Anderson House: A Luxury Mansion Wedding Venue in Washington, DC
There’s a trick to making your wedding day run smoothly. Mostly, it comes from ya’ll choosing both the right place, and the right people to join you on your day. That can be as many or as few as you like. But, it should be the spot and the company that matter to you the most. This couple naturally selected Anderson House as their wedding venue because of the choices they made to curate their day. See how it all unfolded at this elegant mansion wedding venue.
A Historic Building for a Historic Day
Larz Anderson House is a historic mansion wedding venue near Dupont Circle that was created during the Gilded Age of architecture. Built in 1905, its “eclectic interiors, dominated by English and Italian influences, feature the painstaking work of craftsmen who adorned the house with carved wood walls, gilded papier-mâché ceilings, ornate iron staircases, and intricate marble floors.”
What Victoria and Clay loved most about this mansion for their wedding was the “combination of French and Asian decor.” They noted some of their favorite locations were the long hall they used for cocktail hour, the magnolia trees, and the reflecting pool in the winter garden. The bride shared that “overall, the house is a mix of both of our interests. I love anything French and Clay loves the influence of Asian culture in the house.”
A Mansion Wedding Venue With All the Best Spots
This elegant DC wedding venue that’s ideally placed at the center of the city has getting-ready spaces conveniently positioned within walking distance of the venue. Both parties got ready at hotels that were diagonal to each other: Embassy Row and Royal Sonesta.
The venue has a ton of indoor and outdoor options perfect for portraits and sunset couples’ photos. The majestic ballroom serves as the rain plan backup while in good weather the back winter garden is the ceremony space.
If you are envisioning a garden ceremony at this mansion wedding venue, then the months of April through November are wonderful for that! The spaces accommodate small and intimate to medium-sized weddings. Shorter brunch weddings would also be beautiful there!
The Spots This Couple Used
First Look: Upstairs in the Gold Room, outside its ornate doorway and elsewhere both inside and outside along the property
Family & Wedding Party Portraits: outdoors along the property, in the garden and out front under the columns and arches.
Ceremony: winter garden with magnolia trees
Cocktail Hour: long marble floor hallway with large tapestries and paintings on the walls
Reception: in the ballroom with the couple entering down the grand staircase
A Mansion Wedding Venue With Otherworldly Decor
Anderson House has been a National Historic Landmark since 1939 functioning as a museum and an event venue. The building is full of important artifacts and it is key to keep an eye out for signs marking valuable surfaces.
One particular artifact that this couple loves is a map of Washington, DC that’s part of the winter garden. Victoria shared that it shows where the original homeowners “drove their car on day trips which is very much something we like to do ourselves.”
Another influence on the couple’s mansion wedding venue design was all of Anderson House’s European vibes! Victoria and Clay matched this style with their main color choices which were, as Victoria described, “dusty blue and navy with hints of white, cream, and green. We love blue and find it to be a calming color that you never get tired of.” Victoria also noted that since “there’s a lot of pink colors in the house, we wanted to draw attention to the hints of blues in the house (the tapestries and vases).”
The Key to Success for an Anderson House Wedding is a Little Buffer Time
The earliest you can arrive on the property at this mansion wedding venue is 4:00 PM and our fall sunset was at 6:20 PM during the ceremony. We had to be very strategic with our photo plan to get the couple’s first look, the wedding party, and family portraits done before the ceremony.
The key to that success was extra time we built into the getting-ready portion of the wedding day timeline. No one ran late and we could start exactly at 4:00 PM with the couple! We had the wedding party and the family join us after that so we were able to catch the light. Staggering everyone’s arrival also helped the floral team’s set up!
Let’s fit your wedding day schedule into an Anderson House dream wedding!
The Team
Venue | Anderson House
Coordinator | The Coordinated Collective, Katie Rotramel
HMU | MAB Hair and Makeup Artistry, Cori for hair and Suz for makeup
DJ | DJ David Grimm, DJ Rich
Caterer & Dessert | GetPlated Catering
Dress | The Bridal Room, Designed by Kelly Faetanini
Florist | Ash to Oak
