Venue Spotlight: Newton White Mansion

The Newton White Mansion is very near and dear to my heart. This is where I married my husband over two years ago. It's also where my close friend Sarah chose to tie the knot. We've worked here several other times too, including Cleo&Rocco's wedding and Ruby&Toby's.

The mansion was built in the 1939 by Newton H. White, a captain in the US Navy and an Annapolis grad. It's located near Bowie, MD in a little town called Mitchellville. It was once part of a 580+ acre dairy farm but is now surrounded by Enterprise Golf Course and some beautiful wooded areas. More recently (I'd guess within the past 15 years?), a large atrium was added to the back of the building to accommodate larger private events. It can seat up to about 220 guests in one room, quite a nice feature for a historic venue. On the side there is a brick patio, perfect for outdoor ceremonies, and upstairs there are two large dressing rooms for the bridal party. The best part is that it's affordable because it's owned by Prince George's County!

Approaching the mansion. There is a long paved driveway and then you pass through the chicken gates (do you see the chickens?) to the circular drive. One of my favorite features is the two wooden benches inside the traffic circle. I wanted to have my own wedding ceremony there on the grass but fire codes wouldn't allow it:
As you pass through the front doors there is a beautiful hallway that leads straight into the atrium. The staircase on the right goes up to the dressing rooms and the staff's office:
Continuing through the hallway, you're greeted by stunning views of the green golf course, surrounding trees, and sunlight. See the skylight in the top center? It has curtains that can be rolled up or down depending on how much light you want:Newton White also includes the use of their tables and chairs in the rental fee! You can really see how much space there is when tables are set out. This is a view looking back at the hallway. The brick wall used to be the exterior of the house. See that door all the way to the left? That goes into the Dining Room:Here is a photo of the Dining Room. This is the perfect place to place the buffet, display gifts, or even put a dessert and coffee station. Caterers also love this because it has a secret door back to the kitchen:On the side of the house, there is a large room called the Ballroom. It features a beautiful fireplace and mantel plus some amazing crown moulding. This is a great backup spot for a ceremony if the weather is bad. I'd guess you could sit about 80 guests in here for a ceremony?The Ballroom also has this cute semi-circle window. This is a great spot to display the wedding cake, escort cards, or guest book. When we plan weddings here, this is the vantage point we use for keeping an eye on the ceremony:After walking out of the Ballroom, here is the brick patio for ceremonies. Most couples choose to stand at the far end where those planters are. Then the bridal party lines up along the curve of the brick. Chairs are set on either side and the processional goes around the fountain in the middle: Looking back from the patio, here's the side view of the mansion. Around the right side we have the traffic circle. To the left side we have the atrium (beyond that ironworked room which most brides use as their bar):Going back inside and up those stairs, we find the dressing rooms for the bridal party. Here is a photo of the bride's room. I love that it has ample space for plenty of women and their stuff. There is a full bathroom here and another little room surrounded with mirrors. It's great for last-minute preparations:I beam about the Newton White Mansion because it's truly one of my favorite venues. Having a wedding there is certainly lovely and I wholeheartedly recommend it, but of course it comes with a few drawbacks. Since it's a great venue and also relatively cheap, they book up extremely far in advance. If you have less than a year to go until your wedding, you can count out nearly all the Saturdays and most Sundays. If you're flexible with Fridays, you might have a shot at getting a date. They also cram two weddings into Saturdays which means you must be on a very tight schedule. Brides get 8 hours total....two hours for setup, one for cleanup, and five for "guest time" including the ceremony, the cocktail hour, and the reception. The caterer must be OUT of there by the end of their cleanup time or your security deposit will be gone. Just make sure you use a reliable caterer. If you're still looking for a wedding venue, take a few minutes to check this one out!