Wedding DJ at Historic Brookstown Inn in Winston Salem, NC

The Space

A cotton mill built in 1837 as the Salem Manufacturing Company, recognized as the first factory built in the area and one of the first mills in the South to run on electric lighting, sits at the center of what is now the Historic Brookstown Inn in downtown Winston-Salem. After decades as an industrial building, it was restored and reopened as an inn in November 1985, and the mill structure, exposed brick walls and wooden beams, still defines the building’s Early American decor today.

The property now holds 70 guest rooms, including 28 suites, and 11,800 square feet of event space spread across 11 distinct venues rather than one large hall. That number of separate rooms is unusual for a property this size, and it means a wedding here can spread across several connected spaces, a lounge, a ballroom, a courtyard, instead of confining the whole day to a single room.

Capacity & Layout

The property seats 150 guests banquet-style and can hold up to 200 for a conference-style layout, figures that put it toward the mid-size range: comfortable for a wedding with a guest list in the low hundreds, tighter for anything larger. The Grand Ballroom itself runs 2,500 square feet, sized to anchor a reception without feeling like a hotel ballroom built for corporate events.

Smaller rooms fill out the rest of the 11,800 square feet: the Salem and Winston rooms each measure 984 square feet, and the Parlor comes in at 850, sizes suited to a rehearsal dinner, a smaller ceremony, or a bridal party gathering separate from the main reception. The Upper Courtyard, at 2,600 square feet, gives an outdoor option nearly as large as the Grand Ballroom itself.

Amenities

On-site catering with customized menus covers one of the largest vendor categories directly, and the inn hosts a wine and cheese reception every evening from 5 to 7, a built-in touch of hospitality for a wedding weekend where guests are staying on property. Complimentary breakfast is served daily, and a 24-hour fitness center is available for guests staying multiple nights.

Complimentary parking in a private on-site lot removes one more logistical concern for guests driving in, and the property is accessible throughout with an elevator connecting floors and service animals permitted under ADA Title III. Two separate courtyards give a couple both an indoor ballroom and outdoor garden-style options within the same property, without needing to book a separate ceremony site elsewhere.

Location & Getting There

The inn sits in downtown Winston-Salem, about 4 minutes’ walk from the city center, and roughly 9 minutes’ walk from Old Salem Museums and Gardens, which makes for an easy add-on for out-of-town guests with time before or after the wedding. Piedmont Triad International Airport is 23 miles away, a straightforward drive for guests flying in.

We have worked a wedding at Brookstown, and the mix of rooms across 11,800 square feet means the reception space is usually a converted mill room with brick walls, wood beams, and higher ceilings than a standard ballroom, which gives sound more room to breathe but also more hard surface to reflect off, so a DJ has to manage that brick-and-beam reverb rather than fighting a carpeted, low-ceiling hotel room.