Your once-in-a-lifetime day, inside a piece of environmental history.
A Place Built to Protect the Chesapeake Bay
CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center was designed to minimize its impact on the natural landscape and became the world's first building to earn LEED Platinum certification—making it one of the world's greenest buildings. Today, every wedding and event held here helps restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay.
The Philip Merrill Environmental Center wasn't designed to become a wedding venue. It was built as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's headquarters—a place that would prove beautiful buildings can also protect the environment. Every detail was designed to minimize its impact on the Chesapeake Bay.
A building with a purpose.
One of the world's greenest buildings
A pioneering example of sustainable architecture
Built with recycled and renewable materials
Built with energy- and water-saving systems
Designed to preserve the surrounding shoreline and wetlands
All proceeds from your venue rental go directly back to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, supporting work like restoring oyster reefs, forests, and wetlands, protecting clean water, and educating the next generation of environmental leaders.
Your event becomes part of something bigger.
Every venue fee helps Save the Bay
The Philip Merrill Environmental Center sits on the Chesapeake Bay just outside historic downtown Annapolis. Your guests can enjoy waterfront hotels, charming inns, acclaimed restaurants, and all the character of Maryland's capital city—while you celebrate in a peaceful waterfront setting that feels worlds away.
Rooted in Annapolis
Shannon Wright is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Wedding & Events Manager. As CBF's one-woman events team, she's your single point of contact from first tour to final send-off: one trusted person who knows every corner of this venue, and every detail of your wedding.
A Maryland native with a background in wedding planning, marketing, and customer service, she pairs a designer's eye with a knack for problem-solving, so the details stay handled and couples feel supported every step of the way.
What she loves most about this role is simple: every celebration here helps Save the Bay, turning your wedding into something bigger than a single day.
