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The Essex Inn

4.8 ★★★★★ 92 Google reviews · Beachfront wedding venue in Tappahannock, Virginia · 0.5 mi to the beach

Venerable downtown B&B offering bright rooms with 4-poster beds & suites with full kitchens.

Plan your tour

  • Setting beachfront venue, 0.5 mi to the beach — verified by its distance to a real shoreline
  • Phone (804) 443-9900
  • Website essexinnva.com — most venues book tours right on their site

At a glance

203 Duke St, Tappahannock, VA 22560

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What couples highlight

The things reviewers bring up again and again across 92 Google reviews — in their own words, and only about the wedding and the setting.

🏝️ breathtaking beach setting 15 mentions

“The owners are amazing, the rooms are great, we didn't have time to experience the food, but the house is beautiful and the location is great.”

🤝 staff who go above & beyond 2 mentions

“The owners are amazing, the rooms are great, we didn't have time to experience the food, but the house is beautiful and the location is great.”

🍽️ delicious food & drinks 3 mentions

From the reviews

This B&B is awesome and I highly recommend!! Me and my wife have spent our last 2 anniversary weekends here and we had superior service from Ric and Jeremy! Ric is an amazing chef and his breakfasts are amazing! They try to purchase food for local farmers so the quality is very high and taste great!

★★★★★ — Kevin, May 2016

First - Ignore "Elizabeth B's" review (she must have stayed somewhere else). The owners are amazing, the rooms are great, we didn't have time to experience the food, but the house is beautiful and the location is great. We will stay here every time we come to the Northern Neck of Virginia.

★★★★★ — A, Sep 2024

Excerpts from public Google reviews, filtered to comments about the wedding and the setting. Read all 92 reviews →

Getting married at The Essex Inn

Two things make the tour worth the drive. First, see the ceremony spot at the exact time of day you'd say your vows — a west-facing beach glows at sunset but bakes at noon, and you'll want to feel the wind, watch where the sun sits, and walk the path your guests take across the sand. Second, bring your real questions: the weather backup (where does the ceremony move if it rains or the wind kicks up?), who pulls the beach permit, the sound-ordinance curfew, the catering and bar policy, and exactly what's included — chairs, setup, and teardown on sand are where quotes quietly diverge. Peak beach dates book 12–18 months out, so if the tour feels right, ask what's open in your season before you leave.

See their weddings page

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Listing verified July 2026 from public business records and couples' reviews. Something out of date? Report a correction. Own this venue? Claim your listing — it's free.