A 100-acre riverfront retreat along the St. Johns River, 59 on-site villa rooms, Catholic-blessed grounds, and an intimate outdoor ceremony setting draped in Spanish moss — here’s what to know before booking your wedding at Marywood Retreat & Conference Center.
Marywood Retreat & Conference Center sits on 100 acres of wooded riverfront land at 235 Marywood Drive in St. Johns, Florida — in the Fruit Cove area of St. Johns County, about 20 minutes south of downtown Jacksonville. The property is operated by the Diocese of St. Augustine and has been a place of celebration and gathering for generations of Northeast Florida families.
What sets Marywood apart from other waterfront venues in the area is the combination of features that are genuinely hard to find together: a private dock and river views for ceremony and photos, 59 hotel-style villa rooms so out-of-town guests can stay on property for the weekend, Catholic-blessed ceremony grounds for couples who want a consecrated outdoor setting, and an in-house catering team that handles food, bar, and event coordination under one roof. For couples planning a destination-style wedding without leaving Northeast Florida, Marywood checks most of the boxes.
Marywood’s primary wedding spaces center around the River Room and its outdoor areas:
| Space | Capacity |
|---|---|
| River Room (reception) | Up to 180 guests |
| Back Patio (cocktail / overflow) | Adjacent to River Room, river-facing |
| Outdoor Ceremony Grounds | Flexible, Catholic-blessed |
| Private Dock | Photo / cocktail hour use |
The River Room is the main reception and banquet space, with views toward the St. Johns River and direct access to the back patio. The outdoor ceremony area is on the property’s grounds — shaded by mature live oaks and Spanish moss — and the grounds carry a Catholic blessing, which matters to many of the couples who specifically seek out Marywood.
A Marywood wedding typically begins with the ceremony on the outdoor grounds, where guests are seated facing the ceremony area beneath the live oaks. The property’s natural landscape — moss, mature trees, river glimpses — gives outdoor ceremonies here a lush, elevated feel that doesn’t require much additional decoration to look beautiful in photos.
After the ceremony, the wedding party usually takes advantage of the dock and staircase for portraits while guests move inside the River Room for cocktail hour. Dinner and dancing follow in the River Room, with the back patio open for guests who want to step outside for some air and river views during the reception. Marywood’s event coordinator handles the flow with the in-house team, which means the evening stays on track without requiring couples to manage logistics themselves.
Because the property has accommodations, the timeline often extends a bit later than at venues where everyone drives home — guests who are staying on property tend to linger and celebrate longer, which we plan for when building the entertainment timeline.
Footloose Entertainment is a preferred vendor at Marywood Retreat, which means we have an established working relationship with their event coordinator and a clear picture of how the property’s spaces operate during a wedding. As your DJ at Marywood, we coordinate load-in, power access, and setup logistics directly with Marywood’s team well in advance — so none of those details are getting figured out on your wedding day.
The main entertainment planning consideration at Marywood is that the outdoor ceremony and indoor reception are two separate setups. The outdoor ceremony needs a wireless microphone system and speakers positioned to carry sound across an open-air setting. The River Room reception is a full DJ setup — dance floor speakers, subwoofer, uplighting, DJ booth. We account for both phases and the transition between them before your wedding day.
For uplighting, Marywood’s River Room is a good candidate — the space has architectural interest that uplighting enhances, and the evening river views from the patio create a nice backdrop when the lighting inside complements rather than competes with the natural setting outside.
What we confirm before every Marywood wedding: outdoor ceremony speaker placement and microphone setup, power access for the River Room reception, indoor DJ booth position, dance floor configuration, and timeline coordination with Marywood’s event coordinator.
If you’re adding a wedding photo booth, the River Room has space for a mirror booth or 360 video setup. We plan placement during pre-event coordination so the booth is positioned where guests naturally flow during cocktail hour and after dinner — not tucked into a corner where it gets passed over.
Looking for a Marywood Retreat wedding DJ? Footloose Entertainment’s DJ & MC packages start at $1,495, with final pricing shaped by guest count, hours of coverage, and any add-ons. See what’s included or request a quote for your date.
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Marywood Retreat can accommodate up to 180 guests for weddings, with the River Room as the primary reception space and the back patio available for overflow and cocktail hour.
Yes. Marywood has an outdoor ceremony area on its wooded riverside grounds. The property is a Catholic retreat center and its grounds carry a Catholic blessing — making it one of the few venues in Northeast Florida where couples can have an outdoor ceremony on consecrated land.
Yes. Marywood provides in-house catering and bar service as part of its wedding packages. Tables, chairs, china, flatware, glassware, and linens are typically included, which simplifies the vendor coordination process.
Yes. Marywood has 59 hotel-style villa rooms on property, making it popular for destination-style weddings where out-of-town guests can stay for the whole weekend. Guests check in, celebrate, and don’t have to drive anywhere that night.
The outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at Marywood each require a separate setup. As a preferred vendor at Marywood, Footloose Entertainment coordinates load-in, power access, and speaker placement with Marywood’s event team in advance — so those details are handled before your wedding day, not the morning of.
Yes. The River Room and adjacent patio offer space for a mirror booth or 360 video booth. We plan placement in advance to position the booth where guest flow naturally takes people during cocktail hour and after dinner.
