Wilbur D. May Center

The Wilbur D. May Center in Reno, Nevada, brings together a museum and a botanical garden within Rancho San Rafael Regional Park — a combination that gives events here a setting most venues can't offer. The center honors the life of Wilbur D. May, a rancher, pilot, world traveler, and philanthropist whose personal collection of artifacts from more than 40 countries fills the museum's galleries. Event spaces span two distinct environments. Indoors, the Garden Court is a 3,100-square-foot atrium of lush tropical plants, Victorian-style lamp posts, serene waterfalls, and two Japanese koi ponds — available for weddings, receptions, memorials, and private gatherings of up to 200 seated or 300 for a standing reception. The adjacent Double Diamond Room, which overlooks the arboretum and opens onto a patio, seats up to 70 guests as an add-on to the Garden Court. Outdoors, the Wilbur D. May Arboretum's botanical gardens provide ceremony settings from mid-April through mid-October: Honey's Garden features a seasonal waterfall and reflecting pond, while Burke Garden offers English country perennials, stone-raised flower beds, and a water feature set within a tiered lawn.