The 25 Best Wedding Venues in Washington DC (Updated for 2022)

Planning your DC wedding? I've photographed weddings at more venues than I can count, but these are my absolute favorites. You have novel, classic, modern, rustic (who doesn't love a barn?!), and other adjectives. Now, let's get to some of the best wedding venues in DC.

Best Wedding Venues in Washington DC

Indoor Weddings

Planet Word Musuem

Planet Word is a new and modern wedding venue in DC. It opened right as the pandemic started and there haven't been many weddings there yet, so yours could be one of the first. Exciting!

Planet Word is "the museum where language comes to life."

“Planet Word will inspire and renew a love of words, language, and reading in people of all ages. Through unique, immersive learning experiences, we provide a space to explore words and language that is grounded in a solid understanding of language arts and science.”

Mexican Cultural Institute

Look at this place. Seriously, LOOK AT IT. Stare into its soul. It's a BEAUTIFUL space. So many great spots for portraits. I photographed one of my favorite weddings ever here (as well as many non-wedding events).

District Winery

The District Winery was the first commercial winery in DC and you can host your wedding there and enjoy all the benefits of having house-made wine.

Check out my extensive overview (including pricing) of the District Winery here.

Carnegie Institute for Science (Closed)

APRIL 2021 UPDATE: Unfortately, this venue has closed. Some similar venues include the Mexican Cultural Institute and Anderson House.

It has a rotunda as a ceremony space. A rotunda. That's all that need to be said. Oh, and it also has library to get ready in.

Check out my in-depth review here.

Josephine Butler Parks Center

Josephine Butler Parks Center is an historic house in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of DC and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Sunset light is particularly excellent, especially on the balcony. I highly recommend getting a plant wall from your florist (see below).

Tons more info here from my older review!

City Club DC

This venue gives you that concrete, glass, and steel feel (because it's all concrete, glass, and steel) Cavernous and bright, this is a great venue if you're into the modern look.

Torpedo Factory

The torpedo Factory Art Center used to be a Naval mutations depot, but now it's not! Lucky for the guests! It's located on King St. in Old Town Alexandria.

National Cathedral

I admit that this isn't the National Cathedral, but it's in one of the chapels on the National Cathedral grounds. It's a beautiful church regardless, and you'll have the National Cathedral in the background for your portraits.

Long View Gallery

I'm a fan of art galleries that are used as wedding venues. The art here changes pretty frequently so the vibe can be very different from one event to the next. Blagden Alley is behind the gallery and the murals make for excellent photo backgrounds.

Holy Rosary Church

I'm generally not a fan of churches because they severely limit the ability for photographers to move around. However, Holy Rosary Church was extremely accommodating in that regard. In short, that means better photos for you.

Outdoor Weddings

The LINE DC

The LINE DC is actually a repurposed church! They even converted the pipe organ into a sculpture hanging from the ceiling. There are so many nooks throughout the building that offer great photo opportunities.

Here's a link to my super in-depth overview of The LINE DC.

Woodrow Wilson House

This was (as the name suggests) President Woodrow Wilson's house. There's a beautiful terraced backyard as well as ornate interior spaces. There's also a kitchen area where they store the original china, but you have to stand completely still and silent in the center of the room if you go in to not disturb the delicateness of the dinnerware. This is where they feed the vendors. Imagine how awkward that is.

Regardless, I award this venue 15 out of 10 stars. The moral of this story is that you should always feed your vendors because vendors are awesome and need sustenance for peak performance.

DC War Memorial

This is a very popular space for short weddings and elopements (what's the difference you ask? I'm not entirely sure because all the 'elopements' I've photographed have had guests and were far from secretive). It's on the National Mall, but very few people visit it. I've photographed at least twenty here.

48 Fields

Barns were the place to get married in 2015 and I'm pretty sure they're still the place to get married. They provide a rustic feel that makes for great photos. This one isn't really in DC (it's about an hour outside in the Leesburg area), but it's totally worth it if you'd like a bucolic locale for your nuptials (I just wanted to use the words "bucolic" and"nuptials"). You can view my in-depth review here.

Faith Like a Mustard Seed

This is a newer barn / farm venue (yes, "barn venue" is a category). My favorite parts were the resident cows and roaming turkeys.

Spanish Steps

The primary reason I recommend the Spanish Steps is because it's a 3 minute walk from my apartment. The secondary reason is that the spot is really cool looking.

Woodend Sanctuary

This stunning wedding venue also features a grove for wedding ceremonies where guests are surrounded by tall trees that are breathtaking in the fall.

See this article for some more photos and info!

Jefferson Memorial

If you're reading this in the first half of 2021, I don't recommend this site for your wedding; the monument is being renovated. HOWEVER, it'll eventually be complete. Then it'll be awesome. Have your wedding here! You'll need a permit though, unfortunately.

National Park Service Permits

You'll need one of these for any location run by the NPS!

NPS Permits

Lincoln Cottage

It's HISTORIC!

"President Lincoln’s Cottage is a historic site and museum located on a 250 acre campus in Northwest Washington, DC. Here Abraham Lincoln made some of his most nation-changing decisions and developed the Emancipation Proclamation. Each day, we see how the significance of what happened here more than 150 years ago ignites courageous new ideas, encourages respectful dialogue, and promotes thoughtful compromise."

It is super awesome, though.

Dumbarton House

Dumbarton HOUSE is not to be confused with Dumbarton OAKS, which does not allow weddings or photography. You can read more about Dumbarton House here.

Tudor Place

The quintessential garden wedding. Tea time anyone? Ok, that was an awful dad joke. Totally in love with this place, though (especially the dog statues).

They're currently accepting reservations for 2022 and 2023.

You can read more about Tudor Place here.

Bartholdi Fountain

Great views of the Capitol and a side benefit of no one having ever heard of it.

Meridian Hill Park

One of the most popular parks in DC. I've photographed more than a handful of engagement sessions, surprise proposals, and weddings here. The great thing is that even though it's usually crowded, you can always find an empty spot.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

This one isn't exactly DC; it's in Vienna, VA. That's not too far on a good traffic day.

Library of Congress

Next to the National Mall! Next to the Capitol and Supreme Court! If you want your photos to be peak DC, this is the spot.

Pro: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or Nancy Pelosi might walk by.

Con: Mitch McConnell might walk by.

I hope this has been helpful. Please let me know if you'd like any other venue reviews!

You can view their websites at the following links:

Indoor Wedding Venues Contact Information

Outdoor Wedding Venues Contact Information

Try reaching out to my favorite wedding planners if you'd like help with venue selection and tours. And you can check out my previous blog post on wedding planning here.

Interested in hiring me as your photographer? Reach out here!

CONTACT ME

See below some more articles containing detailed information about specific venues venue, as well as pricing.