The Clifton Charlottesville Wedding Venue
Are you searching for a breathtaking wedding venue in Charlottesville? Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Clifton is a historic Inn that was built in the late eighteenth century. This gorgeous, all-inclusive wedding venue accommodates weddings of up to 250 guests or intimate weddings with 10 guests alike!
Wondering how deep the history of The Clifton goes? As I mentioned the Colonial Revival Style home was built in the 18th century. But what I didn’t mention is that it was built at the behest of Thomas Mann Randolph and his wife, Martha Jefferson Randolph; who was Thomas Jefferson’s daughter!
The history is of The Clifton is undoubtedly deep. But today, the former estate home is an extraordinary wedding venue in Charlottesville. One that has been carefully transformed while still honoring its deep historical story. The Livery Stables, the Carriage House, and The Collina Farmhouse still stand. But they have been carefully restored into amazing accommodations for overnight guests as well as spaces that serve to host unforgettable wedding ceremonies.
The Clifton is now synonymous as one of the most sought-after wedding venues in Virginia. If you are planning your wedding and considering choosing The Clifton as your venue, I am going to break down the ins and outs of each space offered. As well as the culinary experience, and expected cost of a wedding at The Clifton, in the article below. Keep reading for more!
Overnight Accommodations at The Clifton
One of the many things I love about The Clifton is that it provides the option to house your guests with overnight accommodations. This is especially amazing if you have any guests who are traveling to your wedding from out of town. Making it easier for them to access your wedding and pre-wedding day events, all under one roof!
The options for overnight accommodations at The Clifton include the Manor House, the Carriage House, the Cottage, and the Livery Stables. The Manor House is a total of seven rooms and suites. The Carriage House offers a total of three rooms, including the two-story bridal suite. The Cottage provides two rooms, and the Livery Stable provides three suites.
Each room and space at The Clifton is unique in design and architecture, outfitted with antiques paired with modern amenities. The overnight accommodations evoke a lush feeling of elegance with their fine linens and Malin & Goetz bath products which are stocked in each room! In addition to those luxurious amenities, your guests can also expect to experience the private patios, claw foot tubs, fireplaces, and rainfall showers that accommodate each space.
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Planning Your Rehearsal Dinner at The Clifton
There are so many intricacies that allow a wedding day to go off without a hitch! Your wedding day is the culmination of so much time and planning. All to celebrate your union with the love of your life. I always recommend that my couples hold wedding rehearsals in advance of their wedding day. Having a wedding rehearsal will not only alleviate some of those wedding day nerves, which will inevitably pop up, but it will also help you get to know your venue better. Which will help you create the expectation of what’s to come when it’s time to walk down the aisle!
One of the many perks of choosing an all-inclusive wedding venue is that your wedding rehearsal and your wedding rehearsal dinner are all held in the same place! You’ll have extra time with your guests to celebrate and extra time to soak in the final moments before you say I do. All while enjoying a delicious meal paired with fabulous cocktails! The Clifton provides their couples with the option of planning their rehearsal dinner, on their grounds. As such, they offer a few spaces on their property for you to host your guests the night before your wedding. Spaces include The Library, the Boardroom (seats up to 12 guests), and The Veranda. I’ll go over the capacity for each of these spaces, below.
Spaces Avabile to Plan Your Wedding at The Clifton
Court Tent
Just past the pergola that stretches into the property’s relaxing infinity pool, lies The Clifton’s Sailcloth Court Tent. The Court Tent allows for an outdoor wedding day experience nestled in the deeply forested area of the venue’s sprawling grounds. The Court Tent is the top choice for couples who wish to plan an outdoor wedding experience at The Clifton and require space for dinner and dancing for a large guest list. This 8-peaked Sailtclot tent provides copper lights, clear sidewalls, hardwood floors, and fans. All in all, The Court Tent provides 6,000 square feet for your wedding day. This space can accommodate dinner for up to 250 guests, or a cocktail reception for up to 300 guests. Additionally, if you need a larger capacity, The Clifton provides further tenting options to accommodate you and your guests.
Front Lawn
A one-of-a-kind space to recite your vows, the front lawn of The Clifton is an outdoor option for hosting your wedding ceremony. The backdrop of your wedding ceremony will be lavish with views of the estate house as well as the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a lush, romantic location on the grounds to hold your wedding ceremony! In total, the front lawn of The Clifton is able to accommodate up to 325 seated guests for your wedding ceremony.
Croquet Lawn
Another option for hosting your wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception at The Clifton is the Croquet Lawn. This space is dubbed as incredibly versatile and comes with the option of treating your guests to a fun game of croquet! The total square footage of this space is just around 1,311 square feet. The croquet lawn can comfortably accommodate up to 150 guests for your wedding ceremony, 125 guests for a cocktail reception, or 100 guests for a seated dinner experience.
Secret Garden
For an intimate wedding ceremony experience at The Clifton, the venue offers a space called the Secret Garden. This space is made beautiful with weeping willows, lush foliage, and stone steps that lead the way to this cozy and nestled outdoor space. The ceremony space is just over 1,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 50 guests to witness your sacred wedding vows.
The Library
An indoor space that is inviting and full of all the warm and cozy vibes for an intimate wedding, The Library at The Clifton is surrounded by a collection of books, Georgian windows, and a beautiful fireplace. It’s sophisticated meets eclectic with its rich earthy tones, and a gorgeous location for an intimate rehearsal dinner or wedding dinner. The library at The Clifton can accommodate up to 18 seated guests across two tables. However, it’s important to note that this space is not available for ceremonies.
