Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens — Attraction in Vienna

My fiancé and I were supposed to get married at the Atrium on 9 October 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, we immediately reached out to the Atrium to express our concerns about our ability to proceed with the wedding. The Atrium responded that they would reach out once they had determined their COVID-19 policy. After four months of no contact, we again reached out to the Atrium to find out what was going on. We did not feel safe having our planned 100 person wedding at the Atrium given that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Virginia was on the rise. Furthermore, the Atrium’s lack of communication and failure to provide us with any information on our catering service with the Atrium, despite multiple requests for information, suggested the Atrium could no longer manage our wedding. The Atrium responded that it could only host 50 people if it followed the Governor’s Executive Order, but would allow us to have a wedding up to 137 people in direct violation of the mandatory social distancing guidelines. The Atrium stated it had hosted a few weddings since COVID with more than 50 guests in attendance where guests violated the social distancing requirements.

My fiancé and I no longer felt comfortable having our wedding at a location that blatantly disregarded the legally mandated social distancing guidelines. We did not want to break the law ourselves, and we did not want to put our family and friends’ lives at risk. Given the Atrium’s disregard for the Governor’s Executive Order, we had no confidence that the Atrium was abiding by other requirements such as properly sanitizing the space and ensuring that the food service was safe. Furthermore, the Atrium staff was utterly unavailable and unable to work with us in a timely manner on wedding planning and catering. Less than three weeks from when we were supposed to pay the remaining amount on our wedding contract, we still did not have the catering menu.

We requested a refund of our deposit from the Atrium and were denied. The Atrium instead attempted to pressure us to rebook the date. We did not feel comfortable doing so given that by the Atrium’s own statements, the Atrium intended to violate the legally mandated social distancing requirements. We understand that the Atrium as a business has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and so we are wiling to work with the Atrium to come to a mutually beneficial solution that does not place us in a position where we are hosting our wedding at a place that is violating the Governor’s Order.

For those considering the Atrium for their wedding who are also concerned about the risk of COVID-19, we do not recommend the Atrium given their lack of compassion during the COVID-19 pandemic and willingness to not abide by legally mandated social...

The Atrium at Meadowlark was the perfect venue location. They were very accommodating, their staff was professional and quickly responsive. The venue itself is breathtaking, with beautiful views. We were fortunate enough to have our dream outdoor wedding on the terrace (which fit our 20 person wedding party, plus bride & groom and 150 guests comfortably), in the middle of November, following an indoor/outdoor cocktail hour and reception. However, the venue was prepared to hold the entire ceremony, cocktail hour and reception in doors if needed due to the weather. Their venue coordinator, Esther was the absolute best. Esther helped us plan everything for our perfect day, including a floorplan and overall wedding day layout that we loved, assisting with dessert station decor, help selecting the perfect linens and being available for questions that we had along the way. My only cons, which may or may not be directly a responsibility of the Atrium but I would recommend that every couple does their research on the preferred vendors, as we had a very poor experience with one of their preferred wedding coordinators that we hired, solely on the basis that they were recommended. So please do your research and hire professional and capable vendors that you trust. I would also recommend communication between the staff running the winter walk of lights with the Atrium personnel, we had several guests on the night of our wedding, during normal hours, be forced to leave the winter walk of lights "if they were part of the wedding" and told that they were permitted from walking through the winter walk of lights in the gardens. My understanding was that this was complimentary for each guest, so we were shocked to recently be advised of this by our guests. Overall, and regardless of the two aforementioned cons, if given the opportunity, I would pick this venue again,...

Absolutely magical venue, perfect for an outdoor wedding. Would recommend late summer or spring, the venue was ideal with flowers in bloom and tons of greenery. Inside the atrium has space for a full ceremony if the weather doesn’t cooperate, beautiful decoration and plants everywhere. It’s child friendly and really safe. Esther was very conscious of our desires and accommodated pretty much all of our concerns. They were slow to respond at the start and get the contract signed, but once this was done they were really responsive and very generous with their time. They were able to accommodate our request for an unusually early taste testing for menu selection, on short notice as well. The walkthrough was thorough and really well, we talked through every moment of the day line by line and Esther gave us a good summary of what to expect form the venue, how people would flow, and time for the vendors to talk through it as well. She was also just a really kind person and great to talk to. On the day itself, setup and tear-down was phenomenally efficient and took almost no time. Esther was there the entire time throughout the wedding to help solve problems alongside the coordinator and catering captain, it showed given how smoothly the event went. Couldn’t have asked for...