If you’re planning a wedding close to home, amenities like sandy beaches, breathtaking waterfront views, attractive gardens, and resort stays might seem out of reach, but if you live in or near Maryland, you don’t need to look any further than your backyard. Here are five Maryland wedding venues that can fulfill your destination wedding desires, whether you want opulence or intimacy, a getaway weekend, or one big day, list of places from Maryland Road Trip.
Wedding Venues on Your Big Day
Turf Valley Resort – Ellicott City, MD
Wedding celebrations may make a vacation out of your stay at Turf Valley, Maryland’s only full-service hotel resort between Baltimore and Washington, DC, with dining, golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor pools, and a spa before dancing the night away at one of the eight on-site venues.
Indoor locations range from up to 120–250 guests best for intimate wedding celebrations held among crystal chandeliers, balconies, and private bridal suites to a spectacular affair for up to 600 guests held in the resort’s 9,472 square foot Grand Ballroom. Turf Valley also provides a lovely garden site if a picturesque outdoor event is more your style.
The resort, which is tucked away in Ellicott City, is also about 15 minutes to the southeast of Sykesville’s historic center (which also has a railway park for the kids) and 15 minutes to the west of old Ellicott City, which has a ton of food and retail options. Travel 30 minutes to the west to visit Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, the brand’s first American brewery in more than 63 years.
Glen Ellen Farm – Ijamsville, MD
Glen Ellen Farm in Frederick County offers farm- and country-style charm for your wedding celebrations. The 1850s Greek Revival manor estate that serves as the venue’s backdrop and has more than 30 acres of perennially flowering gardens is located in Ijamsville. Here, the wedding celebration can get ready or family members can unwind in the parlor before the wedding proper.
Say “I do” on the venue’s stone patio, which looks out over a spring-fed pond, and then direct your guests to the stone-walled barn ruin for cocktail hour. Alternatively, you can send them across the grounds to the cut flower garden, wildflower meadow, or Adirondack chairs on the beach before a tented reception for up to 300 guests. Ijamsville is about 20 minutes from Frederick’s downtown, which is well-known for its upscale dining, drinking, and vintage shopping. Northwest of the venue, in the Catoctin Mountains, lies Cunningham Falls State Park, home to the tallest cascading waterfall in Maryland and a 43-acre man-made lake.
Annapolis Maritime Museum – Annapolis, MD
The state capital of Maryland is where you can locate waterfront wedding celebration venues if you choose to exchange vows there. The Annapolis Maritime Museum is an excellent wedding celebration venue that is readily transformed for a small ceremony with 50 to 150 guests. The beachside area and dock of the museum make for a lovely location for your wedding celebration, and after the Bay Room celebration, the couple can depart by boat from the pier.
After the wedding celebration, you can also have access to a private detached barge house, and guests may board the Wilma Lee, one of the last remaining skipjacks, for the rehearsal dinner or brunch.
The distance between the museum and downtown Annapolis, which has attractions like the concert venue Rams Head on Stage, is less than ten minutes. Discover America. Naval Academy or take advantage of the lovely downtown streets for some food and shopping. Visitors can also visit the nearby Kittens in Cups cat cafe, which is located about 15 minutes west of the city center.
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Other Best Wedding Venues Around Maryland
Blue Moon Rising at Deep Creek Lake – McHenry, MD
Plan to bring your loved ones to Blue Moon Rising if an intimate wedding celebration in the woods with close relatives and friends appeals to you more than a big event. This Deep Creek location offers a rustic outdoor wedding celebration venue with 10-foot barn tables and no curfew (ideal for 45–75 attendees)!
An event can go on into the night because of the privacy. The venue must be hired for a minimum of three nights and is intended so you can spend some quality time with your guests before the wedding celebration proper.
The Deep Creek Lake State Park, about 15 minutes southeast, features a mile-long shoreline with two swimming beaches, 20 miles of hiking and biking trails, boating, camping, and a learning center. Wedding guests will have plenty of time to explore the area.
A few minutes away from the location, Monkey Business Adventure Park offers ropes courses and axe tossing, while Wisp Resort offers a guided zipline tour called the Flying Squirrel Canopy Tour. Nearby Deep Creek Fun Zone, which offers laser tag and seasonal games like mini golf, go-karts karts, and bumper boats, are additional family-friendly activities.
Strathmore – Rockville, MD
A historic estate, a live music venue, and a music center are all combined into one space at Strathmore. You will have the luxury of having the entire place to yourself for the wedding celebration day if you decide to get married in the late-1800s Georgian Mansion.
You can enjoy a backdrop of well-kept grounds and Palladian windows of the Rockville home for up to 100 guests for supper or 200 for a standing reception. Just one mile from the main Strathmore campus, the live music venue AMP can accommodate up to 250 people theater-style or 150 guests for a standing reception in a more contemporary and industrial setting. A stage and bar are also integrated into the room.
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