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Wine Cellar
I have to admit some of the most stunning wedding venues in Charlottesville double as wineries, As such, much like The Clifton, these venues offer their wine cellar to their couples for wedding day photos or a rehearsal dinner space, The Wine Cellar at The Clifton is private, and tucked away front he rest of the venue. Providing couples with a unique option to host their rehearsal dinner at the venue, with space to accommodate up to 20 guests.
The Veranda
An enclosed patio space, the sun-drenched Veranda at The Clifton provides views of the Virginia countryside through its floor-to-ceiling windows. This climate-controlled space offers a gorgeous view of the acreage at The Clifton. It also provides space to comfortably seat up to 75 guests. This space would be ideal for a larger-sized wedding rehearsal or, an intimate-sized seated wedding reception dinner.
Rain Plan
Are you worried about what the weather might have in store for your gorgeous outdoor wedding ceremony at The Clifton? Not to worry, the Charlottesville wedding venue offers a rain plan. The Veranda or Tented terrace may be used in the event of inclement weather. Additionally, tent rentals may be arranged for the Front Lawn or the Croquet Law!
Amenities Included With Your Wedding at The Clifton
As an all-inclusive wedding venue, The Clifton provides their guests with the option of spaces available to plan their wedding in addition to access to their 100 acres of sprawling landscape to work with their wedding photographer to capture their wedding day portraiture.
There are several additional amenities that come with your wedding at The Clifton, they include the following:
- Exclusive use of the property from Saturday at 11 a.m. to Sunday at 11 a.m.
- Overnight accommodations in twenty uniquely appointed guest rooms, suites, and cottages. All in all, allowing space for up to 39 guests to spend the night
- Access to both of the wedding day getting-ready suites
- Use of tables, chairs, barware, china, flatware, glassware & full-length white linens
- An eight-peaked, 60’x100’ sailcloth tent with hardwood flooring, spotlighting, and four fans
- Lighting technician on hand during your wedding
- Wedding ceremony site with seating for up to 250 guests
- Full kitchen facility
- Butlered wine & hors d’oeuvres to welcome your guests to your cocktail hour
- Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres during your reception
- Continued bar service after cocktail hour
- Full staffing of your wedding which includes the in-house culinary & banquet team
- 3-Course dinner of your choosing to be served plated or family style, for up to 250 guests
- Wine service, to be paired with your dinner selection
- Outdoor lighting
- Large parking lot
- Security
- Venue set up & clean up
Additional Details of Planning Your Wedding at The Clifton
In order to plan your lavish wedding day at The Clifton in Charlottesville, the venue does require that you work with a wedding planner or wedding coordinator. Additionally, because The Clifton provides an amazing in-house culinary experience, no outside catering or alcohol is permitted. Any decor that you are planning for your wedding day at The Clifton must be approved by the staff in advance. Additionally, due to noise ordinances, music must end promptly by 11 p.m. The last thing of note when planning your wedding at The Clifton is that they do not permit sparklers. If you’d like to plan an epic wedding day exit to complete your best day ever, you are more than welcome to consider bubbles, ribbon wands, glowsticks, or an eco-friendly petal or biodegradable confetti toss!
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Culinary Experience at The Clifton
Seasonality influences the cuisine at The Clifton with executive chef Matthew Bousquet at the helm. In fact, Chef Matthew Bousquet is a Michelin-star chef who previously oversaw the acclaimed Mirepoix Restaurant, which is located in northern California. Chef Matthew’s approach to the culinary experience offered at The Clifton combines fresh, high quality locally sourced food with his classical French training. Furthermore, Chef Matthew works alongside the culinary team at The Clifton. The entire team is dedicated to sourcing from the cultivated organic garden of wild herbs, fruits, and vegetables, that are all grown on the property!
In fact, the property’s garden has been an absolute haven for Chef Matthew and his staff. They enjoy taking advantage of fresh ingredients at their disposal in order to plan the menu. Their goal is for guests to get a top-notch culinary experience paired with the flavors of the season. To accompany the fresh ingredients of your delicately prepared meal, the Wine Cellar at The Clifton is also stocked with some of Virginia’s most in-demand labels. Along with the local labels, you also find global vintages in The Clifton’s wine cellar!
Are you curious to know what a typical wedding day menu looks like at The Clifton? They offer their couples a selection of the following:
Pan-Roasted Scallops
Served with caramelized fennel, fingerling potatoes,
pearl onions, and topped with a roasted garlic yogurt sauce
Braised Pork Shoulder
Served with crispy grit cake, broccoli rabe, and finished with a roasted apple jus
Horseradish Crusted Atlantic Salmon
Served with wilted spinach, mushroom risotto, and topped with a pinot noir reduction
Fennel Rubbed Slow Roasted Chicken
served with arugula, roasted lemon, and a chicken jus
New York Strip
Served with stone ground grits, roasted mushrooms, slow-cooked shallot, and topped with a red wine carrot reduction
Short Rib
Served with stone ground grits and roasted onions
The Clifton Inn Wedding Cost
The total site fee cost for a wedding reception, during peak season at The Clifton, begins at $7k. For wedding receptions during the off-season, the site fee begins at $5k. In addition to the site fee, The Clifton also requires that couples planning their wedding meet the minimum food and beverage requirements.
THAT WAS THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PLANNING A WEDDING AT THE CLIFTON! ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR A CHARLOTTESVILLE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER TO CAPTURE THE JOY-FILLED MOMENTS OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
