Regional venue guide

The 10 best wedding venues in West Virginia

West Virginia weddings cluster in three places: the resort towns, the New River Gorge and the Eastern Panhandle. The Greenbrier at White Sulphur Springs and Oglebay in Wheeling absorb the largest guest lists, Stonewall Resort runs lakefront weekends from the middle of the state, and Adventures on the Gorge puts the ceremony on the canyon rim above the New River. Smaller counts go to the West Virginia Botanic Garden outside Morgantown, the Gaines Estate at Fayetteville, or a restored 1913 church on the Elk River half an hour from Charleston.

Researched and last reviewed 2026-08-16. We have no commercial relationship with any venue listed.

No. IThe Greenbrier

No. I

The Greenbrier

Historic resortWhite Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier CountyColonial Hall up to 2,000; Cameo Ballroom up to 400

Sixty-two bookable spaces sit on one estate here, which is the practical reason large weddings end up at White Sulphur Springs. Colonial Hall runs 16,128 square feet and takes 2,000; the Cameo Ballroom is a 2,604-square-foot room under one centerpiece chandelier and suits 400; and the Crystal Room beside the Upper Lobby holds 230. Dorothy Draper's decorating scheme still governs the interiors, so the rooms arrive with a strong opinion about color already in place, and outdoor alternatives run from the Colonial Terrace to Kate's Mountain Lodge, a rustic indoor-outdoor space with Allegheny views. Amtrak's Cardinal stops directly across the road three days a week.

Sixty-two event spaces on one estate

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No. IIOglebay

No. II

Oglebay

Park resortWheeling, northern panhandleUp to 350 seated indoors, 400 outdoors

Wheeling's public park resort rents by the room rather than by the property, which keeps mid-size weddings affordable. Glessner Auditorium at Oglebay Lodge is the 8,000-square-foot option, split-level with an elevated stage and dance floor, while the West Ballrooms divide down for smaller counts. Ceremonies usually go outside to the Formal Gardens, an early-1900s planting that sits between the Mansion Museum and the former guest house and seats 150. Space rental runs roughly $700 to $4,000; the ceremony site is billed on top, between $1,000 and $2,000; catering opens near $65 a head before a 23% service charge.

Early-1900s formal gardens for ceremonies

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No. IIIStonewall Resort

No. III

Stonewall Resort

Lakeside resortRoanoke, Lewis CountyBallroom up to 275; Grand Hall up to 250

Built inside a state park on Stonewall Jackson Lake, roughly midway between Charleston and Morgantown on I-79, this is about the easiest address in West Virginia to reach by car from either end of the state. The Ballroom seats 275 and includes a lakeside foyer and balcony for the cocktail hour; the Grand Hall handles 250; the Terrace Lawn and Maple Patio cover the outdoor ceremony. Cottages, lake houses and the lodge itself take the overnight guests, and an Arnold Palmer Signature course, marina and spa fill the rest of the weekend.

Whole weekend contained on one lake

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No. IVBavarian Inn

No. IV

Bavarian Inn

Riverside innShepherdstown, Eastern PanhandleAbout 130 seated indoors

Couples whose guests fly into Dulles or Baltimore rather than anywhere in West Virginia tend to end up here, on eleven acres above the Potomac in Shepherdstown. The bookable pieces are the Potomac Room, the brewery pub, a courtyard patio and the deck by the infinity pool, and the inn quotes for groups from two people up to about 200 across the property. Packages price per head from roughly $145 with a six-hour open bar folded in; food and beverage minimums begin near $4,000 and rise to $10,000 or more for the brew pub, with a $30,000 floor if you want every space and most of the guest rooms.

Potomac frontage, an hour from Dulles

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No. VAdventures on the Gorge

No. V

Adventures on the Gorge

Canyon-rim resortLansing, New River GorgeEvent Deck 150 to 220

A whitewater outfitter grew into this resort on the rim of the New River Gorge, and the Event Deck is the piece couples book: an open-air platform above the canyon that takes 150 to 220 guests, books in half-day blocks or for the whole day, and stays available through the winter rather than closing with the rafting season. Smaller parties use the Sunset Pavilion or the overlook set aside for elopements. Cabins, glamping tents and campsites sit on the same property, which matters because there is very little else within easy reach, and most guest lists spend the day after on a raft.

