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

Rixeyville, Virginia · Est. 1801

Thirty acres.
One wedding.
All weekend.

Everything you need to know about the manor, the spaces, the people who run it, and how it all works.

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The Full Picture

Not a slot for the afternoon.
A home for the weekend.

Rixey Manor is 30 acres of historic Virginia estate in Culpeper County, at the foot of the Blue Ridge: the manor house built in 1801, a private lake, mountain views across the Piedmont, and four bedrooms plus a separate cottage for your wedding party to stay in.

The estate sits in Rixeyville, Virginia — about an hour from Washington DC, 15 minutes from Culpeper, and a straightforward drive from anywhere in Northern Virginia. Couples come from across the DMV, from Richmond, from Charlottesville, and regularly from further afield for the kind of weekend a ballroom-in-a-hotel simply cannot replicate.

When you book the Estate Weekend, you get all of it. The whole building. The whole grounds. From Friday at 3pm through Sunday at 10am — or 1pm with the brunch upgrade. No other events, no strangers, no clock telling you when to leave in between. Just your wedding, the way you actually imagined it.

350+Weddings hosted

30Acres

200Maximum outdoor guests

14Overnight guests

The estate

Everything you're imagining,
on 30 acres.

The Spaces

Every part of the estate is yours for the weekend. Here's what you're working with.

Couple exchanging vows on the front steps of Rixey Manor with guests seated on the forecourt and lush lawn

Outdoor ceremony · up to 250 guests

The Ceremony Site

The 225-year-old carriage steps descend toward Rixey Lake, with the Blue Ridge Mountains rising behind your guests. Photographers never have to worry about a bad background here — the backdrop does the work before a camera is raised.

On still mornings, fog lifts off the water. In the afternoon the light comes in from the west and goes warm.

Couple walking toward the glowing clear span terrace tent at Rixey Manor at twilight

Outdoor reception & dining · clear-span tent · up to 200 guests · Blue Ridge views · ADA accessible

The Terrace

A sparkling clear-span tent on the terrace — string lights overhead, mountain views through the walls, the whole evening framed in glass. It works for cocktail hour, al fresco dinners, and dancing. Up to 200 guests under the tent.

The way the lights fall at night is something guests photograph and post without being asked. It has made Rixey one of the most-shared wedding venues in the region. In summer months a white shade tent can be added for guest comfort. In cooler months, standing heaters keep the evening going longer than anyone planned. The terrace is step-free from the parking area and fully accessible. On warm evenings the sides roll up. In autumn the mountains turn and the light does something impossible.

Interior of the Rixey Manor ballroom, an indoor reception space at the historic Virginia estate

Indoor reception · climate controlled · up to 100 guests · ADA accessible

The Ballroom

Twenty crystal chandeliers. French doors on three sides. Natural light until the candles take over. Commercial climate control keeps it comfortable year round — making the ballroom the reason a winter wedding here works just as well as any other season.

The ballroom holds up to 100 guests for a seated dinner and is fully accessible from the parking area. Hundreds of weddings have happened in this room. You can feel it — not in a haunted way, in the way that makes first dances feel like they mean something.

Bird's-eye view from the Rixey Manor rooftop looking down at the outdoor ceremony below

Cocktail hour or ceremony alternative · 1,800 sq ft · staircase access only

The Rooftop

1,800 square feet of open rooftop, facing west. Cocktail hour up here means your guests watch the sun drop behind the Blue Ridge while holding their first drink of the evening.

Staircase access only — not suitable for guests with mobility limitations. For accessible outdoor events the terrace is the right choice.

The terrace

The lights that went viral.
See why.

Stay the Weekend

The manor sleeps up to 14.

The manor sleeps up to 14 guests across four bedrooms and a separate cottage. On Friday night, everyone arrives and settles in. On Saturday, the wedding happens. On Sunday morning, there are pastries, bagels, and coffee waiting before everyone heads home.

The Manor — Four Bedrooms

The Newlywed Suite at Rixey Manor — copper soaking tub, ornate ceiling light, and garden views

1 / 5

California King · en suite · copper bathtub · 360-degree mirror · Juliet balcony

The Newlywed Suite

The suite saved for the couple. A California King, a handmade copper bathtub, a 360-degree mirror, and a Juliet balcony. It's a room that knows what it's for.

The Maple Room at Rixey Manor — four-poster bed, fireplace, and hardwood floors

California King four-post bed · en suite · lake and mountain views

The Maple Room

A California King four-poster bed with lake and mountain views. The kind of room you want to stay in when it isn't your wedding night.

Elegant bedroom at Rixey Manor with fireplace, four-poster bed, and period furnishings

Queen sleigh bed · copper tub · Blue Ridge views

The Mountain Room

Queen sleigh bed, copper tub, Blue Ridge Mountain views. Best room to wake up in on Sunday morning.

Elegant bedroom at Rixey Manor with four-poster bed, antique furniture, and hardwood floors

Queen · en suite shower · kitchen access

The Garden Room

A Queen bedroom with its own shower and direct access to the kitchen. Useful for early risers and parents who need to get the kids sorted.

Groomsmen relaxing in the Blacksmith Cottage at Rixey Manor before the ceremony

Separate from the manor house

The Blacksmith Cottage

Separate from the manor house, the Blacksmith Cottage is a full private home.

Two bedrooms (Queen and 2 Twins), a large bathroom, a living area with a U-shaped sofa and Queen pullout, and a kitchen. It sleeps up to six. It's the right option for the bridal party, parents who want their own space, or the friends who want to stay up late without waking the manor.

On the morning of the wedding, it's usually where the groom's party disappears to.

