Our History & Team

A farmhouse, a wedding,
and a house worth saving.

Rixey Manor has been standing since 1801. What follows is where it came from, why the front you picture is younger than it looks, the family whose name it still carries, and the people who look after it now.

Aerial view of Rixey Manor, a 225-year-old wedding venue on 30 acres in Rixeyville, Northern Virginia

Since 1801

It started as a farmhouse. The mansion came later.

Rixey Manor started as farmland. The Rixey family held the land through a grant that reached back to the years after the Revolutionary War, but the house itself was a plain working farmhouse, not the white-columned mansion people picture today. For most of its life this was a family farm, hogs and all.

We tell the harder part too. Virginia farms of this era were, in all likelihood, built and worked in part by enslaved people, and we will not pretend this one was an exception. A plaque on the old blacksmith shop stands in their memory. We cannot undo that history, and we will not paper over it. What we can decide is what this place is now: somewhere every couple, of any race, religion, or orientation, is safe, celebrated, and genuinely welcome.

When we weigh a decision about Rixey today, we sometimes ask whether it would make the estate's original owners turn in their graves. When the answer is a firm yes, we know we are pointing the right way.

That welcome is not just a feeling. What we commit to for LGBTQ+ couples and families, disabled couples, couples with chronic illness, and neurodivergent couples is named in writing, in every contract. See exactly what we promise →

The famous front was built for a wedding.

The grand columned front that everyone photographs is not as old as it looks. It was added in the early 1900s, and it was built for a wedding: Margaret Rixey's marriage to Jim Dyer. The same steps where couples now line up for their portraits were raised for the two of them.

Fifty years later, Margaret and Jim came back and marked their golden anniversary in the very same spot. We think about that a lot. The front of this house was made for a marriage, and it has been holding them ever since.

The Rixey family, still here.

The Rixey name is still woven through this place, and the family are still part of our lives. They are our neighbors. They have worked here, celebrated here, and chosen Rixey Manor to say their own vows. Their blessing meant a great deal at the start, and it still does.

A name you may already know.

The wider Rixey legacy is worth a detour. If you studied at Marymount University you will know Rixey House, one of the cornerstone buildings on campus. The family tree runs from a university founder to presidential physicians to a genuine sports legend. Baseball Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey was born right here in Culpeper.

Isadora Martin-Dye, owner of Rixey Manor, at the ceremony altar with autumn foliage and the lake behind her

Isadora Martin-Dye, owner of Rixey Manor since 2014.

How Rixey Manor Came to Be

She found it on Zillow. It was derelict. She bought it anyway.

Before all this, Isadora spent years in Los Angeles working in film, TV, and talent management — running her own company, working on productions like The Hunger Games. That world trained her in the things that matter most: high-pressure logistics, an eye for detail, and knowing how to make a hundred moving parts look effortless on the day.

She found a foreclosed 1801 estate on Zillow. The building had been abandoned. The grounds were overgrown. Most people would have kept scrolling.

She didn't. She bought it, moved in, and started restoring it by hand.

That was 2014. Since then, Rixey Manor has hosted over 350 weddings. Hall of Fame status on The Knot. Couples who write long notes years later to say it was the best decision they made.

What hasn't changed: one wedding at a time. That was the original standard and it remains the standard. Not because it's a marketing line — Isadora knows what happens to a place when you start running it like a factory. It stops being a place.

Couples often say they felt like they were staying in a friend's home. That's the goal. It's also, genuinely, what it is.

Qualifications & Recognition

Certified Elite Wedding Planner
Member of The Knot Hall of Fame
350+ weddings personally planned and coordinated
Inclusive, LGBTQ+ affirming & culturally fluent
Dual UK / US citizenship — international client friendly

Featured In

Martha Stewart Weddings · Washingtonian Weddings · People Magazine · The Venue Report · Style Me Pretty · Refinery29 · Virginia Bride Magazine

The Team

The people who run your day.

The core team is intentionally small, and many of the people here have been doing this for more than ten years. That kind of loyalty is rare in hospitality. We think it shows on the day.

Grace, the venue manager at Rixey Manor wedding venue in Rixeyville, Virginia

Grace

Venue Manager

For over ten years, Grace has been the steady hand behind our events. Originally from New York State, she balances the job with being a proud mom to her son. She lives in the details: vendor coordination, timelines, floor plans, the hundred small things that have to line up for a day to feel effortless. Her precision is what lets us offer a flexible catering policy, because we know every "i" will be dotted and every "t" crossed.

She is also, affectionately, our grandmother wrangler. Her warmth keeps family members feeling cared for and included, the excited grandmothers especially, so that mothers can focus entirely on their daughters. Getting Grace to pose for a photograph is notoriously hard. Looking after a young party guest, it turns out, was too tempting to resist.

The Bartending Team

Behind the Bar

Our bartenders are hired exclusively through us, and they are part of the fabric of the place. Some have been here since our very first wedding. A few loved Rixey so much they chose it for their own day. They do not just pour drinks. They carry the same standard we teach everyone here: professional, attentive, genuinely warm.

You will often find Cousin Adam behind the bar. He came to us after hiking the Appalachian Trail, lives on the estate, and is known for a dry wit that guests adore. Sharp humor aside, he is one of the most reliable people we have, as good at troubleshooting a setup as he is at mixing a drink. From the first pour to the final farewell, the team keeps things seamless so you and your guests can just be present.

The extended event team, the setup crew, day-of staff, and breakdown, scales to whatever your wedding needs. Isadora leads all of it, and her story is above.

Whoever you are, and whoever you love, this team is glad you are here.

One wedding at a time. Every time.

Your wedding at Rixey Manor

Come and see it
for yourself.

We want to learn about your wedding as much as tell you about the venue. That takes about an hour.

Or call us: (540) 212-4545Yes, you can text.