9 Historical Wedding Venues In Washington DC

There are plenty of beautiful places to get married in Washington DC, but if you are the kind of person who would take original hardwood floors, old stone, winding staircases, and a building with an actual story over a blank ballroom any day, you’re in the perfect city. DC is full of historical wedding venues that feel connected to the place itself. Whether it’s the historical mansions built with stone, hotels inside of buildings that have been around for more than a century, or private gardens that make you feel like you’re anywhere but Washington DC. Here are nine historical wedding venues in Washington that would be perfect for a black-tie experience to an intimate dinner party.

What Kind of Historic DC Wedding Venue Are You Looking For?

For the skimmers in the room trying to avoid 20+ tabs open all at once, here is a quick overview of what to expect for each venue. 

Head to this blog if you still need help deciding on which wedding venue is perfect for your celebration. 

The 9 Historic DC Wedding Venues

1. Woodend Sanctuary

I’m cheating a tiny bit right out of the gate because Woodend Sanctuary is technically in Chevy Chase, Maryland, but it’s close enough to DC that I think it deserves to be part of the conversation—especially if you’re wanting outdoor space as a part of your wedding experience. This is the venue I’d show you if you told me, “I love historic architecture, but I really don’t want my wedding to feel like I’m trapped inside a fancy building all day.”

This venue is about nine miles from downtown DC, and gives you something that can be surprisingly hard to find close to the city: room to breathe. Woodend is a 1927 Georgian Revival mansion that was designed by John Russell Pope, the same architect behind the Jefferson Memorial, and it sits inside a 40-acre nature sanctuary. Here, you have the mansion, but also woods, meadows, gardens, lawns and the Hemlock Grove. During much of the year, dinner can happen under their climate-controlled tent and dancing can move into the mansion. This is one of the best historical wedding venue options if you’re wanting a beautiful mix of nature and historical estate and also plan on spending a good chunk of your wedding day outside. 

Check out a featured Woodend Sanctuary wedding here.

2. The St. Regis Washington DC

If you’re wanting to get dressed up-dressed-up, this is the place! The St. Regis is a classic Washington luxury wedding venue perfect for the couple who is not remotely interested in pretending their wedding celebration is casual. The St. Regis Washington, D.C. dates back to the 1920s and brings the kind of old-school hotel glamour that feels right at home in the capital. Its wedding spaces lean formal without falling into the trap of feeling like you could be in any luxury hotel in any city. 

The architecture does a lot of the heavy lifting here. The crystal chandeliers, tall windows, elegant interiors, beautiful terraces, all create a space that already has so much personality to build upon.

It also makes sense for couples who want the convenience of a hotel wedding. Your guests can stay where the celebration is happening, getting ready does not have to involve sending everyone across the city, and the experience can stretch beyond the actual ceremony and reception.

3. Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC

Hotel Monaco is one of my favorite examples of why “historic” does not automatically have to mean traditional. The hotel is inside DC’s historic General Post Office building, so the bones of the place are incredible. My favorite features include the marble staircases, dramatically tall ceilings, long hallways, skylights, and all of the architectural details you simply cannot recreate in a newer hotel.

Rather than leaning entirely into old-school Washington design, the hotel mixes the historic building with brighter colors and more contemporary interiors. This makes the design feel a little younger and a little more playful than some of the grand hotels on this list.

This is a favorite location if you’re wanting your guests to experience DC during the wedding weekend because it’s right in Penn Quarter! 

4. Meridian House

If you tell me you want to feel like you somehow got married at an ambassador’s private European estate without leaving DC, I’m taking you here first. This is a venue where the indoor and outdoor spaces feel like they actually belong together. You could have a garden ceremony and then move inside without it feeling like you completely changed wedding aesthetics halfway through the day. I highly recommend checking out this DC wedding venue if you’re wanting a romantic, old-world, garden-heavy aesthetic. 

See more from this wedding here.

5. Josephine Butler Parks

The 18,000-square-foot Renaissance Revival building overlooks Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park and has spent different chapters of its life serving as embassy space before becoming what it is today. There are 40 rooms and historic details ranging from marble and parquet floors to restored moldings and architectural finishes. Outside, you have beautiful terraces, gardens, and views over the park.