Open-air deck above the gorge

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No. VIThe Gaines Estate

No. VI

The Gaines Estate

Historic estateFayetteville, Fayette CountyUp to 200 seated, indoors or out

Two hundred acres outside Fayetteville hold a restored 1920s mansion, a walnut grove used for ceremonies, a fifty-acre pasture and a purpose-built reception hall added later to give the property an indoor room of its own. Catering and bar are in-house, from about $27.75 a head, and lodging is on site. Rental swings hard with the calendar: $6,500 for a Saturday between mid-April and the end of October, $3,000 midweek in the same window, and $1,500 for a weekday in the off season. It is the closest full-service estate to the New River Gorge Bridge.

1920s mansion with a walnut grove

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No. VIIThe Blennerhassett Hotel

No. VII

The Blennerhassett Hotel

Historic hotelDowntown ParkersburgCharleston Ballroom up to 200; 250 across the property

Colonel William Nelson Chancellor — twice mayor of Parkersburg, and president of the First National Bank that took part of the ground floor — broke ground in 1883 and finally opened this Market Street hotel on May 6, 1889, on the oil and gas money then moving through the town. It ran on gas and electric light at a point when almost nothing else in Parkersburg was wired, has been on the National Register since 1982, and still trades as a hotel with a spa and restaurant. Weddings take the Charleston Ballroom for up to 200 or a patio tent for 125, with 250 the ceiling across the property and the rehearsal dinner and guest rooms under the same roof.

Victorian hotel open since 1889

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No. VIIIWest Virginia Botanic Garden

No. VIII

West Virginia Botanic Garden

Botanical gardenMorgantown, Monongalia County

The wedding side of this garden runs on two spaces: the Celebration Garden, where the ceremony happens under a covered pavilion in the forest, and the Terrace at Tibbs Run, an indoor room whose window wall gives onto 85 acres of forest. Packages are time-based — eight hours at $5,000, a fifteen-hour day at $7,000, or Friday-to-Sunday at $9,500, all before 6% sales tax, with $1,000 added above 100 guests. Tables, chairs, sound system, two changing suites and an on-site manager are included. The garden is candid that the Mason-Dixon Rifle Club is its neighbor to the northeast and target practice is often audible, so check their calendar against your date.

Glass-walled terrace over 85 acres

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No. IXThe Schoolhouse Hotel

No. IX

The Schoolhouse Hotel

Converted schoolWhite Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier CountyBallroom up to 300; front lawn 150

White Sulphur District High School was built in 1912 and now operates as a hotel, with the old gymnasium serving as a ballroom for up to 300. Accessibility was designed in rather than retrofitted: automatic sliding doors at the vestibule, high-low roll-in counters at both the service desk and the bar top, roll-in showers upstairs, and ASL interpretation on call through a tablet service. A guest list with wheelchair users needs no advance arrangement here. Ceremonies go on the front lawn against the school facade for 150, or in the Emmanuel Methodist Church a few steps away for 85, and the Varsity Club restaurant seats 118 for the rehearsal dinner with a rooftop bar above it.

Old gymnasium turned 300-seat ballroom

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No. XCorton Lodge

No. X

Corton Lodge

Converted churchClendenin, Elk River150 white chairs included, more available

Half an hour north of Charleston, a 1913 church on the bank of the Elk River now holds two guest suites behind original hardwood floors and walls. The whole gated property goes to one couple from Friday noon to Sunday afternoon for $4,500, which covers both suites, 150 chairs, tables, parking and a choice of ceremony spots: the water's edge, an open-air river pavilion, the deck or the field. The original bell still hangs in the tower and is rung after the kiss, and the tower lighting can be set to match your colors. Catering, tenting and rentals are yours to bring in.

Whole riverside property for the weekend

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Marrying in West Virginia?

Want an invitation designed for your venue?

Tell us where you’re marrying in West Virginiaand we’ll build the invitation around it — the venue’s own colours, an illustration of the building if you want one, your map and timings already in place. One link for every guest, with live RSVPs.

