Hermitage Museum & Gardens Reviews

We got married at the Hermitage Museum & Gardens in May 2025. The venue is gorgeous and we had such an amazing wedding day. Heather was also amazing throughout the whole process. She was super helpful, easy to talk to, and always there to answer our questions. We’re so happy we chose the Hermitage. It’ll always be a special place to us!

The Hermitage was our first and only stop as we began to plan our wedding - as soon as we stepped foot on the property we knew this was where we wanted to get married. It is a beautiful, picturesque place with the most incredible team supporting it. Heather and her team are truly the best and they helped us every step of the way. We could not have had a better experience!

I am so appreciative of Heather and the Hermitage crew. They provided everything I needed and more. They were accommodating and supportive. I have heard nothing but amazing things from all of my family and friends. If I could do it again, I would get married here repeatedly.

From the moment I got engaged, I knew the type of wedding I wanted. Quant, green, floral, unique, and romantic. The Hermitage has all of that and more... not only is their team amazing and accommodating, but they also have everything you need for a wedding. The bathroom situation is perfect, more than enough and they are air-conditioned. There are so many different and diverse spots to take photos in the gardens. I felt like I was transported to a more romantic and simple time when I was walking around the gardens with my new husband. There really is no comparable venue anywhere close to the area, and I can't wait to come back and feel all of the memories from the day rush back into my heart!

We were thrilled to find out the Hermitage was available for our daughter's wedding, because it is so beautiful, and the perfect romantic garden venue. Heather & her team were so kind, helpful and accommodating during the whole planning process, to make sure the day was everything the bride & groom dreamed of--and it was a truly a dream. The Hermitage is just a magical place to have a wedding.

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens is stunning and magical and the perfect place to celebrate your love. Heather was excellent. She’s so helpful and so fast to respond to questions. She’s so organized. We loved every second of the hermitage.

If you are looking for the best place to host your event in Norfolk, you found it! I am a professional DJ and I work a few wedding events here every year and already have some lined up for next year. Before this year is over, I wanted to take the time and share with all review readers how grateful I am for the opportunity to be able to collaborate with such a great venue and the talented team that makes magic happen every time I am there. They communicate well with vendors, everything is always clean and looks amazing, and the layout options are awesome. The waterfront backdrop makes for the best sunset pictures and videos. They surely go above and beyond for their clients to have the best time ever. Go see for yourself, book your event here!

Chris “DJ Karizma” August | DJ Karizma Entertainment LLC | www.karizma.bz

Our wedding day at the Hermitage was an absolute dream! Jennifer was easy to work with and always responded in a timely manner. The venue itself could not be more beautiful! Between the water, the garden, and the museum, it is perfect! We really loved that the Hermitage is kind of DIY in that you are only renting the space and have to bring in your own caterer, design, etc. It was so nice for us to make it our own - but this would have been next to impossible without a planner (We worked with Ashley with Soirees by Lauren and had an amazing experience and she knew the Hermitage in and out!). Also, I would highly recommend paying the additional $500 for an hour more time for your wedding if at all possible. The city of Norfolk has a quiet curfew and music has to be off at 10:15pm. We moved our start time up to 4:30pm and I have no idea how we would have gotten everything in otherwise. We couldn’t recommend this venue more - it was everything we wanted!

We just had our wedding at the Hermitage, and had the BEST experience possible! Jennifer was so easy to work with, she was always super responsive to my MANY questions, the other staff were very helpful, and the day went off without a hitch (as far as I know!). This is by far the MOST beautiful venue in the area, and our guests absolutely loved it.

I will note, for those considering it, that you will need to rent ALL the equipment, so take that into account when budgeting. Even so, well worth it, because our day was breathtaking, and I would not change a thing!

The Hermitage was the perfect spot for our perfect wedding - we can’t thank or recommend the whole team there enough!! The setting is just beautiful - on the water, a truly one of a kind home turned museum, and gorgeous gardens make for a breathtaking wedding venue. It is very DIY/BYO everything - rentals, caterers, planning, etc - but if you're up to the challenge or hire a planner its definitely worth it!! We had the most incredible day of our lives at the Hermitage!!

Hermitage was very understanding when we had to push our wedding back because of Covid. We are very grateful for it as all of our grandparents were able to join us! Jennifer was amazing and ready to help us every step of the way.
We had an August wedding and we were slightly worried about the rain and thunderstorms, I asked for Jennifer’s advice the day before the wedding trying to decide if we should add extra coverage for the dance floor and she was very kind and understanding, she listened to me and discussed the situation and made me feel much better. So we ended up not covering the dance floor and had amazing time dancing under the starts at night.
Loved everything about this place! Highly recommend.

