Frequently Asked Questions

No. Anyone can rent our facilities.

More than 30 spaces for weddings, conferences, performances, ticketed shows, parties and film and photo shoots. Largest: McIver Amphitheater (2,500 seats, outdoors) and Jones Auditorium (650 seats, indoors). Outdoor ceremonies: McIver Amphitheater, Jones Chapel Garden Gazebo, Faw Gardens, Lake Gazebo, Front Lawn.

Yes. The Chapel is nondenominational; you choose your officiant and vendors.

The room as shown in its photos, plus free WiFi. Furniture can be rearranged, not added or removed. We supply no tables, chairs, linens, stage seating or music stands (Belk Banquet Hall West comes set with tables and chairs); a rental company may bring them with the College's written approval. Capacities are fire-marshal limits, counting everyone in the room. Jones Auditorium has two dressing rooms, a makeup room and a green room; the Jones Chapel lounge serves as a bridal room. No caterer prep areas on campus.

Meredith strives to make its campus accessible to the entire campus community and visitors to the College.

The Accessibility at Meredith site provides detailed information about parking, accessibility resources, contact information, and more.

Each event is quoted individually through our inquiry form: one total for venue, staffing and equipment, plus a refundable damage deposit. The first payment (usually half the rental fee) and the deposit are due at signing. The balance is due 14 days before the event, and its invoice reaches you 30 days before that; an event signed close to its date is invoiced in full at signing. Checks only, payable to Meredith College, with the invoice number on the memo line; the deposit is a separate check in the same envelope. Mail to Meredith College, Attn: Events Department, Johnson Hall #313, 3800 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27607, or drop off at Johnson Hall #313, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Within 30 days after the event, provided there is no damage, by check mailed to the address on your agreement. If the refund should go to a different address or payee, say so on the inquiry form.

Your invoice email has a button to download the invoice as a PDF for your finance office. When the invoice is paid in full you receive a receipt by email, and the invoice shows as paid in your client portal.

A certificate of insurance, at least 30 days before your first event date, showing:

• General liability, or a special-event (TULIP) policy, of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence.
• If alcohol is served: liquor liability of at least $2,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. It can be endorsed onto the general liability policy.
• Issued to Meredith College, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607.
• Meredith College as additional insured on every policy listed here.
• A waiver of subrogation in favor of Meredith College, with your coverage primary and noncontributory.
• The organization that signs the agreement as the named insured.

Each vendor provides its own certificate. Upload yours in your client portal, through the link in your agreement email. No certificate, no event. No policy? The Event Helper sells single-event policies and sends us the certificate.

Before you sign: yes. Use Request a change on your proposal page and you receive a revised proposal. A new date depends on availability, fewer hours or a smaller room lower the total, and more hours are added at the same rate when the room is free. After you sign: time can be reduced until 30 days before the event and added when space is available, and every change is confirmed in a signed addendum.

The Contracting Entity you enter on the inquiry form, signed by a person authorized to sign for it. The same name must be the insured on your certificate of insurance, so enter the name your insurer uses.

The total follows the venue, the hours and the staff your event requires; fewer hours or a smaller room lower it. Staff lines stay: a College representative is on site for every rental, a College technician runs our A/V equipment, and campus police decide whether officers are needed.

Every indoor room has a free screen and projector for your laptop. Microphones, sound and lighting are added to your proposal and run by a College A/V technician, who is present at every Jones Auditorium event. Your own A/V company needs the College's approval. Grand pianos: Jones Auditorium, Jones Chapel (plus a pipe organ) and Carswell Recital Hall (two, fixed on stage, with Music Department approval). List your needs on the inquiry form.

Oak Leaf, the on-campus caterer, is exclusive for food and bar at Belk Banquet Hall West, the Oak Room and Dogwood; start your catering quote with them directly: https://meredithcatering.catertrax.com/. Elsewhere: any licensed caterer, your own prepared food, or food trucks outdoors. No food or drink in Jones Auditorium or Carswell Recital Hall except for performers; refreshments go in the Jones Auditorium lobby. Alcohol only through Oak Leaf or a licensed, permitted vendor, never brought by guests.

LED candles only: no real flames, hot plates or cooking. No nails, staples, adhesives or tape; nothing on painted or varnished surfaces or hung from drop ceilings. No fog, haze or smoke machines indoors, and no fireworks on campus.

Rental time includes setup and breakdown; the end time is firm. On multi-day bookings, equipment may stay overnight at your own risk. Jones Auditorium has no loading dock: unload at the main entrance (a stage ramp is available; note it on the inquiry form). Leave the room as you found it; vendors take trash to the dumpster behind Ledford Hall.

3800 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27607. Guest parking is free, except Reserved at All Times spaces and fire lanes. Enter from Hillsborough Street or Faircloth Street; the Faircloth gate locks at 10:00 PM.

A College representative is on site for your whole rental. Campus police review every event over 50 guests or with alcohol and decide whether officers are needed; only campus police provide event security.

Every venue page shows the space in photos, most with a 360 view, and the whole campus is in 360 here: https://events.meredith.edu/virtual-tour/. Most events can be planned without a visit: https://events.meredith.edu/venues/. If you still want to see a space in person, book a site visit: https://calendly.com/meredithcollegeevents/30min

Merchandise and your own ticketing: yes; we charge the rental, never a share of sales. Themed entertainment such as a casino night: yes; gambling and solicitation: no. Smoking: designated outdoor areas only. Animals: service animals only. Drones: no. Groups with participants under 21: adult supervision throughout, and a parent-signed medical release for every minor attending without a parent.

Yes, for groups and camps. Add your group size and dates on the inquiry form; summer dates depend on the College's own programs.