The Museum of Howard County Wedding Packages

The Museum of Howard County History boasts an intimate setting with the relaxed feel of a 19th century church, located in one of the most iconic historic towns in America. The auditorium accommodates up to 75 people and is the perfect place for a small, intimate romantic wedding.

We offer a variety of services in our wedding packages with options to rent the museum for a small intimate service and photos or an opulent service and reception.

Our standard rental includes:

The building
Chairs
Tables
A decorated arch
Use of the 1915 pipe organ

We will work with you to make your wedding day the day of your dreams.

Customize Your Special Day

Our wedding consultant is ready to assist you to customize your special day to your specifications. You can select your own vendors or select from our best Ellicott City vendors who provide:

Photographs
Fresh flowers or silk flowers
Catering (on-site and off-site)
Custom decorations
Music (Live or DJ)
Officiant

Elicott City vendors we work with closely include:

Pam Long photography
The Flower Basket
Tersiguel’s
Elkridge Furnace Inn
Kelsey’s
LaPalapa’s
Little Market Cafe

WALKING TOURS

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FACILITY RENTAL

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WEDDING VENUE

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SPEAKERS BUREAU

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RESEARCH SERVICES

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Did You Know?

Federal troops captured the Winans Steam Gun at Relay on its way to be sold to the Confederates at Harpers Ferry in 1861.

About Our Facility

Our museum is the former First Presbyterian Church of Howard County, in Historic Ellicott City, MD. The church sits on picturesque Capitoline Hill overlooking beautiful, Historic Ellicott City Main Street. Our charming church was built in 1894 as a granite stone Gothic style church characterized by steeply pitched gable roofs, beautiful Gothic stained glass windows and a 100-foot bell tower which is the highest landmark in town. It has been home to the Howard County Historical Society since 1959.

The auditorium space is stunning with a 30-foot vaulted ceiling, a 19th century chandelier, exquisite stained glass windows, a stage and a beautiful 1915 working pipe organ. The museum gallery with permanent exhibits on Howard County history is beautifully designed to blend with the auditorium.

Mike Radinsky has been curator at the Museum of Howard County History since 2016. His interests lie in local history, especially Howard County’s involvement in the Civil War. He participates in living history programs in the area and for the museum. Mike also leads historic walking tours and ghost tours in the historic district. He lives in Ellicott City with his family.

Becca Dobbs graduated from Towson University with her B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in Museum Studies in the fall of 2018. She came to the Historical Society in the summer of 2016 as a volunteer immediately following a Walking Tour. Becca was hired as one of the Museum’s assistants in 2017. Her duties include assisting with special events, educational outreach programs and of course working at the museum on weekends. Becca enjoys doing genealogy and drinking lots of coffee. If you see her around, please send her a friendly hello!

Charlie Jennings was born in the Boston area. He earned his B.A. & M.B.A. degrees at Dartmouth College. After working at a national public-accounting firm and earning his CPA accreditation in Massachusetts, he moved on to accountancy in the corporate sector. In the mid-70s he moved to Howard County with his wife, Tina, and two boys, to work as VP-Finance at Choice Hotels. Charlie now volunteers as our Retail Manager at both the Archives and Museum. Historical interests include America’s wars (Rev, Civil, and WWII) and European accounts including the Age of Sail and the controversies of the Empire.

Henry “Hank” Fitzer has undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Accounting with minors in German and History. Hank’s careers include Maritime Commerce at the Port of Baltimore (14 years) and with the Maryland State Government (30 years). He has recently retired and now volunteers at both the Archives and the Museum. His interests include Languages, History and Archaeology. His historical areas of greatest interest are Ancient, Native American, U.S. Colonial through Civil War, and Latin American.

Kaitlyn McKay has been a volunteer at the Howard County Historical Society since 2015. In addition to working at the Museum of Howard County History, Kaitlyn is also the Historical Society’s social media coordinator. She received her AA degree at Howard Community College & her Bachelor’s degree in English at Towson University. Kaitlyn currently works in the administration offices at the Baltimore County Public Library.

Mary Sanphilipo started with us in 2012 as a volunteer and now acts as our Museum and Collections Manager. She has her B.A. in Archaeology with a minor in History from U.M.B.C. and her Masters in Library Sciences from U.M.C.P. After college, she began her career at the Baltimore City Life Museums where she stayed for 10 years. She then took a 15 year hiatus from work to homeschool her two children, Shannon and Aiden. She also oversees our Museum rentals such as our ongoing yoga and ballroom dance classes.