Sarah and the team at the Hermitage were amazing! My experience was perfect, they were accommodating and helped make the day nothing short of perfect.

The hermitage was amazing and so beautiful! It rained on and off all day and the pictures are still stunning because of the amazing greenery and vintage looking locations throughout the venue. Sarah was such a huge asset to making this wedding happen, from always answering every question I had to being there on the wedding day to hype us all up and make sure we had everything we needed! I can’t say enough good things about this amazing venue and the staff that I was able to work with(shoutout again Sarah!) it was the most perfect day!

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens is Norfolk's hidden treasure. Tucked away on the Elizabeth River, there is not a more romantic spot. The Hermitage supports a variety of artists so it truly is a fantastic venue with amazing, vibrant energy. The beautiful tree in the back is the perfect anchor, the patio is the perfect dance floor, and the shipyard in the distance is so romantic. The women who coordinate the venue are delightful and very responsive. On the practical side, they have very clean renovated bathrooms and the property is well lit! Their dates fill up quickly so get on their calendar!

Our wedding was everything we ever wanted thanks to the Hermitage and their staff. They bent over backwards to help us reschedule due to an impending hurricane and ensured that our big day was a success. If only we could host an event with them every year!

This venue was amazing! Lil is very easy to work with and super helpful. The venue is beautiful for a November wedding great view of the river! It was simply magical, best day ever!

Where could I possibly start?! First the venue is absolutely gorgeous! If your looking for a venue that doesn't need a lot of decorations this is it! The overall beauty of the venue makes you not want to do too much. Also Lil is the event coordinator and she is the best ever! She is professional, courteous, and nothing but a joy to work with. She had plenty of sound advice to offer and that led me to more amazing vendors. I'm so blessed to had been able to use this venue. Look no further than the Hermitage. It's worth it!

I knew I loved the Hermitage years before I was engaged and humored the idea of one other venue in Hampton Roads before realizing that the Hermitage was the only venue for me! The clear downsides of the venue are that there are no indoor accommodating spaces for a large wedding but the Gardens as a whole make up for that! My guests loved the space and enjoyed the tent on the gardens overlooking the James River. Lil Acosta was great and helpful through every step, listening to all my questions and responding quickly. I am so thankful for a helpful coordinator with a beautiful venue! Get married at the Hermitage, you won't regret it!

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting for our wedding. Everyone we worked with was absolutely lovely, and it was just a perfect night! We couldn't have picked a better place!

We loved the Hermitage! Everyone we worked with was great and the location could not be beat. We, apparently, were one of the first couples in their history to do the entire ceremony and reception without the use of a tent and it could not have been more beautiful. Also, consider not getting married on the weekend and you can spend a good chunk less.

This was the only venue we looked into after seeing the pictures on Wedding Wire. It was absolutely gorgeous and we fell in love with it immediately. The weather was beautiful the day of our wedding and we were able to utilize most of the grounds (east garden, rose garden and shoreline) for our wedding. Guests commented on how breathtaking the scenery was -- we didn't really need much ceremony decorations because the venue is beautiful enough. They wedding coordinators - lil and cassie are awesome as well - met with us when needed and very responsive via email. I'm really glad we had our wedding there!!

The Hermitage is where it is at! We loved it there. It was exactly what we imagined our wedding to be like. Lil from the Hermitage is great. She is helpful and responsive throughout the whole process. It is so beautiful there and makes for a fun atmosphere to get married. The Hermitage has now become one of our favorite spots in Hampton Roads. It is an awesome place to check out on its own.

I recently booked my venue with the Hermitage Museum and Gardens and the pictures online do not do it justice! I was so amazed by how beautiful the grounds were and how knowledgeable the staff were. I loved every minute of the tour and cannot wait to get married next November!

My husband and I grew up in Norfolk and wanted the perfect place to celebrate our special day. The Hermitage was beyond perfect! It is a hidden gem and has some of the best water views of the area. The staff was super friendly and easy to work with...especially Lil. They were very responsive to any questions we had leading up to the day of our wedding. I highly recommend this beautiful venue!

This venue is absolutely incredible. I'm so excited to have both my ceremony and reception in such a beautiful space. The staff is extremely accommodating, informative, helpful, and all around genuine people.

