Maymont Wedding | A Venue That Blends Old & New
A Maymont Wedding is the best place to host your wedding if you and your fiancé are fans of modern stylish interiors blended with intermingling historic charm. The sleek interior that this venue offers along with the most stunning gardens on the historic side of the venue, are truly unmatched by any other venue in the area! Have I sparked your interest? I knew I would! I had the chance to speak to Maymont’s Private Event Sales Coordinator, Payton Kester, about all of the details. So keep reading to hear all about what makes this venue so incredible!
This venue has something to offer every size and style of wedding.
This venue is always hustling and bustling with love and laugher. It is such a focal point in the community that they take around 100 weddings each year! Do you know what that means? This venue and the employees are seriously wedding pros. Get ready to have a smooth and relaxing wedding day. They already know the in’s and out’s of everything you might need!
Maymont offers a few different venue options which you can see here. One of the most popular is 1000 Westover. This 1918 Mediterranean-style home renovated in 2020. It then reopened as a rental venue for weddings, celebrations and other business meetings. Secondly, the other most popular venue is the Historic Estate side of Maymont. It has many of options for outdoor celebrations, including facilities in The Robins Nature Center.
Because of how vast Maymont is, they can cater to both small and larger weddings! 1000 Westover can accommodate up to 100 guests. Meanwhile, the Historic Estate can accommodate 150 seated and 250 for a cocktail style reception.
A Maymont wedding has so many options for its couples!
When you and your sweetheart decide that Maymont is the place for you (which I know won’t be a hard choice). You’ll have options to choose from a large variety of amenities! Since there are two main venues, the venue has crafted two main packages.
Firstly is the modern side of Maymont, 1000 Westover. For this venue, they provide:
- The couples’ ceremony site (1000 Westover courtyard or Picnic Hill)
- A reception site
- Tables and chairs for their ceremony and reception
- 1 dressing room
- 1 hour rehearsal the Friday before their wedding
Secondly, for the Historic Estate Wedding Package, they provide:
- The couples’ ceremony site (The Italian Garden or Blue Atlas Cedar Tree)
- 32 chairs if they get married in the Italian Garden
- tables and chairs for the reception space
- 1 dressing room
- A rehearsal the Friday before the wedding.
In addition, there are also a multitude of add-ons for the venues! For the Historic Estate wedding package, it is recommend to add on a cocktail hour in the Nature Center Exhibits. It is such a great ice breaker for guest as they arrive to the reception venue. This add-on is only $500 for 1 the hour. Also, for 1000 Westover, they recommend adding on the bistro lights to the courtyard! They add such a charming twinkle to the venue as the sun sets. This add-on is also only $500.
This venue has an incredibly unique founding story.
This 100-acre venue property was acquired in 1886 by James and Sallie Dooley. They were are among Richmond’s wealthiest couples during the Gilded Age! The Dooleys completed the home in 1893 and called the estate “Maymont” as respect to Sallie May Dooley’s family name, as well as to the hilly terrain. It is a 12,000-square-foot, 33-room mansion built in high late-Victorian style. A (mixture of Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles) and decorated lavishly. It was also outfitted with the latest technology of the time, including electric lighting and indoor flush toilets.
The gardens around Maymont were Sallie’s domain. She selected over 200 native and exotic trees to remind the couple of their travels! They also commissioned a prominent local architect, Nolan & Baskervil, to design an Italian Garden based loosely on the Villa Torlonia near Rome. The Cascade fountain staircase, Fountain Court, and the Via Florum are just some of the architecture that he designed. He also designed the charming outbuildings: the Carriage House, Stone Barn, Garden Hall and Water Tower in a classic Normandy village style! Sallie also commissioned a well-known Japanese landscape designer, Muto, to create a traditional Japanese Garden below the Italian Garden. It has a reflecting pond, bridges, and a naturalistic (manmade) waterfall.
Since the Dooleys were childless, when they passed (he in 1922, she in 1925), they decided to leave Maymont and all its furnishings to the City of Richmond to be opened to the public as a house museum and park. The city operated it as such for about 50 years, then brought in the Maymont Foundation in 1975 to raise funds for in-depth conservation of the historic artifacts and grounds, and to maintain and operate it for the benefit of the people.
Fast forward to today!
Today, Maymont is one of the top attractions in the area for visitors, and community gathering place for celebrating the seasons. It also offers a robust environmental and historical education program for local school children, with the “Run of the River” exhibition in The Robins Nature Center, and an in-depth look at the lives and work of the domestic staff who persevered through Jim Crow era restrictions in the exhibition space “In Domestic Service.” Today, Maymont is a beloved local institution for generations of Richmond-area families.
Your Maymont Wedding won’t miss any details.
Of course, all of this sounds wonderful! But what about the logistics? Well, Maymont not only will offer you a wonderful experience, but they have the details nailed down as well. Ample room for parking is a must- and Maymont has parking by each of it’s venue locations. Another key point is that the venue works with a list of approved and reputable caters. In their list you will find variety, making it super easy to find the perfect fit for you! With good food, comes good alcohol. The venue has space for a bar (at both venue locations) along with an area for live music!
Comparatively, Maymont also has you covered when it comes to all of your photos, too! This venue has some of the best photo locations in Richmond! At the Historic Estate, the Italian Garden is a favorite! There you can catch many different flowers in bloom over the course of the year. The gazebos are another great location. THey are sprinkled throughout the estate which are often perfect for a romantic first look before the ceremony.
At 1000 Westover, the Maymont wedding team recommends taking photos across the parking- lot underneath our massive every green tree. The front porch of 1000 Westover’s Historic facade is another great option to really get that Mediterranean style.
Have you loved reading about all that a Maymont Wedding can offer?
All things considered, this is an amazing venue to say your “I do’s” at! Don’t delay in reaching out to them on their website to set up a time to chat! Of course, make sure to also send me a message because I would love to be there!
Before you go, make sure you check out some of my other informative blogs:
- Dover Hall Wedding | A Stunning Luxury Wedding Venue
- Lewis Ginter Wedding | A Dreamy Garden Venue
- 15+ Best Charlottesville Wedding Planners