Hermitage Museum & Gardens

r views are breath taking. Brides be forewarned … limited space for the wedding party to get ready (but manageable)… lengthy list of rules/ restrictions to help maintain integrity of museum require some extra steps, but manageable. In general, a wonderful place and the museum staff were beyond helpful the day of!

azing 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.

Cannot recommend this venue enough!

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!

ery step of the way from booking our date, to ensuring our vendors had the right paperwork and information for their arrival and setup, to making sure the day-of went as smoothly as possible.

h The Hermitage in person. It was fantastic being on the water and having the gardens as a backdrop for our wedding. The guests loved the location as well and it was great having the exhibits available for guests to view during cocktail hour. Lil was extremely organized and knowledgable, answering all my questions as we went.

rked out perfectly as all the rain brought almost everything into bloom so the gardens were gorgeous and very lush & green! We chose the Hermitage Gardens because we liked that were so many different aesthetically pleasing spots throughout the grounds. Which held true during our session! We had a game plan at the beginning of the session, which changed as we walked around, and at the end on our way home, my fiancee and I were like "Oh, we didn't do pictures in that one spot" but neither of us regretted it because every spot we took pictures in was gorgeous so we really didn't feel like we were missing out just cause we didn't get the rose garden. Right now would also be a unique time to go picture wise as the Stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty is up (and will be until approx Oct 2018 I think??). We also loved that we were allowed to have our dogs on the grounds. Our session lasted from 430PM to 630PM, which was worked out well with lighting. Perhaps, my only "complaint" would be that the mosquitoes were quite bad in the wooded areas but I don't really care all that much, because our photos turned out phenomenal and we had a great time! I would recommend Hermitage in a heartbeat as a location for your engagement shoot.

sell my reservation for 150 guests.

asy to contact and responded to our questions in a timely and friendly manner. They work well with their preferred vendors and are willing to accommodate those they aren't familiar with. They site was perfect, private and exactly what I envisioned.

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!

ad the perfect scenery for our vintage look. Lil Acosta was really easy to work with and kept me on schedule each step of the way. Also, the venue was able to provide a list of preferred vendors, which was great because each vendor was familiar with the venue and handled everything with ease. Plus, we loved every single vendor they suggested. My friends and family are still telling us what a beautiful wedding we had at The Hermitage.

ur big day was perfect but the need for a tented rain plan is a downside. The 'getting ready room' was small and dimly lit. the price for a Saturday 'high season' wedding is steep for Norfolk, VA. Despite those small things, our wedding was MAGICAL!!

the day before to tell us our layout had to change completely. She was rude, and I have nothing positive to say about our interactions.

May weather :) Plus, Lil is great to work with. The Hermitage was our first venue visit, and our last - one visit and we knew it was it. Talk about saving on decorations - who needs it with views like this?

nue made me go drastically over budget in the end. There is a large fee to simply rent the venue, then there is the cost of all the rentals you need to actually have an event there. They also have exclusive contracts and a list of preferred vendors that you're encouraged to use to avoid the hassle of insurance and approvals. So you don't get to shop around for the cheapest vendors and rentals. Overall I loved the place and the photos are gorgeous, but be prepared to spend a little bit.

onal and welcoming. Be aware that you will need your own planner for this venue, as it will reduce any stress that comes with a difficult outdoor venue like this one. It can be costly when you include the fact that you have to rent EVERYTHING for the wedding (tables, chairs, etc.)That being said, pictures are amazing, and the Hermitage is a stunning backdrop for a lovely day.

held on the water under a tent. All the guests raved about the gardens and the breathtaking sunset over the water; many locals didn’t even know it was there. The process beforehand was very smooth and they were more than willing to work with us!

Hermitage and it had everything we wanted. It was extremely tough to find a venue where we could get married and have the reception at the same location, which the Hermitage allows. All of the staff at the Hermitage are amazing, especially Lil with any and all questions you may have and taking care of all the details. They aren't pushing or tough to talk to either which was great for an out-of-town bride. All of our guests absolutely loved the venue as well. It was absolutely perfect! We are so happy!

ermitage is a Museum first..therefore you should keep in mind that when you originally book the event you will need a lot of rentals. I had no idea it would cost so much! I had 130 guests and it was about $10.000 for the venue fee and everything we needed to rent in order to hold the event outside. Of course they would push you to rent a tent, the weather is unpredictable and you would rather have the back up plan just for peace of mind. It didn't rain on us but it did end up being slightly hotter than expected and the tent provided shade. Also Lil who is the event coordinator is very nice, she responded to all my emails and my phone calls promptly. However you must keep in mind that she works for the Museum. She is not a wedding coordinator! If you want one of those you will need to hire one. Our wedding was planned in about 8 months which is insane but after everything was said and done and the dust settled we couldn't of had a more perfect wedding! We even got to see the fireworks from Harbour Fest! This location is top notch and although we almost doubled our budget it was totally worth it!

om 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 everything (literally) 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 other than more tents), not to mention it can 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 for your special day. There are a lot of vendors to coordinate when you have your wedding outside of a physical building/hotel, and making sure all the hands are talking can be quite a challenge for a bride. (I used As You Wish Weddings and Events, and Julie was heaven-sent!) 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.

uyer for the Sloane family in Manhattan in the turn of the century. HOWEVER, please be aware you need to hire in your own power ($3000 minimum), a tent and they encourage you to use their vendors. We lucked out since we loved them. It is extremely difficult to find someone to talk to while planning. I had to go to the director of the museum in order to get anything moving which was ridiculous after the amount of money we have them. I was even asked to send out insurance forms for all my vendors. Then, I had to change the contract 5 times since phone numbers, addresses etc were incorrect. If not for Pearl Taylor our wonderful planner, Cuisine & Co, and Blue Steele I would have changed my location since it took forever to get a contract that was correct (3 months ladies). The staff (with the exception of Colin and Melanie(the director) who we love...was rude to our guests that night. You have to pay them to be there which is fine its a museum, it must cost extra for them to smile though) I would recommend the Chrysler Museum, Founder's Inn or Inn at Warner Hall all places we considered.

ack up plan. The pretty much force you to reserve a tent, but look at it as wedding insurance. No dogs allowed, so if that is an issue, you might want to consider something else. I cannot say enough nice things about the place, friendly staff, beautifully maintained grounds. Perfect outside wedding if you want to be near water but not on the beach.