Marywood Retreat & Conference Center

Our experience at Marywood began with my brother's wedding at the venue in October 2023. It was a gorgeous venue and a beautiful weekend, so of course we wanted the same for our wedding. Brianna, our coordinator, walked with us through the entire experience, keeping us on track with our preparations and making sure all the details were accounted for. While Marywood is not responsible for organizing the decorations, flowers, or other vendors, Brianna prepared an amazing tasting experience and made sure our linens were exactly the theme we wanted. The food - my GOODNESS - the food was EXCELLENT and the best food I've ever eaten at a wedding (and many of our guests went out of the way to tell us the same thing). The views from the venue are unbeatable - the St. Johns River and the private dock out into its waters provides amazing photo ops (all our guests took advantage of this, too) and the lawn where the outdoor ceremonies are held has the river as its backdrop. This is the view from the reception hall, as well - the wall of windows lets in excellent natural light. As the bride, I enjoyed the bridal preparation suite and its upstairs view of the grounds and river - this was a fabulous location for preparation photos, as it is the heritage house and retains the flavor of the old property. Brianna made sure we were prepared for our big day well in advance, and with her careful focus on the timing and details, I was able to enjoy getting ready and taking photos without worrying about our schedule. The weather held out and we took insanely gorgeous photos basically all day. And then, as the ceremony took place, Brianna even held our little 1-year-old flower girl until she fell asleep! One of my favorite moments of the day. We were so well taken care of! The venue itself offers three villas with 20 rooms each for guests to book, so the vast majority of our guests were able to arrive early or at least spend a whole night with us without leaving the location. To make this easier for everyone, we brought in a local food truck for dinner Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning, giving our guests the freedom to stay on site and enjoy the grounds and the weather before the ceremony. We also catered in breakfast on Sunday morning for all those who were traveling home that day. The villas have central gathering areas with couches so guests can relax and connect, and there is a meeting room in the center of each villa for eating meals or hosting dance parties, both of which we did! Check in and check out were very easy, and it was really quite convenient to have our guests literally right next door to us for the whole weekend. It felt like a retreat, even though I was so busy I hardly remember it all - except that it was beautiful and perfect and incredibly special, and I wouldn't have changed a thing (except maybe to extend the celebration another day or two!). One note: This is a Catholic venue, so wedding ceremonies must be Catholic in order to occur on site. There is a lawn for outdoor ceremonies and a chapel for indoor ceremonies. If you're considering this venue and either the bride or groom is not Catholic, make sure there's nothing in the way of your Catholic union (such as you aren't practicing and/or don't want to do Catholic marriage prep, or there's a prior marriage that would need to be annulled first) before booking! TL;DR: Get married here. The whole experience is amazing. You won't regret it. THANK YOU, BRIANNA!!

My hubby & I were married here in October 2024 and LOVED it! The events manager Ainsley was prompt with responses, super accommodating with special requests, very knowledgeable and so easy to work with! The venue itself was STUNNING! It’s right along St John’s river with a beautiful, expansive lawn, and a long dock where we took the most beautiful sunset photos. We were married outside, had cocktail hour on the patio and partied at the reception held indoors. The hors d'oeuvres were perfect, dinner was delicious and everything ran like clockwork! We were told by one guest after another it was the most beautiful wedding they had been to, and the venue was perfect! Thank you so much, Marywood for making our day absolutely perfect!