But one of my favorite things about this option actually has nothing to do with how it looks. The Josephine Butler Parks Center is operated by Washington Parks & People, and money from venue rentals supports the nonprofit’s work throughout DC. So yes, you are getting married in an absolutely gorgeous historic mansion, but your venue rental is also connected to something happening beyond your wedding day. I also love that this DC wedding venue allows for couples to bring in their own vendors rather than a predetermined wedding package that’s already decided for you. 

6. Friends Meeting of Washington

This is probably the venue on this list that looks least like what people imagine when they hear the phrase “historic DC wedding venue.” This spot is where the historic Quaker meeting house was originally built in 1930 and sits just outside Dupont Circle. Instead of chandeliers, giant columns, and grand ballrooms, the architecture is simpler, warm, and quiet.

Also, fun fact! Friends Meeting is still an active Quaker meeting house, but couples do not have to be Quaker—or follow any particular religion—to get married here. The space welcomes couples from different faiths, backgrounds, and traditions, which is pretty neat! 

7. Waldorf Astoria Washington DC

There is historic, and then there is getting married inside the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue. The building sits between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and has been restored into a luxury hotel while holding onto the scale and architecture that make the Old Post Office such an iconic part of Washington. 

Inside, everything feels BIG. From the soaring ceilings, crystal chandeliers, massive event spaces, historic rooms, and a grand ballroom that can handle the kind of guest list that would immediately eliminate most of the mansion venues in this guide (up to 500 guests!!!).

This is also where I would steer someone who loves the idea of a historic venue but wants the infrastructure of a major luxury hotel. Guest rooms, restaurants, getting-ready spaces, rehearsal dinner possibilities, wedding events, and lodging can all exist under one roof.

8. Arts Club of Washington

The Arts Club of Washington is housed in the historic Monroe House, which once served as the residence of President James Monroe. Today, it is home to an arts organization that has been part of Washington DC since 1916. One thing worth knowing during the planning process is that the Arts Club provides its own catering, so this is not the venue for someone who already has their heart set on bringing in a specific outside caterer. For the right couple, though, having more of that handled in-house might actually be a win.

9. Swann House

This historic Dupont Circle home has been around since the 1880s and now operates as a boutique hotel. Instead of one giant wedding room, the ground floor moves through a series of connected spaces including the dining room, parlor, study, and solarium, with outdoor areas around the property as well.

The entire thing feels much more like being invited to an incredible dinner party than attending a traditional venue wedding.

This is where I would start if you are planning something intentionally intimate. A small ceremony, featuring long dinner tables, your absolute favorite humans, maybe everyone stays at the house. 

A Few Things I’d Pay Attention to During Venue Tours

Historic buildings come with quirks, that is part of why we love them, but it also means I would look beyond the ceremony space when you tour.

Walk through the actual route your guests will take during the wedding. Look at where everyone gets ready, ask what the rain plan is if you are choosing the place because you love its garden. Think about accessibility, parking, transportation, catering requirements, and whether there are stairs your grandparents are expected to navigate all night.

And please look at the backup ceremony location, seriously. If the only version of your wedding you love requires 72 degrees and zero rain, we have a major problem.

From a photography standpoint, I’d also look at how much variety we can get without leaving the venue. If there are great indoor spaces, outdoor spaces, interesting light, and different backgrounds within walking distance, that gives us a lot more freedom with your timeline.

Planning a Wedding in Washington DC?

I hope this helped you narrow down the giant pile of venue tabs currently living on your laptop. And if you are still adding more, I understand.

Picking your venue is one of those decisions that ends up shaping almost everything else about the day, from how many people you invite to where you take photos to how much time everyone spends driving across the city. Once you find the place that feels like you, a lot of the other pieces start getting easier.

And if you are also looking for a Washington DC wedding photographer who wants you to have an incredible wedding and really damn good photos of it, I would love to hear what you’re planning. Learn more about my Washington DC wedding photography packages.