The Bedford Columns carried several lives before its first wedding season

The columns that gave a Bedford wedding venue its name were not part of the building’s first life. The estate on East Main Street began as a boys’ preparatory school in 1848. Its account of the property traces the columns and broad patios to a later owner, Bedford pharmacist Dr. Walter Lyle.

The building served as a hospital during the Civil War. Afterward, Lyle bought the property for his wife, Essie, and expanded it. A trust later made it a home for women. By the time Brian and Vickie Runk bought it in 1993, the property was serving Bedford as a senior community, a role the couple continued through Runk & Pratt Senior Living Communities.

Turning the building into a wedding venue came later. Runk & Pratt dates that opening to 2012. For a couple planning a ceremony, the old arrangement of rooms and outdoor spaces now serves a different purpose. Guests can gather in the gardens for the ceremony, move into the ballroom for the reception and step onto the porches without leaving the estate.

The Bedford Columns is part of Entwined Events, a group that also includes West Manor Estate and Bella Rose Plantation. Planning, flowers, catering and music are among the services available through that group. The Bedford building also hosts luncheons and other gatherings outside the wedding calendar.

The venue is at 812 East Main Street in Bedford. Its events team can be reached at 434-933-3300.