Ash Lawn-Highland

Baylor Reinhart was our contact person at Ash Lawn - Highland and he was wonderful. He was VERY responsive and did everything he could to make sure our day was what we wanted (including accepting Fed Ex deliveries in the days before the wedding as we were planning our wedding from out-of-town). He also inspired some serious confidence when he told me that he had helped organize 132 weddings that were held at the outdoor venue without rain during the ceremony. It is breathtakingly beautiful venue and there is only one rule: no sparklers. Although this venue is expensive there are three important points about the cost 1) the majority of the fee charged is a tax-deductible donation; 2) because the venue is so beautiful, you only need minimal flowers and other decore - i.e. it is different than decorating a hotel ball room; 3) you can have the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception in different areas of the venue (the estate is large), so you don't have to incur the additional cost of a donation to a church, or renting an additional room for child care (we had child care in the air-conditioned conference room that has a great patio and yard for the kids to play), and you can avoid hosting the cocktail hour in the hallway outside the hotel ball room.

Although the venue is truly amazing, it is a bit more rustic than most - meaning that you need to build a good team of vendors that are familiar with the venue so you don't get bogged down with the logistics. For example, I would definitely consider 20 South as your caterer as they have their own catering kitchen (a much needed asset at Ash Lawn - Highlands that many other caterers must rent and they pass on the cost to you) and they know the size and number of plastic curtains that you may consider renting in case of rain during the reception. 20 South also handles all the rental orders for linens, china, etc., for you at cost (Ash Lawn has tables you can use, but the chairs are a little beat up so you may consider renting them).

The last (and probably most important) aspect of this venue is the freedom they give you to make a memorable event. Our wedding was on a Saturday and we were the only wedding of the weekend. We showed up on Thursday morning and clean-up did not occur until Sunday, Baylor was not only OK with our extended use of the property, but encouraged it by saying "The place is yours, use all of it and do what you will - but no sparklers!"

We would recommend this gorgeous, historic venue without hesitation!

Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, is a beautiful setting with very few amenities to offer. Basically, you pay for the beauty. I got married on a Sunday to keep down costs and it still hurt the budget. However, multiple guests have said it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever attended (in a sincere way, not that "we just want to be nice" kind of comment). So if the setting is a big deal for you then I say go for it. If you need more of a complete package that provides a lot of the details for you (such as a kitchen, linens, set-up, etc.) then search elsewhere. I do like that this provides a clean canvas for you the entire day of your event, unlike many of the churches I checked. We held the ceremony here as well.

Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, is a beautiful setting with very few amenities to offer. Basically, you pay for the beauty. I got married on a Sunday to keep down costs and it still hurt the budget. However, multiple guests have said it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever attended (in a sincere way, not that "we just want to be nice" kind of comment). So if the setting is a big deal for you then I say go for it. If you need more of a complete package that provides a lot of the details for you (such as a kitchen, linens, set-up, etc.) then search elsewhere. I do like that this provides a clean canvas for you the entire day of your event, unlike many of the churches I checked.

Ash Lawn might be the most beautiful venue to get married in the Charlottesville area. One perk is less rentals than a vineyard in the area. The place is incredible with a great pavillion for the reception. Downfalls were poor communication on their end when they tore down the rain site without telling us, failure to communicate amount of tables they had. Overall it's worth dealing with the unknowledgable owners to get a historical and beautiful wedding venue.