We hosted a 50 guest wedding ceremony and reception at the Anthenaeum in September 2022 and had a wonderful experience! It is such a beautiful setting. We used the gorgeous back courtyard for our cocktail hour at sunset and it felt truly magical. The staff are wonderful to work with and it is in the heart of Old Town near hotels, shops and restaurants which is perfect if you have a lot of guests flying in like we did. The art adds a fun, modern element and we loved the artists featured the month of our wedding. We are so happy we chose the Anthenaeum - highly recommend!

We wanted a historic venue that felt intimate and unique and the Athenaeum was a great fit! It's awesome to be able to support a community non-profit that supports the arts too. Our wedding was in the winter so we had the ceremony and reception inside. The staff recommended a great caterer and tent company so we were able to flip the space quickly during the cocktail hour. It was a little crowded in the courtyard during the cocktail hour but overall it was a great experience. The price is reasonable and the building is beautiful. The staff was also easy to work with, kind, and flexible. Thanks!

We held our welcome party here the night before our wedding and it was absolutely amazing. The Anthenaeum is truly an iconic Old Town building -- and it is situated right in the heart of downtown. If you're looking for a unique and intimate venue for any of your wedding events, this is it!

All of the Athenaeum staff was excellent to work with. During the initial planning stages, Veronica and Richard were my main points of contact, both of whom were very helpful answering questions. They were happy to entertain our questions both via email and during the various trips to check out the space. The contract process was fairly straight forward and fortunately renting out the space includes both the art gallery and the outside garden (it rained on our wedding day and the ceremony was initially going to take place in the garden). A few days before the wedding, we were informed that Amanda would be the staffer on hand on the actual wedding day. I sent Amanda my proposed timeline and we reviewed it over the phone. She was willing to assist with flow of show and confirming chair and floral deliveries/set up.

She advised us of some renovations that were taking place in the alley behind the garden, which is where the ceremony was originally going to take place. While the staff had not previously informed us of the planned renovation, it all worked out in the end. Amanda emailed me photos of the renovations, offered alternate solutions to ensure the scaffolding wouldn’t be as visible, emailed the contractor to ensure they would be done with the renovations for the day prior to our scheduled photo time and ceremony start time, and offered to be at the venue early to ensure that everything was clean.

When I realized it was likely going to rain on the wedding day, I emailed Amanda asking for a quick discussion on a rain plan. She contacted me right away to confirm a time and we spoke the morning of the wedding to come up with a rain plan. She handled the new set up with both the chair rental company and the florist. The set up came out beautifully.

Also, one of the photographers left a water behind and Amanda emailed me about the item so I was able to retrieve it the next day.

I would definitely rent this space again!

The Athenaeum was an absolute joy to work with. Our original plan for our wedding day involved having the ceremony in their small, brick and ivy courtyard but the weather did not cooperate, but the event coordinator for that day, Richard, seamlessly organized an indoor ceremony that worked perfectly. We had such a great time and got tons of compliments from our guests about how lovely the venue was and I wholeheartedly recommend the Athenaeum as a wedding venue. Dealing with all of the staff was simple and easy, everyone was super polite and friendly, they were a dream to work with.

I chose the Athenaeum because one night while walking through Old Town Alexandria I witnessed a wedding going on. It was snowing outside but inside it was bright , warm, everyone looked so happy, and I was completely struck with how beautiful everything looked. They were my first choice because I wanted a wedding that beautiful as well. Working with the Athenaeum was great. The rental representative was professional and responsive. The price for renting the Athenaeum is on their website and you will not find a single place in Old Town more affordable than here. We had a small wedding of about 70 people but we fit comfortably to have a ceremony in the courtyard out back and a reception with a dance floor inside. You should be aware that this is an art gallery and the art changes regularly. You will have no control over what art is up the day of your wedding, but the art at our wedding was beautiful and a non issue. I actually received some compliments on choosing an art gallery as the location of the reception! While there is no dedicated parking lot, we were able to reserve two spaces out front of the Athenaeum for vendors to load and unload before and after the wedding, and it gave us a place to put the getaway car at the end of the night. Guests had no trouble finding parking, even on a busy Alexandria night due to the parking garage one block over. There were absolutely no issues fitting a buffet, a bar, a DJ, 70 people and a dance floor in the space. Check them out for sure!

The Athenaeum was the perfect location for our intimate wedding ceremony. The staff was so kind, responsive, and accommodating. Richard was wonderful to work with!

We held our ceremony at the Athenaeum, and it was perfect. Not only was Richard incredibly helpful through the entire process and a million questions from me, but the space was so affordable! Everyone told me how romantic and lovely the gallery was for our ceremony, and that it fit us perfectly.

If you're looking for something intimate, unique, and affordable, go to the Athenaeum!

Pure magic.
We chose this venue specifically because we wanted a small and intimate wedding in a unique location. Our 70 guests all stood in the garden in the back for the brief ceremony, and then walked inside for cocktail hour, followed by a partially seated buffet dinner. We chose partially seated because then we did not have to move any tables out of the way after dinner to create the dance floor. Even with 7 round tables and 4 bar tables, there was still plenty of room for all 70 of us to dance together!

The staff was super friendly, and even greeted guests at the door to gather gifts!

I highly recommend this venue! It was a dream come true in the heart of Old Town.

We had a small ceremony on Sunday morning, January 19th. We had looked at other venues but when we walked into the Anthenaeum we knew it was the perfect choice. There is a large open space with beautiful artwork in their gallery. Lots of windows that let in the light. They were so easy to work with and accommodating. Richard was very prompt with his emails and was available anytime we wanted to go over details at the venue. On the day of the wedding he was on time making sure the gallery was open early for us to take pictures and had it set up exactly as we had discussed. It was the perfect choice and a beautiful day.