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens was a lovely venue for our daughter's big day. Having the Bruce Munroe LIGHT art installation as a part of her day was a unique and spectacular addition to the already lovely ambience of the Hemitage Museum and Gardens. The staff were so eager to make my daughter's wedding special!

Absolutely stunning place to have any kind of event!!! The people are wonderful and accommodating and the venue itself is breathtaking!! Well done!!

With a beautiful historic home, immaculate gardens, and a breathtaking waterfront view, there couldn’t be a more perfect setting to host a wedding in Hampton Roads. In addition to a romantic setting, the Museum's staff is AMAZING to work with… they are organized, flexible, and really helped guide me through the wedding planning process. I HIGHLY recommend The Hermitage Museum & Gardens to anyone planning a wedding or private event!

Our wedding at the Hermitage was amazing (and Lil who coordinates their events was extremely helpful). They even offered a 10% military discount which we greatly appreciated. However, the cost of the wedding exceeded our original budget when you add in the rental fees. It would be nice if the venue would allow you to price check other rental companies besides Distinctive Event Rentals. Overall though, our wedding day couldn't have been any better :) The Hermitage is simply breathtaking!!

The Hermitage is breathtakingly beautiful and was the perfect backdrop for our special day! This venue allowed us to really personalize our event, compared to other venues we visited, allowing us to take utilize the full extent of the grounds for every step of our wedding (and a scavenger hunt!) And of course, the pictures were beautiful!

We got married in April when the gardens were very green and the purple Wisterias were blooming. The staff worked well with us to make sure we were ready to go and their list of suggested vendors were all fantastic. There are strict rules about decorations and exits but we found this wasn’t really an issue for us. We received many compliments from our guests about how beautiful and unique the venue was.

This wedding vendor is absolutely stunning. We were able to pull of an Alfresco wedding on the grounds and the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception were just stunning. All of our guests have raved about the “feel” and “vibe”. We love that we are the only wedding on the day we chose so it is really intimate and about you. So happy we picked this venue 💗

I absolutely love the Hermitage and all that it offered as the location for my ceremony and reception. The setting is such a dream and the staff was extremely helpful. Lil is your coordinator from start to finish and has lots of suggestions to help get you started. As it is a museum, you have to follow the rules indoors, but it is worth it in order to have such an amazing place for your wedding. My guests were wowed by all the natural beauty and had an amazing time. It also truly is handicapped accessible, which was extremely important to me as my brother is in a wheelchair.

Absolutely the most beautiful venue in Norfolk, VA. We live and love Norfolk and wanted to showcase our beautiful home to our friends and family who were traveling from afar. We knew we didn't want to do so in a hotel ballroom and the Hermitage was one of the venues highest on my list. I fell in love with it and thankfully my husband thought it was great. It is truly beautiful. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous, the view of the water and it's breezes combined with killer sunsets and a giant magnolia tree make for the perfect backdrop for a wedding reception (you can do ceremonies there as well, we were married in our Church). Lil Acosta and her staff were very easy to work with and prompt with communication. Just understand that it is a museum and a few guidelines are in place to protect the history of the grounds. There is only one rental company that weddings can use (Distinctive) and a host of vendors that are all vetted by the Hermitage. We were able to find vendors that the museum had working relationships with that suited our needs and our budget and made for an absolutely magical day. We could not have imagined our wedding day any different and are so happy that we chose the Hermitage for our venue.

The Hermitage is a gorgeous museum right along the Elizabeth River. Our ceremony and reception were held on the grounds and we went for a rustic, vintage vibe. The venue does have a preferred vendors list, which was fine because the vendors knew the venue well and needed very little instructions. Plus we loved everyone they suggested. Because the venue is in a neighborhood (a very nice one) there is a sound ordinance so the reception had to end early; only a slight bummer. Unfortunately, because the venue does not provide any seating/tables, we had to rent tents, tables, chairs, dinnerware, etc. which added an extra price onto the total cost of our wedding. However, everything went smoothly from beginning to end (even though it went by very quickly) and our friends and family are still raving about how the wedding and venue were so beautiful and how they had a great time.

The venue is amazingly beautiful! I couldn't ask for a better location-- our wedding was PERFECT. The few cons are the fact that you have only 1 rental company you can use, the lack of indoor facilities in the event of rain, and the 'getting ready' area is suboptimal. None of that kept us from having a wonderfully magical wedding!