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

Our Story & Team

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

Isadora Martin-Dye found a foreclosed 1801 estate on Zillow, bought it, and restored it by hand. That was 2014. She has run weddings here ever since, first alone, now with a small team who have mostly been here for more than ten years.

The house goes back much further. It began as a plain working farmhouse called Pleasant Hill, and the grand columned front everyone photographs was only added in 1928, for the wedding of James Marion Dyer and Margaret Robinson Lewis. It is a good story, and it is worth the full read.

Read the full history →Meet the team →

What Comes With Your Booking

Every booking includes the following.

No à la carte surprises.

The whole place.

Full exclusive use of the manor house, all outdoor spaces, the rooftop, the ballroom, the terrace and patio, the lake view ceremony site, and all 30 acres of grounds. For the duration of your booking — whether that's a single day or a full weekend. No other events share your time here.

A planning portal, from the day you book.

Every couple gets a custom Rixey planning portal — your own private space for the timeline, vendor details, floor plans, checklists, payments, and a direct line to your coordinator, all in one place. No lost email threads, no scattered spreadsheets. Everything for your wedding lives here, and it is yours from the moment you book.

The décor is already here.

A full décor inventory — arbors, table numbers, card boxes, lanterns, easels, candleholders, signage and more — free for you to use. Plus the borrow shed, stocked with pieces couples have left behind from weddings past. Décor is one of the biggest line items couples brace themselves for, and at Rixey most find they barely need to buy a thing. Classic white Chiavari chairs and round, rectangular, and cocktail tables are included too.

A place to get ready.

The Newlywed Suite is held for the couple on the wedding day. The manor's kitchen, dining room, library, and sitting rooms are available for VIPs and vendors. Overnight accommodation across the manor house and Blacksmith Cottage (up to 14 guests) is available as an add-on — one night, two nights, or three.

A coordinator — not a day-of, a real one.

A Rixey coordinator is included with every booking, and it is one of the things couples are most surprised to find in the price. This is not a day-of coordinator who arrives for the ceremony and leaves after dinner. This is someone who has worked this property, knows these vendors, and has seen what can go sideways — and how to prevent it. Planning meetings throughout, a walkthrough of every detail, and full wedding day coverage from setup to send-off. Most venues charge $2,000–3,000 for a fraction of this, or leave you to hire it yourself.

The things you forget to budget for.

A drop-off appointment the day before. Your wedding rehearsal on site. Parking. WiFi throughout the manor. BYO alcohol — no corkage fees. Licensed in-house bartending up to six hours, included in the package price.

What Rixey doesn't provide.

Catering, a bar stock, and a required vendor list.

Which means you choose your own caterer, bring your own bar (no corkage fees), and hire whoever you want for flowers, music, photography, and everything else. Couples consistently say this flexibility saved them thousands. It's the point.

Discounts available.

5% off each for holding your ceremony off-site or using only recommended vendors. 10% off for under 50 Saturday guests, and 10% off for active military, veterans, and first responders. Discounts stack up to a 20% cap, and the pricing calculator applies them as you go.

The list above covers what is always included. Then there is everything else couples have done here — horses, lion dances, live painters, burying a bottle of whiskey, fire pits until 2am.

Only at Rixey →

How we plan around you. LGBTQ+ couples, disabled couples, couples with chronic illness or ongoing medical needs, and neurodivergent couples are named and protected in every contract.

Built for every couple →

Elegant living room at Rixey Manor with fireplace, leather sofa, and bookshelves

Clear span terrace tent at Rixey Manor at dusk, warm string lights glowing against the evening sky

The Newlywed Suite at Rixey Manor — copper soaking tub with ornate ceiling light and garden views

Details & Policies

Guest capacity.

Indoor reception (ballroom)up to 100 guests

Outdoor reception (terrace/patio with tent)up to 200+ guests

Ceremony (lake view site)up to 250 guests

Overnight accommodationup to 14 guests (manor + cottage)

Location.

9155 Pleasant Hill Lane, Rixeyville, Virginia 22737. Culpeper County, in the Blue Ridge foothills of Northern Virginia.

Washington DC~60 miles, approx. 1 hr via I-66 or Route 29

Warrenton, VA~25 miles, approx. 30 min

Culpeper, VA~10–12 miles, approx. 15 min

Manassas / Gainesville~40 miles, approx. 45 min

Fredericksburg, VA~45 miles, approx. 50 min

Charlottesville, VA~60 miles, approx. 1 hr

Richmond, VA~90 miles, approx. 1.5 hrs

Nearest airports: Dulles (IAD) ~55 miles · Reagan National (DCA) ~70 miles · Richmond (RIC) ~95 miles.

Pets.

Pets are welcome, including at the ceremony. Approximately half of Rixey couples bring their dogs. The grounds are large, the team is used to them, and the rooftop makes for excellent dog photos.

Accessibility.

The main floor of the manor, the ballroom, the terrace, and the patio are ADA accessible. The rooftop is staircase access only. Upper-floor bedrooms are staircase access only.

If accessibility is a priority for your guests, let us know during your tour and we'll walk through the logistics together.

Discounts.

Stackable discounts up to 20%: off-site ceremony (5%), recommended vendors only (5%), under-50 Saturday guests (10%), military / veteran / first responder (10%). Confirmed at signing.

Off-season rates run January, February, July and August across all three packages. Midweek (Tuesday or Wednesday) carries its own lower rate year-round. The numbers are visible in the pricing calculator.

Elopements.

Elopement packages are available Monday through Wednesday for up to 12 guests. Packages range from $950 to $1,250. Contact us for current availability.

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.