Rental Policies & Forms

All events are expected to align with the character and mission of Telfair Museums. We welcome a variety of social, nonprofit, and corporate events.

Because of our role as an educational and charitable institution with a priority of protecting our collection and facilities, we reserve the right to refuse to make our facilities available for any rental use at our sole discretion.

Your rental is for 6pm until midnight. No element of your event may start before 6pm. If you would like your event to go longer than midnight, we’re happy to accommodate you for an additional fee. Please note that Owens-Thomas Garden events must end at 10pm because of local noise ordinances.

While vendors may begin load-in on the day of your event starting at 3pm, no guests or event participants may enter the venue prior to 5:15pm.

All vendors are expected to be completely clear of the venue within one hour of your stated event end time. Everything is expected to be removed by the end of your load-out time. Please know that any items left will become the property of Telfair Museums and may be donated or discarded without any liability to Telfair Museums.

If your vendors need more time to load out, this can be approved in advance for an additional fee.

If you are getting married at Telfair Museums, your rental includes a 45-minute rehearsal the day before your wedding, which must be scheduled within normal business hours, based on museum availability and programming. Contact wrighta@telfair.org 30 days prior to your event to schedule your rehearsal time.

We have gathering spaces available for your bridal party as they prepare to walk down the aisle, which may not be accessed prior to 5:15pm. These spaces are not intended for wedding preparation (getting dressed, hair, makeup, etc.) which should be completed before you arrive at Telfair Museums.

Guest limits vary based on location and space. Please view our Rental Requirements for details.

Absolutely! We are happy to open our galleries in the Jepson Center and Telfair Academy to your guests and to organize a guided tour of the Owen-Thomas House. However, you must let us know at the time of signing the
contract if you want this, as we are unable to add it in later.

• Additional security and/or tour guide charges apply.
• Caterers and/or bartenders must provide a tray jack and bus tray for guests to leave food and drinks outside galleries in Jepson Center and Telfair Academy, and outside in the garden at Owens-Thomas House.

By contract, the renter must provide insurance coverage for general liability coverage in the amount of $1,000,000 general aggregate, naming Telfair Museums as additional insured for the duration of the event.

If beer, wine, or liquor will be served, “host liquor” must be included in the policy. There are no exceptions to this rule, as it serves to protect the renter and the museum, and the certificate of insurance must be received at least 30 days prior to the event.

We’ve made it easy for you. Call your insurer, or simply go to EventHelper.com or WedSafe.com to purchase your affordable insurance online and then submit your certificate to wrighta@telfair.org 30 days prior to your event.

Because of the complex nature of hosting an event at Telfair Museums, we require that you engage the services of a professional event planner to coordinate the numerous vendors and event timeline. Please refer to our Approved Vendor List for professional event planners who are familiar with hosting events at Telfair. This event planner must be a professional planner and may not be a guest, participant, or family member.

Your event planner will need to be present during the entire event, from load-in to load-out or while any vendor is on property, to make sure that Telfair Museums’ policies are followed by the renter, vendors, and guests.

Our fee structure is based on facility rental only, therefore we do not have staff on hand to manage or assist you with planning or executing your event. If Telfair Museums or venue management staff have to assist in the execution of the event in any way, you will be billed a minimum of $250/hour for this service.

Telfair provides security personnel whose main focus is you and your guest’s safety and the protection of Telfair Museums’ collection and facilities. Depending on the size of your event or if you wish to have galleries open as part of your event, we may need to assess an additional fee to cover security costs.

Because we take security seriously, please know that you are responsible for your vendors and for the conduct of your invited guests and any breach of security or safety regulations may result in the cancellation of your event or the removal of guests.

If you would like to hire security to patrol outside the museum during your event, the City of Savannah Police Department offers this service at a reasonable hourly rate for a 4-hour minimum.

While we do our best to maintain a safe and secure environment, Telfair Museums is not responsible for any lost or stolen items.

While we are excited to host events, Telfair Museums is first and foremost an educational institution and our own events and programming receive priority.

We reserve the right to display or exhibit any works of art or modify the buildings or layout at our discretion. While we will do our best to communicate any changes in advance, we are not responsible for any impact these changes, additions, or removals may have on the event, nor does it negate this contract in any way.

The temperature and humidity are kept at a specific level in all of Telfair’s facilities to protect the collection. Fortunately, this means it’s pretty comfortable for humans, too! Please know that these levels cannot be adjusted for your event.