areas we serve across South Carolina.
Reach out to Poppies & Peonies and let’s start talking about your Columbia wedding day.
Poppies & Peonies is a full-service wedding planning and floral design studio based in Anderson, SC, serving couples across South Carolina and the Southeast.
From full-service planning to partial coordination and support for intimate celebrations and elopements — if you’re getting married in Upstate South Carolina or the Midlands, we’d love to be your florist and planning team.