Make ours for West Virginia See the designs

Planning a wedding in West Virginia

Only seven airports in the state carry commercial flights, and the one that matters most for weddings is small: Greenbrier Valley (LWB), thirteen miles from The Greenbrier, connecting through Charlotte and Chicago. Amtrak's Cardinal stops at an unstaffed platform directly across the road from that resort, but only on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and tickets must be bought before you arrive. Two fixed dates strip the lodging out of entire counties — Bridge Day, the third Saturday in October, closes the New River Gorge Bridge to traffic and books out Fayetteville, and the State Fair of West Virginia (13 to 22 August in 2026) does the same around Lewisburg — and whoever performs the ceremony must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State beforehand, so an out-of-state officiant cannot simply turn up and sign.

When to marry — Late September to mid-October is the state's strongest stretch, with dry air, cool evenings and Allegheny color moving down from the high country, and May into June is the spring alternative before summer humidity settles in.
What it costs — Rental-only venues here mostly land between $1,500 and $9,500 — the Gaines Estate charges $1,500 for an off-season weekday and $6,500 for a peak Saturday, while the Botanic Garden prices at $5,000 for eight hours, $7,000 for a full day and $9,500 for the whole weekend before 6% state sales tax — but the resorts earn on catering instead, where Oglebay's meals start near $65 a head before a 23% service charge and the Bavarian Inn's packages open at $145 per person.

Once the venue is settled, the next thing most couples deal with is telling everyone. A digital wedding invitation carries the address, a map, your timings and a live RSVP on one link — which matters more than usual when guests are travelling to West Virginia and need directions, and plenty of notice.

Questions

Marrying in West Virginia: your questions.

What do out-of-state couples need for a West Virginia marriage license?

Both of you apply in person at any county clerk's office — there is no residency requirement, no blood test and no waiting period, and the license can then be used anywhere in the state, not only in the county that issued it. Expect about $57, frequently cash only, dropping to roughly $37 if you present a certificate showing at least four hours of premarital education completed within the previous year. The license expires 60 days after it is issued. Whoever performs the ceremony must already be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State.

Can a couple from outside the United States marry in West Virginia?

Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement, and the license process is identical. The marriage is legally valid in the United States, but recognition at home is a separate matter: if your country only accepts a marriage solemnized by its own civil registrar, you must still complete that civil ceremony at home, and the West Virginia day becomes the celebration rather than the legal act. Where a foreign authority will accept the American certificate, request an apostille from the West Virginia Secretary of State, which is the authentication used internationally.

What should we budget for a venue, and what moves the price most?

Rental-only properties sit roughly between $1,500 and $9,500 for the space itself, and the day of the week moves that number more than anything else — the Gaines Estate is $6,500 on a peak-season Saturday and $1,500 on an off-season weekday, and the Botanic Garden discounts Sundays by $1,000 against Friday and Saturday. Resorts price differently, folding the room into a per-person package: figure $65 a head and up at Oglebay before a 23% service charge, or $145 and up at the Bavarian Inn. Saturdays in late September and October are the dates that disappear first at any venue near the fall color.

Where should we tell guests to fly into?

It depends which corner of the state you are marrying in, because the airports are not interchangeable. For Shepherdstown and the Eastern Panhandle, Washington Dulles and Baltimore are closer than any West Virginia airport, and guests should plan to drive out. For White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg, Greenbrier Valley Airport is thirteen miles from The Greenbrier with connections through Charlotte and Chicago, plus the Amtrak Cardinal three days a week. For Wheeling and Morgantown, Pittsburgh is the usual arrival point, and for the New River Gorge most guests fly into Charleston and drive the last hour.

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Marrying in West Virginia?

Want an invitation designed for your venue?

Make ours for West Virginia See the designs

The 10 best wedding venues in West Virginia

Researched and last reviewed 2026-08-16. We have no commercial relationship with any venue listed.

Planning a wedding in West Virginia

When to marry — Late September to mid-October is the state's strongest stretch, with dry air, cool evenings and Allegheny color moving down from the high country, and May into June is the spring alternative before summer humidity settles in.

What it costs — Rental-only venues here mostly land between $1,500 and $9,500 — the Gaines Estate charges $1,500 for an off-season weekday and $6,500 for a peak Saturday, while the Botanic Garden prices at $5,000 for eight hours, $7,000 for a full day and $9,500 for the whole weekend before 6% state sales tax — but the resorts earn on catering instead, where Oglebay's meals start near $65 a head before a 23% service charge and the Bavarian Inn's packages open at $145 per person.