Athenaeum
Enchanting Historic Elegance at Athenaeum
This fine art gallery and performance venue is also home to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association. Concerts, dance performances, and literary events including poetry slams are staged in the stately main room while classes such as yoga and ballet occur on the gleaming pine floors.
Wrapped in beautifully preserved Neoclassical Greek Revival architecture and catching eyes with its striking soaring Doric columns, the historic building is filled with natural light and regional art. Flow with ease between the Athenaeum building and courtyard, designing each space to fit your wedding theme and color palette and bringing in your favorite catering team and floral designers.
Welcome friends and family with a cocktail reception in the gallery, surrounded by oversized windows, tasteful art and 24-foot ceilings. Host a sweet private ceremony in the romantic secret-garden-style courtyard, surrounded by stoic red brick walls. The vibrant indoor space carries a festive, celebratory energy with upstairs galleries holding up to 120 people for standing parties or 60 people for a seated reception with a dance floor (80 people without a dance floor).
Photo Gallery
The Location
Setting
Noted as one of the area's last remaining Neoclassical Greek Revival architecture buildings, this gallery of fine arts and performance venue rests in Old Town Alexandria.
Things To Do
Northern Virginia is an entertaining melting pot of historical sites and natural beauty. History buffs devour landmarks like George Washington’s Mount Vernon home and Arlington National Cemetery, a bucket list site to pay respects to fallen soldiers crowned by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Active sets head to Great Falls Park to trek to jaw-dropping waterfalls and Shenandoah National Park for hiking, wildlife glimpses and postcard perches from Skyline Drive. A burgeoning wine and craft beer scene keeps the countryside brimming with tastings and tours while the cobblestone streets of Old Town Alexandria beckon with boutique shops, galleries and restaurants neatly tucked into 18th- and 19th-century buildings.
Proximity
34.5 mi to Washington Dulles International Airport
0.3 mi to Old Town Alexandria
8.6 mi to George Washington’s Mount Vernon
0.2 mi to Waterfront Park
94.1 mi to Shenandoah National Park
The Details
Amenities & Services
- Gallery space
- Private intimate courtyard
- Natural lighting
- Pine flooring
- Old Town charm
By the Numbers
- 60 seated guest capacity for the ceremony
- 60 seated guest capacity for reception
Make it Yours
- Host an intimate stone courtyard ceremony against a brick backdrop and brilliant blue skies
- Stage a breathtaking photo shoot in historic Old Town Alexandria where cobblestone streets and preserved architecture make for gorgeous natural backdrops
- Invite guests to mingle and sip signature cocktails in the modern gallery space during a chic welcome reception
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Real
Wedding
Weddings
at this Venue
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