Unique Maryland Venues For Weddings

That means if you’re looking for the perfect place to say your “I Do’s,” there are tons of great options to choose from. (And with the recent passing of Question 6, there will surely be more Free State weddings now than ever before.)

To help all you prospective brides and grooms plan your upcoming nuptials, we’ve highlighted some unique locales for staging the wedding of your dreams.

Water: Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa

When couples envision their wedding on a beach or against the backdrop of the peaceful waters of the bay, wedding planner Tia Paul of Cashmere Events in Owings Mills often refers them to the Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa.

“It’s really beautiful,” she says. “It’s just really charming. It gives you that ‘home away from home’ feeling.”

Located near Washington, DC, in Calvert County, the resort offers couples not only their dream beachfront wedding, but also pretty much anything else they desire.

“We’re a full-service resort,” says Lori Kirby-Medlin, the facility’s director of sales.

That means that, in addition to hosting the ceremony and reception, the place (with a maximum capacity of 225) can also take care of everything from the bridal shower to the rehearsal dinner and morning-after brunch.

Still, while they provide all these services, Kirby-Medlin adds that they’re happy to work with brides and grooms who simply want to host a single event—such as their reception—at the resort.

“We are their wedding coordinators, and we take care of them,” she says.

For more information, visit www.ChesapeakeBeachResortSpa.com.

Mountains: Savage River Lodge

Situated on 35 of the Savage River State Forest’s 700 acres, Savage River Lodge is the ultimate place for a mountain-view wedding.

“Our location is unlike other places,” says Emily Newman-Edwards, marketing manager at the Garrett County getaway.

“The feeling is very calming here. It’s a relaxing way to get away from it all.”

Savage River Lodge has hosted weddings since 1999. While their smallest ceremonies are made for two—the bride and groom—their larger fetes can accommodate only 36-40. But that’s one of the reasons folks choose Savage River: the intimacy.

Wedding parties can rent out the entire complex, which features 18 luxury cabins that sleep two adults in a loft-style bedroom and two more on a queen-sized sofa bed on the first floor.

Newman-Edwards says the staff can take care of the wedding party’s every need, from ordering flowers and a cake to providing vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free food, if needed. They can also host the bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, champagne brunch, cocktail parties—whatever the bride and groom want.

“We make it customized,” she says. “We really want to make our guests happy.”

Even the four-legged ones.

Since Savage River is extremely pet-friendly, couples can bring their beloved pets with them to the lodge—or to the wedding ceremony itself.

For more information, visit SavageRiverLodge.com.

Urban: Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park Museum

Lauren Niles, lead event stylist for K&B Events in Bel Air, has worked with a number of couples seeking an urban setting for their weddings. One of her favorite venues? The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park Museum in Fells Point, one of the area’s oldest surviving waterfront industrial buildings.

“This is one of the few [settings] that has a ‘loft’ kind of feel,” says Niles. “It has exposed brick, and it feels urban. Couples love the water, the brick, the high ceilings, and the museum feel. It’s not your typical ballroom.”

And because it’s not your typical ballroom, Niles says that it will attract couples who like “the modern feel [and who] want to do something different.” It brings, she says, a very New York-like vibe to Baltimore.