United States National Arboretum Reviews

Selecting my venue and working with Natalie was the first -- and most important -- decision I’ve made in wedding planning thus far! My fiance and I were so excited to learn that the National Arboretum was available for weddings and reached out to Natalie in December 2019, toured the venue in January 2020, and were ready to commit on the spot. Planning a May 2021 wedding amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic has felt stressful, but having Natalie in our corner has helped us keep moving forward. She has been responsive from the moment we met, answering all of our questions (big and small) with kindness and timeliness, and has provided us with so many vendor connections along the way. The conversations I’ve had with vendors thus far indicate that Natalie is held in high regard by her industry colleagues -- “I love working with Natalie” is something I’ve heard multiple times now! And it’s true. It’s been a pleasure to work with her and I highly, highly, highly recommend reaching out to her!

We could not imagine having a more perfect day and a more perfect place. The Arboretum is a truly astonishing setting with multiple sites on the venue to hold your reception, ceremony and cocktail hour -- based on the size of your party. We had almost 200 guests so we held our ceremony in the 'meadow'... a field overlooking the Capital Columns. You reach the meadow by walking through the Knot Garden and adjacent herb garden. Our cocktail hour was then at the 'water pond', a deck outside the main building wrapped with a coy pond and water fountains. Our ceremony was held under a tent in the Northern Terrace, located just on the other side of the main building in a clearing.

Weather is definitely a factor but we lucked out and had one of the most gorgeous days an October has ever seen, and given the season we had nice bright pops of yellow and red as the tree colors had begun changing. Everything looked incredible and we (and our guests) were just in awe of the natural beauty around us.

The downsides with the Arboretum is the tent requirement, including generator, some lighting, etc.. but the tent was absolutely stunning with lights underneath. We did rent heaters but didn't need them since it was such a beautiful day.

Natalie is the event coordinator who worked with us the entire time, helping to recommend vendors and make other great suggestions along the way. She was super fun and easy to communicate with, incredibly responsive, and was there to make the magic happen on our wedding night. She saved the groom's shirt from a permanent stain with a timely tide pen during the reception as well!

10/10 want to get married again so we can do it all over at the Arboretum.

We had a fall wedding at the Arboretum- it was absolutely lovely and completely beautiful. It was everything we wanted and totally stunning. The value for the price was also fantastic. We would absolutely recommend getting married here, at any of the locations in the Arboretum. The wedding was managed by MTG. Natalie with MTG was difficult to work with. While she answered our questions, she gave us wrong information several times, was misleading about catering and location options, and omitted important details about the grounds that surfaced later on. MTG wasn't clear about what they could control versus the US National Arboretum. Some logistical items were glossed over or missed. This was very frustrating. In the end though, things came together for a very beautiful event!!

MTG Hospitality manages weddings at The Arboretum. From start to finish, the planning was a breeze! There is a short list of vendors who provide services at The Arboretum, which made picking vendors very easy. The venue was very accommodating, as we had to postpone our wedding due to Covid. They were also very flexible the day of when it rained!

Choosing the National Arboretum for our ceremony venue was the best wedding decision my husband and I made! If you love the outdoors and nature, look no further. We had our ceremony and a champagne toast in the Herb Garden and it was perfect for our micro wedding. The arboretum is a magical place, and Natalie and her team made our wedding day go so smoothly. We’re so thankful!

Having our anniversary party at the Arboretum was MAGICAL, and Natalie is FANTASTIC to work with! After two wedding cancellations due to COVID, my husband and I were very hesitant to schedule yet a third date. However, after stumbling across that the Arboretum does weddings (one of our favorite spots in DC), we couldn't resist and it was a great decision.

If you haven't been to the Arboretum, don't wait any longer. It's a hidden (or not so hidden anymore) gem of DC perfect for weddings. The grounds are gorgeous, and there are so many romantic, stunning spots for your first-look, ceremony, and reception. The Arboretum offers multiple wedding options that accommodate different needs and budgets.

Leading up to our anniversary party and at the event, Natalie (runs private events for the Arboretum) was a dream to work with. She's friendly, genuine, super responsive, accommodating, and a problem solver. She made our day stress-free and helped us to enjoy every moment of it.

We cannot recommend the Arboretum enough to newly engaged couples - you'd be lucky to get married there!

The Arboretum was the perfect place for a wedding--especially one planned during COVID uncertainty. Natalie was the most helpful, both during the planning process and during the actual event. She worked with us when we were able to invite more guests, provided vendor recommendations, and even helped clear the chairs at the end of the ceremony. The location was wonderful, and Natalie made sure everything went smoothly

Getting married at the Arboretum was wonderful! The day was so beautiful and our guests also really enjoyed themselves at such a historic and lovely location. The photos we've seen so far from our early October wedding have blown us away so much that we can't wait to go back and reminisce. In fact, our biggest regret is how quick our micro-wedding was. We would have loved to spend even more of our day at the Arboretum - it was just perfect location and it felt special to start our life together while supporting a (USDA) National Park!

And, a BIG shout out to our wonderful venue coordinator, Natalie! I got my veil caught in a bush right before walking up to the altar and Natalie rushed over to help me. I will never forget that and her helpfulness! We also forgot our flower petals for our ceremony exit and Natalie rushed my fiance over to the guest center and back before we could blink to help us fix the problem! She is great.

For couples considering the Arboretum, we say go for it! It will be so special and you will love the location. One last tip, I'd also suggest coordinating through your photographer for a professional videographer. We regret not having done that, but everything else was great.

It’s beautiful, affordable, and great customer service! COVID destroyed our plans for our original wedding in Germany, then I stumbled on the Arboretum and it was a no-brainer. I was a bit nervous about the uncertainty that comes with an outdoor wedding and even though it rained IMMEDIATELY after my wedding party left and it was overcast all day, our pictures were phenomenal. The cost was completely reasonable for our little minimony of 15 people, and it was just a beautiful intimate setting to match the ceremony. Also, Natalie was absolutely great to work with. Super sweet, and communicated often.