Located near downtown Augusta, Viles Arboretum is the perfect location for your special day, featuring indoor and outdoor spaces for any wedding format at competitive pricing. We are a DIY wedding facility, not a full service wedding venue. Inquiries can be directed to info@vilesarboretum.org or (207)626-7989, or by using the contact form at the bottom of this webpage. Please note, some of the photos featured on this webpage were not taken here at the Arboretum.
Viles Arboretum features dozens of gardens, fields, woodlands, and over 20 botanical collections for your ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception. We can host any number of people you wish to invite to this special day, and we feature several locations for your tent set-up.
The ceremony and reception spaces listed below are our recommendations, but we highly encourage couples to set-up a tour so we can customize your special day to meet your needs.
Standing or seated, these outdoor spaces can accommodate 15-150 people depending on location. Most locations are a short walk from parking, bathrooms, and our reception spaces.
Just a short walk from Viles Pond, the rock garden is for those seeking a quiet and pleasing landscape of woody plants and flowers set within a birch stand.
Featuring unique apple varieties from around New England, this space is perfect for a springtime ceremony set within a blanket of stunning fragrant flowers.
Overlooking a fantastic piece of stone art, the rock wall abuts a large, flat, section of protruding bedrock featuring granite benching and, depending on the time of year, day lilies!
Native perennial flowers, trees, and woodland shrubs adorn our newest collection, which is designed to demonstrate permaculture. Oh...and it has a willow tunnel! Perfect for the bridal procession!
A vast stand of tall and looming ash trees provides the perfect shady cover for a hot summer day. This collection abuts a grassy field teeming with wildlife.
One of our most popular collections for events, this space is preferred for it's proximity to the Visitor Center/parking and its flat, grassy terrain.
Set-up an event tent for dinner, cocktail hour, or late night dancing.
Set deep within the Arboretum in front of the historic Governors Grove, this field abuts a collection of Eastern White Pines planted for each of Maine's Governors. Bring generators and bathrooms. Easy parking.
Set behind our Visitor Center, this space can accommodate a large event tent while ensuring easy access to parking, bathrooms, water, electricity, and indoor spaces. This space sits adjacent to our Food & Forest Gardens.
Perfect for a small formal dinner, cocktail hour, or late night dancing.
New in 2021, our Education Center features a beautiful timber-frame construction, cement floors, a second floor VIP loft, and large windows & doors that open to the gardens below. Set-up a tent in the Visitor Center Courtyard and host your entire celebration in one convenient location.
Viles Arboretum does not provide event planning or coordination services. It is the sole responsibility of the renter to organize and plan all aspects of their event, this includes setup and cleanup.
Set-up, program time, and clean-up shall take place within your scheduled rental time. A la carte wedding bookings get a 24 hour block of time to access the space(s). Full venue bookings receive
Spaces must be returned to the condition in which they were found: chairs stacked, tables wiped, floors swept, trash removed to the dumpster located in the parking lot. Any decorations, supplies, equipment, signs, handouts, or other amenities brought by your organization must be removed at the conclusion of the program. There will be a fee of $150 if the rental is left unclean.
Public restrooms are available during the operating hours of the Arboretum’s Visitor Center and are subject to change. Access to restrooms is guaranteed with indoor rentals. Outdoor rentals are not guaranteed access to a restroom. Portable toilets may be brought in, with approval from the Executive Director, at the expense of the renter.
Food and beverage are permitted, including alcohol. The arrangements for food delivery are solely the responsibility of the renter. In addition, it is the renter's responsibility to handle setup and clean up of the room. All trash, garbage and recyclables must be placed in the appropriate containers. Viles Arboretum does not provide food and beverage services. A full, commercial kitchen is available on the property. Access is only permitted with the rental of the Viles Room.
Renters are free to choose their own caterers, dj’s, photographers, etc. Viles Arboretum does not restrict renters to a specific list.
Tables and chairs are included with the rental of indoor spaces, for the capacity of the space being rented. It is the responsibility of the renter to set-up, move and arrange tables and chairs, and to return them to how they were found at the conclusion of the event. When renting multiple spaces, tables and chairs may be moved, but must be returned to original spaces. Use of chairs and tables for grounds only events is subject to availability and additional charges may apply. Renters are permitted to bring in additional tables and chairs, which they are responsible for securing, setting up and taking down.
Use of tents on the grounds is permitted. Viles Arboretum does not provide tents. It is the responsibility of the renter to secure and acquire tents for their event. Placement of tents must be pre-approved by the Arboretums Executive Director. Tents must be set-up and removed within the scheduled rental time, unless otherwise approved by the Arboretum.
Electricity is only accessible outdoors in the areas surrounding the Visitor Center: courtyard, Food and Forest Garden, and Community Forestry Collection. It is the responsibility of the renter to provide extension cords, power strips, etc. Access to electrical outlets for outdoor only rentals needs to be approved and listed on the reservation.C
The Arboretum parking lot has 25 regular parking spots and one handicap parking spot. All vehicles associated in any way with an event must be parked within the parking area. No vehicles shall be parked on any lawn surface unless granted permission by the Viles Arboretum Executive Director. The Arboretum parking lot remains open to the public at all times. Additional parking may be found in the public park and ride located on Piggery Road.
Decorations are permitted only when using non-damaging hooks, such as Command Hooks, or tape, such as painters tape. No tacks, nails, screws, duct or packing tape are permitted on walls, columns, ceilings, trees, posts, etc. The use of birdseed and blowing bubbles is permitted in outside spaces only. Rice, confetti, flower petals, balloons, glitter, pyrotechnics, and sparklers are not permitted on the grounds or inside the venue. The use of combustibles is not permitted on the grounds or inside the venue. This includes, but is not limited to: The use of open flames; candles, tiki torches, etc.; gas or charcoal grills; pyrotechnics, and sparklers.
The use of combustibles is not permitted on the grounds or inside the venue. This includes, but is not limited to: The use of open flames; candles, tiki torches, etc.; gas or charcoal grills; pyrotechnics, and sparklers.
Viles Arboretum is a public space. The Arboretum and its grounds do not close for private events and visitors of the Arboretum will not be restricted from using the grounds or adjacent spaces during the event. Arboretum staff do their best to divert trail traffic away from events when possible.
Winter Wedding. Photos by Brea McDonald , Portrait and Wedding Photographer.
Viles Arboretum
153 Hospital Street Augusta, Maine, 04330
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