Find the perfect Hokie venue
From Hahn Garden to War Memorial Chapel — memorable options for special celebrations.
In September 2024, Virginia Tech faculty member Ramtin Haghnazar and Ph.D. student Yasaman Ashjazadeh were the first couple to exchange their marriage vows at the Hahn Horticulture Garden’s new garden marquee — a covered, open-air, 2,800-square-foot venue for weddings and other events.
“We wanted an outdoor place in a beautiful landscape that protected us from the possibility of rain,” said Haghnazar, assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. “It was perfect, from the setting, to the service, to the affordable price. We, and our guests, had a wonderful time. The Hahn Garden would be great for any event.”
The garden marquee is the newest addition to the 6-acre public teaching and display garden in the heart of Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. The largest public garden in western Virginia, the Hahn Horticulture Garden is open 365 days a year as a learning resource for gardening, landscaping, and environmental awareness. It’s also a living laboratory for Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students to better serve the landscape, nursery, and public horticulture sectors.
Gathering Grounds
In addition to the garden, Hokies may reserve other spaces on campus for their special events.
The Virginia Tech War Memorial Chapel has been open for weddings since 1960, and occasionally, memorial services are also held in the venue.
Weddings are scheduled year-round on Saturdays, and Sunday dates may be considered during the summer months.
The Center for the Arts features premier spaces, including a 1,200-seat theatre, adaptable black box Cube, and flexible, open lobbies to accommodate a range of events. The center can host full-scale productions, talks and lectures, receptions, dinners, and other special events.
Details and reservation forms for the venues may be found online, and although its schedule is very busy, special requests for HokieBird appearances may be made online through hokiesports.com.
“When we got married in 2017, my parents surprised us with an appearance by the HokieBird, and it was absolutely perfect,” said Kelly Jamieson Noack ’09, who married Chris Noack ’07 on June 24, 2017.
“We are a self-supporting entity, so all revenue from event rentals goes straight into our daily operating fund to cover everything from paying student workers, to plants and mulch, to equipment,” said Hahn Horticulture Garden Director Scott Douglas. “Having a permanent structure with a hard floor enables us to host more events — which allows us to bring in more revenue to achieve our goal of being a teaching garden.”
Located next to the Peggy Lee Hahn Garden Pavilion, the marquee accommodates up to 184 people. It features a twotiered green metal roof, tapered wood columns with Hokie Stone bases, a smooth concrete floor, and expansive views of the garden.
Douglas said the venue has been reserved for several game day tailgates and is booking weddings well into fall of 2026.
Cultivating progress
“I have watched the garden develop over the last 40 years,” said Hokie alumnus Mike Hildebrand ̕74, owner of James River Nurseries, who supported the marquee project. “The marquee space will certainly be a catalyst for getting more visitors to the garden. James River Nurseries’ — and my — success has been supported for many years through the horticulture program, so giving back has been a privilege.”
Additional funds for the marquee came from the Peggy Lee Hahn Memorial Garden and T. Marshall and Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Endowments, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, and Patricia Ceperley, a longtime garden volunteer and friend.
The Saunders family, alumni owners of Saunders Brothers Inc. Nursery in Piney River, Virginia, is sponsoring the next chapter of growth: a new formal garden.
“The formal garden will offer experiences to maintain a managed and controlled landscape style that’s very different from other spaces in the garden,” Douglas said.