The Woodlands at Algonkian - Sterling, Virginia

Christina Zapatero

My husband and I LOVED working with The Woodlands! Not only is the location beautiful, our wedding planning was not nearly as stressful as it could have been and we attribute it to all of the staff working at The Woodlands. Our main point of contacts were Gabrielle and Holly and they were so lovely and helpful the entire planning process. They answered all of our questions with ease and were so incredibly accommodating. Our guests raved about the food from Great Blue Heron Catering services! There were so many options for everyone (everyone raved about the Filet Mignon). I myself am a vegetarian and we had a few vegans attend and everything was absolutely delicious! The kitchen staff and bartenders the day of the wedding were wonderful as well! We highly recommend booking The Woodlands!

Kiah & Aaron

We got married at The Woodlands and we loved it, since the beginning of researching places we were treated really well, explained everything in detail. The team went above and beyond at our wedding to make sure everything went perfectly. Catering was also really good, with a delicious variety of foods to pick from. Staff was always professional and we totally appreciate you guys making our special day go smoothly.

Amanda Gelbart

We had our wedding here in May 2023 and had a really amazing experience working with the staff and the caterer at Woodlands. In leading up to the wedding, both teams were always very responsive to our questions and easy to work with. The day of the event, the staff was helpful during set up, had prepped the linens we dropped off the day before, and ensured that the catering went smoothly. The caterer went above and beyond for our event as I have multiple food allergies, and they created a custom menu to be served for the day completely free of my allergens. Additionally, they adapted the bar menu offerings to ensure those would be safe as well. On top of this, they adapted to individual guests who had their own allergies, so everyone was able to be well fed, safe, and enjoy the night. At the end of the day, the staff on site helped us tear down the event, providing us bags and helping gather items of ours from the tables. Overall, Woodlands was an amazing choice for a venue and Great Blue Heron was a fantastic caterer.

Nick and Brittney Poole

As someone who works with the Woodlands at Algonkian, they are one of the best venues in the DMV area. Their team does a fabulous job communicating and working alongside all involved parties to make each and every wedding a success! I highly recommend them for your next event!
-Brittney Poole, Forever Moments

Anji Martin (Wedding Photographer)

What a lovely venue for a wedding! We photographed a number of couples getting married at The Woodlands at Algonkian, and we loved how perfect the facilities are for a marriage celebration. The outdoor ceremony space is absolutely lovely. You exchange your rings and vows under a cute pergola, and the slight embankment on which your guests sit means there are no bad seats in the house. The reception space is indoors, and is large enough to accommodate a pretty sizable wedding. The most notable elements there are the huge glass windows that look out onto the verdant golf course and the old stone fireplace on one side of the room. So if you like the idea of a wedding venue in a beautiful rural setting that also has all the amenities of an indoor facility, The Woodlands at Algonkian could be a good fit for you.

Caitlin Mingey

The Woodlands at Algonkian was the perfect wedding venue for us and we cannot recommend it highly enough. It was the ideal balance of aesthetics and practicality. It truly is a beautiful space, but welcoming rather than pretentious. The outdoor ceremony space is phenomenal (they just re-did their pergola) and the indoor reception space likewise looked fantastic (the high ceilings/tan stone was gorgeous even before we added the linens/flowers/etc. and my jaw dropped when we saw the final finished space, it was so lovely). The onsite bridal suite was spacious and well-designed (and while there isn’t an officially designated groomsmen room, there was a convenient area onsite where the gentlemen could finish getting ready). One thing to note is that with the Woodlands you are required to use their in-house catering service Great Blue Heron, but this was just fine with us, as their food/bar selections were of good quality (particularly the bar package) and having both the venue and catering under one roof made things so much easier to navigate. They also do allow pass-through services (we did late night Vietnamese banh mi and it was a hit!).

However, the dealmaker for us for the Woodlands as wedding venue was the ability to rent the Riverfront Cottages (located on site as part of the larger Algonkian Regional Park, which also houses the Woodlands at Algonkian venue itself). We used the cottages to put up most of the wedding party (including both older parents and families with young children) and having all the major players physically on site the evening before/day of the wedding was a logistical godsend for us. The cabins themselves are nice/of good quality located right on the river (a 1-2 minute drive or pleasant moderate walk from the venue itself) and they absolutely met our needs. We even did our “rehearsal dinner” as a picnic at the cottages because we wanted something more relaxed and this worked out beautifully. Additionally, for the families with kids, if you rent from the cottages, you also get free access to the waterpark and minigolf areas that are part of the larger Algonkian Regional Park, which was great. And there are also tons of hotels only a short way away from the park/reception venue (most with shuttles to the nearby airport), so the Woodlands is also a great choice for accommodating out-of-town wedding guests as well.

In summary, our wedding at the Woodlands at Algonkian was the wedding of our dreams and the high quality of the Woodlands as a venue was the foundation upon which everything was built. It was a beautiful venue space, the staff was great to work with, the catering met our needs perfectly, and the logistical convenience of being able to put up the wedding party on site at the Riverfront Cottages could not be beat. We wholeheartedly recommend the Woodlands at Algonkian to anyone for their wedding (or anything else)!

Min Ji Kim

I married in 2018. September in this place. When I ask inquiries, quick response and easy to book appointment. Very affordable price for us with special holiday discount. Large own parking lot-no confusion and no charging fee. Large hall with high ceiling, extra room for catering service which available bring my own choice. I have option to choose that do ceremony inside or outside. I chose outside yard area right infront of venue.there is ni e wood arch in there so I decorated with flower and white curtains. They offered table and chairs that what I needed and setting before on time . Wood floor for dance space too. Large windows I can see that beautiful green trees with large golf yard. We has photo shot in there too. It came out so beautifully with nature! My wedding was so perfect in this place. High recommended.

Tyler Mowbray

Had a medium-size wedding party here and everything from the first walkthrough to the end of the event was great. The staff is friendly and responsive, especially Gabrielle! The catering option that they offer, Great Blue Heron, was also fantastic. The food was perfect (we used the buffet style) and I had one guest that is vegan. They accidentally brought him a salad with blue cheese on it, so we notified them and they fixed it immediately, even bringing several dressings on the side. The bartender was amazing too. The catering staff even helped us fill our flower vases with water before the event. I also like that we could order linens through them, so we don't have to deal with that separately. The venue itself is cozy and everyone loved it. It was cold, so I wish we could have utilized the outdoor space as well, because it looks nice.