A historic and unique wedding venue in Washington DC
Congratulations on your engagement!
Consider our historic wedding venue located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington DC. Newly renovated, we offer a choice of locations, including indoor spaces and gardens, with flexible set up options.
Our wedding venue offers a unique setting — centrally located in a vibrant neighborhood yet removed from the bustle of Washington DC.
Experience our Quaker hospitality from the moment you walk through our doors.
Reach out with questions or schedule a tour. We look forward to sharing the simple beauty of our historic spaces with you.
News
Now booking for 2025 and 2026. Contact us or schedule a tour.
- Wedding and Event Professionals: Schedule a tour of our spaces. Please reach out to find a time.
- Past Weddings: View photos of past weddings in our gallery or on Instagram.
- Engagement Photography: Consider using our gardens and the nearby Spanish Steps to mark your commitment.
Blogs featuring weddings in our spaces
Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s Big Day by Authorized Shot Photography
Anne & Syd’s Wedding by Nessa K Photography
Real Wedding for Meghan and Adam by Bright Occasions
A Classic and Carefree Wedding (Peggy and Mack) by LUEM Photography
Downtown Washington DC Wedding | Amanda and Chuck by Amanda Summerlin Photography
Watch our virtual wedding tour
Why choose us?
- Open to All Couples: Our community extends its Quaker hospitality to all couples regardless of age, race, gender, profession, sexual orientation, religious, political, or socioeconomic background.
- Perfect for Interfaith or Secular Ceremonies: Because Quakerism does not rely on the religious symbolism often present in other faith traditions, couples of mixed faiths or those with undefined religious leanings feel comfortable at our wedding venue. You are welcome to choose any officiant authorized to perform marriages in the District of Columbia.
- Friendly and helpful staff: Our staff — both in advance of your wedding and on your special day — will be available to answer questions as you plan your nuptials and to make sure that everyone is comfortable in our indoor and outdoor locations.
- Connections to wedding professionals: Our staff is happy to connect you with caterers, photographers, and other vendors already familiar with our spaces — simplifying your search.
How is our venue unique?
- Location and Welcome: You’ll immediately feel welcome and at ease in the simple elegance of our beautiful spaces and gardens. Located in the vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington DC, our wedding venue is convenient to many nearby hotels and restaurants, perfect for your guests arriving from out of town. Almost all spaces are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities or accessibility challenges.
- Newly renovated and filled with light: From the moment you walk into our lobby, you will experience our newly renovated spaces, filled with light. Almost all spaces are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities or accessibility challenges. We are also an environmentally sustainable wedding venue with solar panels and a green roof.
- A unique and flexible venue: Our spaces are large enough to hold wedding ceremonies of up to 300 people and many couples are able to enjoy the convenience of holding their reception in the same venue. Or if your vision for your wedding is a small intimate gathering, we have spaces perfect for your nuptials as well.
- Three beautiful garden spaces to choose from: We offer three beautiful garden spaces that offer choices for your wedding day. Our staff will help you create your vision for how our spaces will fit your special day and our flexible spaces allow for numerous setup options. For example, you may choose an indoor ceremony with your reception spilling out into our gardens. Or you may choose a garden ceremony and transform them into your reception space once you are married.
What do we offer couples?
A choice of settings for your ceremony, both indoor and outdoor:
- For larger weddings, our Meeting Room—the spiritual heart of our wedding venue—seats up to 300 people. Its simple elegance includes dark wood pews, luminous gray walls, high ceilings, and expansive windows that welcome in the natural light. You may choose to offer refreshments on the east garden’s terrace prior to or after your ceremony.
- For smaller weddings, our Quaker House Living Room offers a more intimate space for your ceremony, seating up to 40 people. It is a simple yet elegant space in a former historic home, complete with vintage style furniture and a non-working fireplace.
- For any wedding, beautiful gardens and terraces make for a beautiful outdoor ceremony—and you may rent a tent in case of rain.
An easy transition from the ceremony to your reception:
Following a ceremony in the Quaker House Living Room, your reception may remain in that space–and spill out into the upper west gardens, surrounding corridor, and lobby for cocktail hour and dinner.
If you are married in the Meeting Room, the lower west gardens and our Assembly Room offer the perfect spaces for a seated dinner and reception of up to 150 people (200 people for a standing reception). Either the east gardens or the upper west gardens are ideal for a cocktail hour following the ceremony and before dinner.
Tent rental may be arranged through our exclusive vendor. Champagne, wine, and beer are welcome (no spirits or liquors) with prior approval and in compliance with DC law.
Perfect spaces for photography to memorialize your day:
- The east garden’s stone staircases and courtyards are ideal for wedding photos.
- The nearby Spanish Steps offer opportunities for additional photography
Is Friends Meeting of Washington open to all couples?
We are open to all couples and welcome LGBTQ weddings!
We welcome couples of all genders, beliefs, and orientations to celebrate at our wedding venue, conveniently located in the heart of Washington DC.
Our community has celebrated same sex weddings and commitment ceremonies for decades.
You do not need to attend worship at Friends Meeting of Washington or another Quaker meeting. You need not consider yourself a Quaker, have attended a Quaker school, or have any other connection to Quakerism.
And you may use any officiant of your choice as long as they are authorized to perform marriages in the District of Columbia.
Does Friends Meeting of Washington provide an officiant?
No, identifying and working with an officiant is your responsibility.
You are welcome to select anyone that you choose to lead your ceremony. Our list of preferred wedding and event professionals offers several individuals who we know.
As Quakers do not have clergy, we are unable to provide you with an officiant for your wedding, although a few of our members and attenders may be licensed to perform weddings.
Other couples have made their day special by asking a friend or family member to marry them. Or, under DC law, there is an option to self-officiate your own wedding ceremony!
“My husband and I were married at the Friends Meeting of Washington in July 2019 and we could not have been more excited and or happier with the location, facility and Friends community. It was very important to us to be married at the Friends Meeting House because of the rich history in Washington DC and in the United States. We incorporated some of its history into our ceremony.
Not only was the ceremony beautiful and uplifting in the Meeting House, there were many incredible backdrops for pictures, including lovely gardens and flowers, unique architecture and the little-known Spanish Steps a half a block away. The Meeting House has many options for set up. We chose a very simple plan with floral arrangements behind the officiant and on the windowsills. The sun coming through the big windows made the beautiful wood and the room very inviting and everyone entered with a smile.” ~ P and M
Header photo credit: Marsh Kove Media