James Monroe's Highland

My wife and I flew in from Houston, TX to venue-shop in person. While this may speaks to the level of privilege we must have had, bear in mind that this was 60 days before our slated wedding date and we were scrambling. It was surprisingly difficult to secure a stable venue that fit our needs. For the uninitiated, the Muslim wedding we had planned was small and simple - 50 people, a 20 minute ceremony, and a dinner. No alcohol. No music. No dancing. That being said, the mountainous summer hills of central Virginia did not seem willing to accommodate us. Until we met Jason at James Monroe's Highland. As a fellow UVA-grad, he understood the appeal of an outdoor wedding near the old stomping grounds. Monticello was simply too busy for us, but Jason was wide open! We booked not 1, but 2 outdoor spaces for our separate ceremony and dinner events. The Blue Ridge Terrace was picturesque, with a backdrop of sprawling mountains over a mottled wheat field. The hedged-in space felt cozy and secluded, with towering trees providing ample shade. We were blessed with an overcast day much to the delight of our photographer, who needed no arch to frame us beautifully against the white fence at the edge of the arena. I could go on about the Narnia-like walk from the car to each venue, spiraling through a well-signed labyrinth of flora and fauna, or the vast, sheltered Pavilion upon which we dined, but I think you get the idea. The point is that Jason was welcoming, accommodating. He understood our circumstance and helped in the ways that he could. He connected us with key vendors, measured spaces at our behest, and trusted us to care for his beloved property the day and night of our event. I could not ask for a better groundskeeper and host. We plan to renew our vows here in the not-too-distant future! The cost was inconsequential and the value of the experience invaluable. I am glad that they ask for a donation; I feel like I am contributing both to the next happy couple's wedding and to the preservation of central Virginia heritage. We saw some seriously gorgeous venues in the area, but we could not imagine getting married anywhere besides James Monroe's Highland.

Highland was a beautiful venue for a fall wedding. The event staff was exceptional in their responsiveness in planning for the event and on the wedding day. Highly recommend!

My husband and I got married at Highland in October. We had our ceremony in the Blue Ridge Yard and our reception in the pavilion. The venue is beautiful and the views are amazing -- we got so many compliments from our guests. Most importantly, everyone that we talked to from Highland was so easy to work with! Over the course of planning our wedding, we had many, many questions and the folks we worked with were always so quick to respond and very patient in answering all of our questions.

Beautiful venue all around with a great staff! Highland was great - the location is nice, grounds are incredible, tons of amazing photo opportunities, and super helpful staff to help you coordinate everything. Price is reasonable compared to others and part of it goes towards Highland's projects (as a donation) which is great. Overall, would highly recommend as a Wedding ceremony and reception location!

My husband and I loved working with James Monroe's Highland. We were given access to the venue throughout our planning process and we enjoyed being able to choose between all of the gardens, the pavilion, or the event barn because they only have one wedding at a time on site. Our photos were breathtaking because of the gorgeous scenery, and we were able to store what we needed, as well as a bridal suite and a grooms area to get ready on the day of our wedding. The team worked well with all of our other vendors, and we were able to ensure that everything would be just how we planned. They were professional, communicated quickly through email, and helped us in the planning process. We cannot praise this venue enough, the gardens are gorgeous, our guests got tours during cocktail hour, and we danced the night away at the Pavilion with an absolutely gorgeous sunset.

The Highland was extremely accomodating for my wife and I during the planning process and during the wedding event itself. Our wedding was outdoors but thankfully The Highland has the capacity to move the ceremony and reception indoors on short notice due to rain. This is a great feature (thankfully we didn't need it). It's also nice because one of their outdoor reception areas is covered, providing shelter from sun or rain. Highland's staff was friendly and responsive to our questions / concerns. We love the surrounding views and the history that the venue brings with it. Extremely happy with our choice!

Amazing venue. Everyone loved the scenery and how the wedding progressed from the blue ridge yard for the ceremony, to the garden for the cocktail hour, and the pavillion for dinner and dancing. I couldn't have imagined a better location.

We were married at Ashlawn on Oct 12th and could not have hoped for a more gorgeous setting under a canopy of trees in the Peacock Garden, followed by a reception in the John's Garden and then dinner and dancing in the Pavilion. It was a truly magical day and Addie was absolutely wonderful to work from start to finish. She made us feel completely looked after and was amazing at trouble shooting some last minute logistics with calm and creativity.

Our daughter and her fiance got married at the James Monroe's Highland this past Sunday! The background for photos was breathtaking! Their vendors did an amazing job setting up and creating the look Ashley and Arion wanted. Addie was wonderful to work with from the beginning stages leading up to their wedding day. Her assistant, Frankie, did a great job as well. If you're looking for a location that's an empty canvas for you to create the look you want, this is perfect! We are now waiting to see wedding pics!

I am so grateful to Ash-Lawn and Addie (Ash-Lawn's coordinator) for the most amazing wedding. Every inch of the venue is beautiful. The winding driveways, gardens, historic buildings, and mountain backdrop made for the most stunning views and photos. The guided house tour during cocktail hour was a favorite for so many of our guests. Addie was flexible, calm, and did everything possible to make our wedding special. I wouldn't change one thing!

James Monroe's Highland was the perfect setting for our wedding with its history and scenic views. Brittany was great to work with and very responsive as our contact during the planning process. On our wedding day we ended up having to use a backup location for the ceremony due to rain, but everything still worked out wonderfully and the rain made the pictures turn out even better than anticipated. For our reception, we used the event barn which was a great space for what we needed. It helped to have temperature control, and the bistro lights they installed in the barn made the lighting look lovely. We enjoyed having Highland as a beautiful and historic setting for our special day.

The grounds are beautiful, the event staff at Ash Lawn is responsive and super helpful. For a DIY bride without a wedding planner, it was truly helpful!

Ash Lawn was the absolute perfect venue for our wedding. We were able to hold the entire event, from ceremony to reception, on site, making it easy on our guests. They were so easy to work with, giving us access whenever we needed it and giving us every resource we needed to coordinating with our caterer and other vendors. On top of that, it is stunningly beautiful. Our ceremony had views of the mountains, and there were flowers in bloom in the garden for the cocktail hour. Everything is so beautifully landscaped- our pictures from the grounds are just amazing. I would recommend this venue to everyone!

I loved having Ash-Lawn as my wedding venue! We used an area of the grounds for our ceremony and the inside of their barn for our reception. The only downside was that we had wanted an outside reception and we couldn't because the area we were going to use had a stink bug infestation and no one at the venue offered to give us any money back or help kill the bugs. It really upset me at first, but our wedding ended up still going wonderfully.

If you're on a strict budget, Ash Lawn has the natural beauty you need to save on decorations, seating, shelter, etc.

ALH is a beautiful venue in a great location – it is minutes from the interstate, Monticello, Carter Mountain, Downtown Charlottesville, and several wineries. Baylor, our contact, was very easy to work with and replied to our emails and calls in a very timely manner. I really appreciated how candid Baylor was about the shortcomings of the venue – the Barn site’s lighting is not ideal and the restrooms are a short walk from the building. There was a stinkbug invasion the weekend of our wedding but ALH promised to help and the morning of the wedding, the situation was MUCH improved. Our guests raved about ALH and everyone had a wonderful time so I’m very happy with our choice overall.

Lots of lovely gardens to choose from and a covered pavilion.