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Best Romantic Garden Wedding Venues in Virginia
If you are looking for a romantic fairytale garden wedding venue, then you are in the right place. Here you’ll find a review of the best garden wedding venues in Virginia. We’ll cover the gamut from greenhouse wedding venues to botanical gardens to conservatories to private estates with epic lawns, and everything in between.
Why Choose a Garden Wedding Venue
Honestly, it’s more like why wouldn’t you choose a garden wedding venue! Garden wedding venues are beautiful, romantic and classy without needing a ton of extra decor to make them look incredible.
Garden wedding venues perfectly blend the outdoors into your wedding day and are a good fit for people who love nature, but don’t necessarily want to hike up to a mountaintop to experience it. They often feel intimate and upscale even if you don’t spend a lot on floral arrangements or decorations.
They also provide an incredible mix of locations for portraits and yield beautiful photos.
That being said, if you are choosing a venue with a greenhouse reception space like Avonlea Farms or Glasshouse Winery, just keep in mind those spaces get exceptionally warm in the summer months; they are best for winter, early spring and late fall. If you’re getting married in the height of summer, consider instead gardens that have climate-controlled reception spaces, like Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens or The Inn at Little Washington.
This is admittedly a long list. So here are my top recommendations:
If you are looking for a luxury garden wedding venue, consider Glenstone Gardens, The Clifton or the Inn at Little Washington. If you are looking for an affordable garden wedding venue, pick Hanh Horticulture Garden. If you want a true greenhouse wedding venue, pick Avonlea Farms or Showalters Orchard. If you are planning a micro wedding or elopement, pick Redfox Inn, The Vaughn House or Waterperry Farm. And if you want both gardens and mountain views, pick The Market at Grelen or Pharsalia Events.
Honestly, though, these are all beautiful wedding venues and you can’t go wrong with any of them!
Best Greenhouse Wedding Venues in Virginia
If you love greenhouses and conservatories and want that vibe for your wedding, then here are the best greenhouse wedding venues in Virginia:
This venue is between Charlottesville and Richmond and features a beautiful 200-year-old Oak Tree for the main ceremony space and an epic greenhouse with adjacent pavilion for the reception. Want to see a full wedding there? Check out this blog post! Love Avonlea Farms, but it isn’t available for your date? Waverly Estate (below) has a very similar vibe.
The Atrium at Meadowlark is part of the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna. Have your wedding on the terrace, photos in the garden and reception in the beautiful glass atrium. This garden wedding venue also posts tons of photo opportunities on the grounds.
Showalters Orchard is located just north of Harrisonburg. Its greenhouse can seat up to 250 people, making it one of the largest capacity greenhouse wedding venues in Virginia. There are cottage-type accommodations and Airstream glamping on site if anybody wants a peaceful place to relax before or after your wedding. The ceremony takes place overlooking the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley.
Glass House Winery near Charlottesville is one of the few vineyard/greenhouse options on this list. The crowning jewel of this venue is the incredible tropical atrium beside the tasting room. Ceremonies typically take place on the lawn in front of the small pond. The conservatory itself can seat up to 88 guests, but can accommodate up to 130 when utilizing adjoining spaces. Like any true greenhouse or conservatory, this space gets incredibly hot in the summer, but is the perfect place for a spring, late fall or winter wedding when you want greenery, but nature hasn’t bloomed yet.
Three Oaks Manor, northwest of Lynchburg, is a small greenhouse appropriate for elopements or micro weddings. They advertise as being able to accommodate up to 50 guests, though if you wanted to seat everyone indoors the count would be closer to 10. Love Three Oaks Manor but it isn’t available for your date? The Vaughn House has a very similar vibe.
Waverly Estate, about 90 minutes drive southwest of Richmond, has a similar feel to Avonlea Farms, except that Waverly has a historic chapel and can accommodate overnight guests in a variety of onsite and nearby settings. The reception spaces are a bit different too. While Avonlea Farms has a true greenhouse as a reception space, Waverly Estate calls theirs “greenhouse inspired.” It features floor to ceiling windows but has a traditional roof. If you are between the two, I would probably choose Waverly Estate for high summer weddings (since the roof blocks some of the sun). If you want a true greenhouse venue then you’ll be hard pressed to beat Avonlea Farms.
The Vaughn House, near Lynchburg, was the original greenhouse micro wedding venue in Virginia. They can accommodate up to 50 and have some incredible fairytale cottages on the horizon for 2024. The owners of this property are photographers and everything has been designed for maximum beauty and photographability. So if you’re having a micro wedding, and want a greenhouse wedding venue, this should be at the top of your list.
The Market at Grelen, 40 minutes northeast of Charlottesville, is comparable in many ways to Showalter’s Orchard, except that the Market’s actual greenhouse seats no more than 50, making it great for a micro wedding. For seating up to 250, The Market at Grelen has a beautiful clear tent with greenhouse vibes. Want to see a wedding here? Check out this blog post!
Best Garden Wedding Venues in Virginia
You might think Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens on the north edge of Richmond belongs in the greenhouse section, because this venue does have an incredible conservatory. But the conservatory cannot be used for receptions (although photos can be taken outside). Instead, the Lewis Ginter’s 82 acres of space contain a number of possible garden venues for groups ranging in size from 40 to 250. Interested people can use this this self-guided tour map to see the lovely possibilities.
