Eco-friendly Wedding Venues in the DC Area

In honor of Earth Day coming up this Friday – we have dedicated the entire week to helping you plan your eco-friendly wedding in DC as well as letting you know about a few great ideas and contests for Earth Day at the end of each post!  Come back daily for more ideas!

Today – we start the week of where you normally start your wedding planning process – THE VENUE!

Looking for an eco-friendly wedding venue can be difficult in the DC area or very easy – depending on what you are looking for. Since the majority of the beautiful mansions in the DC area are historic – you are typically paying to rent a facility that is also used for outreach programs to the local community or for the upkeep of the museum it may hold.  For example – Dumbarton House and Decatur House both are historical landmarks in Washington, DC and both have museums that they run.  Both are beautiful locations with different aspects. (Above is a photo at Dumbarton House taken by Documentary Associates).

We love doing weddings at the Ronald Reagan Building as the chef is dedicated to sourcing environmentally friendly and locally sourced food.  In fact, he took Blue Fin Tuna off the menu as he signed a petition to conserve this dwindling family of fish.

Another wonderful location for an eco-friendly wedding is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis.  You can have your ceremony on their beach with the reception inside their LEED certified building.  Even comes with a tent for the outdoor patio for dancing!  Lots of wonderful locations to take photos and part of your proceeds go to help keep the bay clean!

The Arts Club of Washington is another one of our favorites!  (I got married there!)  A non-profit that also does catering in-house.  It supports the local arts community – an acutely dwindling breed of organizations that has stayed strong in James Monroe’s old residence!  This building is also a National Historic Property. (photo by Deb Lindsey)

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is a beautiful venue for your wedding.  A portion of the rental fee is tax-deductible.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art is another location that is on the National Registry of Historic Properties and houses one of the best art colleges in the DC area.

Constitution Hall’s Library and O’Byrne Gallery and Portico is a perfect Washington, DC setting. Run by the Daughters of American Revolution – their non-profit is service oriented and educational.  A non-profit along with being on the National Registry of Historic Properties.

The Warne Lounge at the Cosmos Club is one of the most unique and ornate rooms in all of Washington, DC.  It is about to undergo renovations, but if you are planning your wedding for 2012 and know a member at the club – call them immediately!  Totally one of the most unique and interesting venues and so few brides know about it.  Know anyone in the sciences?  They might know a member there!  We have a wedding there in May – stay tuned for those photos! (Also on the National Registry of Historic Properties).

Not into a fancy old building?  Why not something super new and LEED certified?  The Nationals Park offers a variety of fantastic and modern rooms to choose from to host your wedding.  Even if you are not a baseball fan – would you not love to have this fantastic bar at your wedding?  Their caterers use local resources and the view of the baseball field is not too shabby! (Photo by Amie Otto Photography)

Halycon House is another favorite among brides also found on the National Registry of Historical Properties.  Fair warning here that the property has been on the market for a while and none of us really know what will happen once the the building gets sold.

You’ve seen all the engagement shoots (like this one from Documentary Associates) around the Tidal Basin.  Why not have your actual ceremony there?  On the West Lawn of The Thomas Jefferson Memorial – you can have your wedding!  All you need is a permit.  You get a limited time frame to have it – so it can’t be anything super elaborate.  But where else would you ever have this opportunity to get married next to Thomas Jefferson??? It’s “free” as you pay taxes for it!

The Mayflower Hotel is one of the oldest and most ornate hotels in Washington DC. Also on the National Registry for Historic Properties, the venue is great for all of your out of town guests.  Even better still, you can do both your ceremony and reception in one building and your guests just have to go upstairs afterwards – no buses or shuttles needed!

The absolutely stunningly gorgeous Meridian House is run by the non-profit Washington International Center dedicated to strengthening international understanding through exchange of people, ideas and culture. (Photo by The Observatory)

The National Cathedral is one of the most ornate and glorious churches in Washington, DC  (also on the Registry)!  It’s incredible architecture mixed with its rich history really gives a great sense of grandeur.  (NOTE – The cathedral will perform weddings only when one of the following criteria is met: 1. The bride, groom, or immediate family has made, over a period of time, a noteworthy contribution as a donor or volunteer to the life and ministry of the cathedral; 2. The bride or groom is an alumnus of one of the cathedral schools (Beauvoir, National Cathedral School for Girls, or Saint Albans School for Boys) or is the child under 30 years of age of an alumnus; 3. The bride, groom, or immediate family member is a member of the staff of the cathedral for at least two years at the time of application.)

Josephine Butler Parks Center is possibly one of the most underrated wedding venues in DC Proper.  The Washington Parks and People runs the facility which is all about protecting parks, greening community projects in DC and community outreach in general.  A beautiful space at a reasonable rate.

Woodend Sanctuary has to be one of my favorite places to do weddings.  Nestled in Chevy Chase just of the beltway – it is the home of the Audubon Society and many educational and children’s camp opportunities for the community.  With an amazing grove and mansion with an attached tent – one of the best deals in the DC area as well. (Photo by Heather Z)

The Sewall-Belmont House is actually one of the 4 items in Congress’ “Save America’s Treasures” Program (along with the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and the Star Spangled Banner).  Again – underrated but a much loved property right on Capitol Hill has a wonderful yard with a tent out back.  This building was the headquarters for the National Woman’s Party where Alice Paul forged forth the woman’s suffrage movement.

This is by no means a definitive list of venues – but a great place to start for you.  There are tons of venues all over Virginia and in MD that I have not covered here (warranting another blog post in the future).

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EARTH DAY CONTESTS TO BE AWARE OF TODAY:

Going to San Francisco this weekend (or want to plan a last minute getaway for the two of you)?  Then get to the Green Glam Go Facebook Page to learn how to win an Earth Day Weekend Getaway in San Francisco by clicking here and “Liking” Green Glam Go on Facebook!

Also – on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog – we have a metal water bottle up for grabs – Click here to learn how to win!

Stay Tuned for more eco DC goodies all week!