Now Boarding to Your Dream Venue
By Marissa McCormick

When an engaged couple tours Main Street Station, it’s usually the same process. It starts with the couple curious to see the venue, then once they see the gorgeous bare bones and unique city feel, their jaws drop. Immediately the couple’s wedding vision comes to life.

It’s the middle of wedding season and the Richmond Weddings™ Team is sitting with Susan Kennedy, Marketing and Events Coordinator and Crystal Lowery, Events Manager at Main Street Station, the women responsible for making city nuptial dreams come true. If you haven’t seen the shed of Main Street Station before, prepare to be wowed. Trains silently breeze by the glass box and are the perfect complement to the unique industrial feel. The concrete floors reflect the recessed lights above and give a dull reflection of the absolutely breathtaking ceiling. Exposed metal beams, the only thing left from the original building, harmonize with new wooden ones, creating that perfect balance of new and old.

Alluding to the jaw drops of touring couples, Susan explains, “The space really has that effect on people!” Bring in an experienced wedding planner, and it will transform into whatever vision you’d like.

The train shed, roughly the length of two football fields can turn your wedding into a set of experiences. Break up the length by drapes, opening a section for each part of your celebration. Start with your ceremony at the front, then open a pair of drapes to high tops and a bar for your cocktail hour. Continue to your reception, eventually ending at the back of the shed with your band and dance floor. Dance the night away with your closest family and friends with the Richmond city lights as your backdrop.

While the shed of Main Street Station is obviously impressive, it’s the Headhouse, an event space at the front of the building that hosts most of their weddings.

The Headhouse, which can accommodate up to 200 guests, is where you feel Main Street Station’s history. The Renaissance architecture from 1901 transports you to an older time in Richmond’s history. With two side rooms with exquisite details, one gets that old city feel when climbing the stairs to the event space. Encased on the outside with brick, the Headhouse is superbly intimate, and just like the expansive train shed, can be transformed into anything you’d like. Crystal explains, “One couple had their ceremony in the Headhouse, and then everyone came down to the lower level for the cocktail hour as the catering company switched the room over into a beautiful reception.” A quaint and almost secretive balcony sits adjacent to the room, the perfect escape for you and your guests to get that breath of fresh air while looking over Main Street.

Main Street Station, in all its parts, is beautiful on its own. Susan elaborates, “You don’t really need too much décor, the space speaks for itself.” Completely unique and unlike any other spot on the East Coast, you can create your wedding vision. From the highway, your guests will be impressed. The glass shed and original clock tower standing tall against the backdrop of Shockoe Bottom.

The clock tower was the palate for the entire building and made an appearance on national television in 2018. When Richmond was named one of the cities in season 14 of ABC’s The Bachelorette, the Main Street Station team knew the lucky couple had to come to the Station. The couple had their date in the empty train shed and then sealed the deal with a kiss on the top of the clock tower.
Large floor to ceiling windows let in loads of light, giving you the feeling of being outside, without having to worry about the weather. Since the entire train station is climate controlled, it doesn’t matter if you’re getting married on a snowy February Saturday or the hottest day in August, your experience inside of Main Street Station will be just as spectacular.

When getting married at Main Street Station, there’s the sense of being an integral part of Richmond. Known as “The Welcome Mat of Richmond,” Main Street Station is bringing an exquisite air to the River City. The harmonization of new and old, perfectly coming together into a venue unlike any other. Transport your guests to a wedding experience they’ve never had before without losing that sense of YOU on your big day.


The ladies at Main Street Station are still waiting for that bride (or groom) that will arrive at their wedding by train. Susan, while smiling, “Can you imagine? The entire wedding party coming off the train…like a Hollywood movie!” With the next train station in Staples Mill, it could be the perfect option for that Richmond-based couple.
[published in Richmond Weddings™ Issue 58, 59]