George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Great

First off, The GW Masonic Memorial was the perfect venue for our wedding. We had a lot of out of town guests and they were amazed by beauty of the hall. It was exactly what we were looking for - close to DC, reasonable rental costs and gave us the ability to choose all of our own vendors and really make our wedding exactly how we wanted it. I have to say though, that the process was a struggle. Radka was not as responsive as expected and there was a miscommunication during the planning process that really rubbed us the wrong way with Kevin. The situation caused the hall to threaten to cancel our wedding, which is a Bride's worst nightmare. Thankfully everything worked out, but not with out growing pains. Just be ready to stick your ground and constantly follow up when you need something.

We had no idea that the Masonic Memorial could be a wedding venue, even though we've driven past it so many times! It was also in National Treasure 2! This was the perfect venue for us, given that most of our guests are from out of town. Free parking is a plus, for the guests and the vendors. The Memorial is right on the yellow line so it is also metro accessible and gives guests so many options for booking hotels and sightseeing. Our ceremony was held in the theatre and didn't require much additional décor since it looked good already. There are some huge steps going down the middle aisle that was a small challenge for the girls in heals and our older parents. In the end, we were able to navigate the steps by going slowly enough. (I just hope I wasn't looking down at my feet the whole time down the aisle! We'll see when the pictures are finished.) All in all, I was pleased by the ceremony location. The theatre seats look awesome and there's plenty of space in front of the stage if you do decide to add additional decorations. We had a gap in between the ceremony and the reception so that we could take pictures. Since the Memorial is situated in Old Towne, we encouraged our guests to sight see and use the free King Street Trolley. Our reception was in the Grand Masonic Hall, with the cocktail hour in the surrounding hallways. Again, we didn't need much in the way of décor since the hall looked grand on its own. It's a little dark in there, but we added uplighting to add a little dramatic flair and it didn't end up being a problem. There was only one small glitch in the process was trying to get in touch with Radka. Radka is super nice and means well, but it wasn't always easy to get in touch with her. She will respond eventually, but if you're super wound up, you may get frustrated. Everything worked out in the end, and Radka is very accommodating. She let us store alcohol a couple of days ahead of the event in the kitchen and the maintenance staff were all very helpful. I wouldn't let this small thing bother you too much if you truly love the venue. We received so many compliments on our choice of the Masonic Memorial! We're very happy with our choice! I'm looking forward to seeing our pictures with the views of Old Towne in the background.

Our guests were awed by the fabulous theater room for my daughter's wedding. It was the perfect blend of history and trendy for a couple who loves Washington DC. The bride made a grand entrance down the stairway in the center of the room on the arm of her step-father. Little decorating was needed. We rented two simple candelabras with floral arrangements on the top and the room needed nothing more. The photographer got some breath-taking photographs and we couldn't have been happier. Worth every penny.

I had my wedding there May 2014. I was not excited to visit this venue because I had already had my mind set that I wanted to have an outside wedding in a garden but once I saw the theater and the grand masonic hall I fell in love with the venue. It was beautiful! Radka is the event coordinator and I didn't meet her until the day before my wedding because my schedule was so hectic but she did EVENTUALLY respond to emails and phone calls. I would sometimes have to call her for a couple days or send her a second email after not receiving a response but she was very accomodating to all my questions/concerns/ and wants. My coordinator made a note too that Radka could sometimes be hard to get in touch with but her and the rest of the event staff were very helpful when we would stop by the venue throughout the year to decide on our setup. everyone raved on how beautiful the wedding venue was the day of and we got great pictures on the big steps in the front! we even had a getaway scene on the steps it was great!

I am so glad we used the Grand Masonic Hall for our wedding reception! We took the public tour of the GWMNM shortly after we were engaged and really loved the building, the history (my husband is a huge fan of George Washington), the reception space and the views of Old Town. It is very accessible and right next to the metro, Amtrak, hotels, has plenty of parking and the rental price is very reasonable. We worked with the even coordinator, Radka and she is great. She is very responsive to emails, promptly returns calls and has great recommendations for vendors if needed. She worked directly w/ our day of coordinator during the last few weeks which made things easier on me. The security team is awesome let us show my dad and future in laws around on a few separate occasions and turned on lights, let us down into the room and showed us the kitchen. We had our cocktail hour overlooking the Grand Masonic Hall and guest were able to go up to the observation deck at this time too. We had a plated dinner for 155 people w/ plenty of room for dancing, the DJ, the cake, coffee station and the bar down in the room. You do need to bring everything in and get outside vendors but it was not too difficult and was well worth it and our reception was better then we could have even imagined.