This venue was amazing . However ,Very strict on vendors and have exclusive contracts with some that made some of my planning difficult . All guests have to be out by 11pm meaning the party ended at 1015 . All activities had to be outside so the rain plan was a challenge, so if your a risky bride like me it could pay off . Other than that my wedding was beautiful , the flowers and magnolia tree in full bloom . It was a dream garden wedding !

The Hermitage museum could not be a more beautiful place to get married! Our wedding was wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing. That being said it is very pricey considering you are renting nothing but the grass. The staff is very little help and expect 2 or more days to get a response. All and all our experience was not bad but do not expect much from the museum for the amount of money you are paying them.

When my now husband and I first came in to look at the Hermitage Museum for our wedding venue, we fell in love with the location and beautiful building. It’s very historical by the water and has beautiful gardens. But let me tell you about the cons. For starters, nothing is included with this venue. Everything has to be rented out. I had 63 people at my wedding and spent over $8000 on the rentals. The lighting alone cost $5000 because this venue does not include any lighting so you’re paying for landscape lighting throughout the venue in addition to lighting in your tent, on the patio, around the bathrooms, etc. in the end for 63 people I paid close to $40,000 and that was cutting out a lot of stuff I would’ve loved to do. This venue is all outdoors. People can go inside the museum during your wedding but there’s no food or drink allowed no flash photography and the real beauty of the venue is the outside. I was very discouraged when I realized that I only had from 530 to 10 o’clock for my wedding and they only allowed me as early as 330 to arrive to the venue. They don’t close down the museum to the public until 30 minutes before your ceremony. Your exit is at 10 o’clock and all vendors have until 11 to remove everything or you will be charged! When I first looked at this venue I was under the impression that we had until 11. After I sign the contract I was corrected by saying we had until 10:15, which then was cut back to 10 o’clock because it’s in a residential neighborhood…. Anyways this venue has a lot of rules they are very strict on. A few being there are no sparklers, no confetti (even biodegradable) everything you use for throwing has to be real for example real flower petals which I can understand. They really gave me a hard time on being able to have my grand entrance coming out of one of the museum doors which Has to be opened by the staff. I was originally told I could go out that door then told I couldn’t. Turns out I wasn’t able to go out that door anyway due to having a rain plan. I didn’t like that I was promised certain things, and then they went back on them later. But what really threw me for a loop and completely changed My mind on this venue was the day of my wedding!! As I pulled up in the limo and saw all of their “art” completely covering the beauty of this building which is why I chose this location in the first place. Photos are included to show what I’m speaking of. I was so upset getting out the limo realizing that this was what people would be driving up to and seeing first thing and the blocking of the beautiful architecture that I had looked forward to taking photos of in front of on my wedding day. When visibly upset, I went up to the coordinator of the venue and asked her why that was there and if they would please take it down, which I was informed that it would be up until October I was getting married in May. PEAK WEDDING SEASON!! I don’t know who thought that this would be OK to leave all of this “art” blocking the beauty of this building, and all the gorgeous photography shots. For a venue with so many rules and no flexibility I can’t believe this was acceptable to them and with no warning at all. If I knew this would be the case the day I came to look at this venue i would have never chosen it as my wedding venue. I had guest saying it looked like Halloween decorations! Brides choose this location specifically for the outside of the building and scenery. Thankfully I had a good photographer that was able to work around some of it and we had to shoot in other areas but of course there is no compensation offered either! The only way I survived was because of my day of coordinator. So keep in mind that this is a art museum and they will put up whatever decorations whenever they want no matter how many weddings they are having, and they will not take it down or let you know if it.

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens was an absolutely beautiful place to have a wedding. We decided to have both our ceremony and reception at the Hermitage, and with a little help from Mother Nature, we could not have asked for a more beautiful setting for our special day. If you are looking for an outside wedding, this is the place to do it.

However, brides be warned, because the Hermitage does not provide anything other than the venue and beautiful setting, you must buy or rent (literally) everything for your event. Which can make it an expensive decision (a tent can cost up to $2,500 and there is no rain alternative option), not to mention spread you in a million directions trying to organize it all. That said, I highly recommend getting, at least a day-of, wedding coordinator to help execute all the details and make sure all the moving parts come together. There are a lot of vendors when you have your wedding outside of a physical building, and making sure all the hands are talking can be quite a challenge for a bride. Also, the Hermitage's wedding/event manager does very little to help you with your wedding other than collect the necessary paperwork. And if you can deal with her somewhat-blah attitude (or put your planner on her), you will have an amazing event.