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Planning an event? Carmen Long, reservation manager, and Linda Ludeke, owner, make occasions happen at Woodland Manor.
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Brides dress here: The two upstairs bedrooms are available for the bridal party’s preparations.
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Surrounded by 17 acres of English and American boxwood and myriad trees, the property can accommodate 250-330 people for an outdoor event (close to 90 indoors).
Linda Ludeke had a passion for federal-style houses, but she wasn’t necessarily looking to get into the events business.
Then in 2014, a real estate agent showed her Woodland Manor in Dunnsville and she was immediately smitten with the character-filled details of the well-maintained 1790 house: the traditional symmetry of design, wide central hallway, English basement, two chimneys and five fireplaces. The heart pine wood floors and original mantelpieces didn’t hurt, either.
Almost immediately, she called her daughter, a florist in Mechanicsville, to tell her about the potential of the place, and the concept of an event space began to take shape quickly. Her son took on marketing responsibilities. Even the building inspector was impressed, noting the perfectly square ends of the house, despite its 225-year age.
Ludeke closed on the house in November 2014 and hosted the first event in October 2015.
“The setting is what makes it beautiful,” says Ludeke. “It’s very peaceful and serene.” Surrounded by 17 acres of English and American boxwoods, as well as myriad trees, including sycamores, magnolias and two rare American elms, the property can accommodate 250 to 330 people for an outside event and close to 90 indoors.
Locals refer to the property as the “Barton house” for the family that lived there in the ‘70s and lovingly restored it, leaving not much more for the new owner beyond the cosmetic work of painting and decorating. Using family antiques, finds from time spent as the owner of a décor consignment shop in New Kent and antiques discovered on the Northern Neck, Ludeke turned the old house into a welcoming manor.
While Woodland now plays host to rehearsal dinners, showers, parties, charitable events and corporate functions, it especially shines when booked for weddings. The English basement, with its built-in bar, rustic horse motif and big-screen TV offers a masculine setting for the groom and groomsmen to relax away from the primping and girl talk of the two-room bridal suite upstairs. An addition built in the ‘80s is used as a banquet room and can host 25 for a sit-down dinner.
“I’ve always had a passion for old houses and Federal is my delight,” she says. Now it’s a delight she’s willing to share.
Learn more at woodlandmanorevents.com.