We loved getting married here. It was easy and lovely. Great people all the way around.

I was truly pleased with this venue. Words cannot express how accodadting and beautiful this site is. It was the cheapest venue I found while searching to hold my wedding. In addition there is TONS of parking. Radka was great. Absolutely no compaints!!!!!!!!

We are so glad we chose the GW Masonic Memorial as our wedding venue! For this area it was a great price especially for the amount of time you get there! You are the Only event that day which makes things so much easier- for any of you that had heard/been to/been in a wedding where the site has multiple in a day you know what I'm talking about. We had both our ceremony (in the north lodge) and our reception (in the grand hall) here! There were many options to chose from for rooms based on your wedding size. We worked with their event planner Radka and she was wonderful! She was extremely friendly, responsive to emails, and shared a bunch of information with us like vendors, photos from other weddings, & ideas to help us along the way. They were flexible on little details for us and were extremely friendly! The security staff was great too and helped out! If you are looking for a unique venue, with beautiful grounds, multiple room options, and is architecturally pleasing- I would consider looking here!

After looking at several venues of varying styles, I decided to check out GWMMA's website. I was surprised and thrilled to find that they did in fact rent event space. We decided to stop by and check it out, and at first glance, I knew we had found our venue! Radka always responded quickly to emails and calls, with detailed information and solutions to everything. She and her staff were a pleasure to work with. The location itself is unbeatable; great access to transportation, amazing views of the area from the observation deck, great for photo ops, and a landmark!

We checked out the Masonic Memorial for our wedding and reception, but ended up going with another venue because it didn't suit our needs. We were interested in an outdoor ceremony and having ceremony and reception all in one place. You can't really have an outdoor ceremony here because of all the traffic and train noise. Also, for our number of guests (65-75), the space was too big. We were also worried about our guests finding the right room in such a large space.

The GWMM is a great venue for your wedding ceremony and reception. The fees are a little high, but more than worth it. We had our ceremony in the North Lodge Room by candelight and our cocktail hour outside on the front steps. If the weather is nice I highly suggest this. The view blew all of our guests away. The reception was held in their ballroom downstairs with easy access to outside. We had 150 guests and it accomodated us all easier along with a dance floor. Radka, the events coordinator is awesome and always happy to help. She will answer all of your questions and be available for you and your other vendors to stop by. The only drawback is that you need to bring in all of your vendors - but that also means that you get to have exactly what you want!

This location was my dream location, and had everything I could possibly ask for. Everyone was so nice and extremely helpful. When we told people we were getting married there they didn't even know people were able to go inside. It was such a hiden gem, and so many people were impressed.

Great location and beautiful venue! Made for a very nice reception and we were very happy with our choice. The staff are very helpful and easy to work with. Many thanks for beautiful memories!

I had a wonderful experience working with the GWMM. Radka, who manages the space, was always warm, welcoming, and helpful. The other staff were also so very accommodating. The space itself is very striking. Everything is marble or granite. It is a beautiful backdrop for a grand occasion. We paid to have the tower open during the cocktail hour so guests could go to the top and get a bird's eye view of Alexandria. You can see down to the Potomac and several of Washington's monuments. Hotels are right across the street along with the metro. We rented a limo and had it make trips up and down King Street to return guests to their hotels. They loved it!

The Masonic Memorial is truly a hidden gem in the DC area. Not many people even know that this place is available for public rental. You do not have to be a Mason to have your wedding here and the price is more reasonable than you would think. If you are looking to have your wedding/reception at a beautiful, unique, historical venue, then look no further....this is it!

The building itself is absolutely gorgeous and has a number of places suitable for pictures. There's ample free parking (and it's metro accessible) and the facilities staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. The cost for the site is really low and there's an on-site kitchen that's available for your caterer to use. All tables and chairs you could possibly need are provided though you will have to provide your own linen. There's a linoleum floor in the dining rooms, so no need to rent a dance floor.;It's a public venue and you will only have some rooms available depending on the time that you have your wedding. My wedding was during the day (reception started at ~2p) so we were limited to only the dining room(s). The memorial closes at 4p, so traffic is light during the later part of the afternoon, but you can also check with the staff to see when their higher traffic months are (August is light).