If Lewis Ginter is booked, then head south into the heart of Richmond to the historic Maymont estate. My parents actually got married in the Rose Garden here! Maymont has over 100 acres and about half-dozen possible ceremony and reception spaces, including multiple gardens, lawns with beautiful trees, and historic buildings.
Waterperry Farm is a beautiful estate just outside Charlottesville. They offer two options: (1) weekday elopements with up to six guests, or (2) “simple ceremonies” for guests who book accommodations, in which case up to 24 other persons may be in attendance. Their gardens are beautiful – it’s possible to stay onsite, have a simple wedding, and enjoy a delicious dinner, all in one place. If I were planning an elopement for myself, this would be one of my top three picks!
If you want a venue that pairs both incredible gardens with mountain views, this is for you. Pharsalia, between Charlottesville and Lexington, features stunning mountain views with a flower farm that can supply all of your floral needs. Receptions are held in a beautiful white sailcloth tent and you can get ready in the historic home on the property. If I were planning a big wedding, this would be one of my top three venues.
The Clifton in Charlottesville is the perfect garden wedding venue for those of you looking for a luxury experience. Whether you are celebrating a micro wedding in the secret garden or using the court tent (surrounded by greenery) for your large reception, this venue will make you feel pampered, elegant and luxurious.
President James Monroe made Highland his home at the urging of Thomas Jefferson, who lived on adjacent land at Monticello on the edge of Charlottesville.. Surrounded by 200 acres, Highland features beautiful gardens, rolling hills and a white tent as reception space. Want to see a wedding here? Check out this blog post!
Boxwood Villa is located just outside Orange, 30 miles northeast of Charlottesville. Featuring boxwood hedges and woods, it’s not quite a garden venue in the way places like Pharsalia are, but it has secret garden vibes, complete with an historic manor. This property is owned and operated by The Market at Grelen, which is also on this list.
The Inn at Willow Grove is also located in Orange. Get married in the Boxwood Garden, stay at the Inn, and have your reception in either their Chef’s Table (can seat up to 18), Hall (can seat up to 46), or Barn and Ruins, which can seat up to 200.
The Historic Mankin Mansion is one of my favorite venues in Richmond. It features Italian gardens, incredible brick patios, a historic home and European vibes. If you don’t want to get married in the garden, ceremonies can also be held in the “European Gallery,” which has more of an industrial modern vibe. Receptions are either held in the gallery or in a climate- controlled tent. The venue can accommodate up to 200 guests.
Wollam Gardens is located in Northern Virginia right outside of Warrenton. It’s a flower farm, so they can provide all of the florals for your wedding. Since this is a working garden business, the vibe is more country than elegant. It would be a good fit for couples seeking a downhome backyard feel for their garden wedding.
Goodstone Inn, one hour west of Washington D.C., is a good (see what I did there?) fit for couples who are looking for the ultimate luxury experience with their garden wedding. It gives old estate vibes and can accommodate anything from intimate elopements to weddings with up to 200 guests. Ceremonies either take place in front of their incredible ivy wall or the rolling Virginia hills. Goodstone is well known for their food, much of which comes from the onsite organic farm.
If the Goodstone Inn is full for your date then just head 10 minutes down the road to Salamander Resort. Like Goodstone, Salamander caters to couples looking for luxury for their wedding. The resort has several venues, but the one that is the best fit for a garden is their culinary garden. You can actually get married surrounded by the herbs and vegetables that will then appear on your plates for dinner! This beautiful space is perfect for those who want farm-to-table food for their wedding.
Like the Goodstone Inn and Salamander Resort, Redfox is in Middleburg, though its niche is as a beautiful boutique venue with 22 guestrooms. It features secret gardens, European vibes and incredible views. This venue in some ways reminds me of The Clifton and should definitely be on your list if you’re looking for romantic garden luxury without traveling across the Atlantic.
Glenstone Gardens is owned by Redfox and has many of the same vibes. However, the wedding fee includes multi-day use of the property and has a much bigger capacity. Redfox tops out at 150 guests and Glenstone can accommodate up to 300. This venue is inspired by the English countryside and has an old-world estate feel.
Great Marsh Estate is a northern Virginia wedding venue located between Culpeper and Manassas. Like the previous four venues I described, this is a luxury estate wedding venue. It features a beautiful manor house and groomed grounds. It’s definitely more estate than garden, but will give some of those boxwood vibes for couples looking for a more elegant garden venue.
The Inn at Little Washington is the only three-star Michelin restaurant in the DC Metro area. Located in a pastoral village 70 miles west of Washington D.C., this venue is the perfect fit for foodie-oriented couples who want a luxury sit-down dinner experience for their small wedding. The Inn at Little Washington can accommodate small to medium-sized groups, from two-person elopements to 90-guest weddings.
2941 is a restaurant located in Falls Church, a suburb of Washington D.C. While not a true greenhouse or “garden,” this venue has incredible floor to ceiling windows with views of its koi pond, waterfalls and trees. This is a great fit for couples who want to stay within the DC Metro area, but want to feel like they are in nature.
The Hahn Horticulture Garden is the only garden wedding venue in southwestern Virginia. Associated with Virginia Tech University, this venue is located in Blacksburg. The garden features incredible trees and paths. The university is in the process of building an open air pavilion structure for events that should be completed sometime in 2024. In the meantime, receptions are being held in a large event tent. This is one of the most affordable garden wedding venues on this list.
