The Pavilion at Gaie Lea

Gaie Lea — translated from Old English as "Happy Meadows" — is a private estate and event venue at the heart of an operational farm in Virginia's historic Shenandoah Valley, in Staunton. Built in 1952, the property sits on 200 acres with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a private lake with a pavilion overlooking the water, a hilltop pool, and a tennis court. The estate home offers more than 5,000 square feet across 16 rooms and sleeps up to 15 overnight guests, while the grounds accommodate up to 250 guests for weddings, rehearsal dinners, and private celebrations. Couples and families can mark ceremonies, rehearsal dinners, reunions, graduations, and retreats across the property's varied settings — farm-to-table dinners served al fresco in the lakeside pavilion, rustic gatherings around the stone fire pit, tea among the formal English boxwoods, or poolside celebrations. Gaie Lea is part of Bells Lane Farm, a working cattle farm that has raised Angus cattle for generations, and sits roughly 35 minutes from Charlottesville and two hours from Richmond, Roanoke, and Washington, D.C.