Massachusetts-Boston

Help finding southern New England Venue for 2014

Hi, I Need help finding a wedding venue in southern New England (MA, RI or CT)near my family ... or in WV/VA (near my fiancees family) that would host 100+ guests. We are going for an outdoor rustic looking place like a farm, Barn, or outdoor garden. I've scoured the web for ideas and if you've seen it online in MA or RI chances are I have already looked into it. I need help looking into places that are not typically advertized online. I've looked on rustic bride, wedding wire, the knot, and it's an overload of expensive places. However, homeaway is a website I really like if we could rent a house/farm that allows weddings. I've been searching for a few months now and I've found a few places online in my price range that are really beautiful (The Red Barn in Amherst, MA, Camp Kiwanee in Hanson, MA, the Winslow House in Marshfield, MA, and the Wolf Trap Farm in Charlottesville, VA). I'm still looking because I havent found "The ONE place yet". We are looking to spend about $10,000 or less on a venue including food, drink, rental equipement (tent, tables, chairs, linen). I know it's a lot to ask but we are very flexible since both my future husband and I are in the military we are very flexible on dates for the 2014 season. Thanks for any help.

Haley

Re: Help finding southern New England Venue for 2014

  • I'm doing mine at The Wolf Trap Farm. The owners are great! Consider this. Keith, the owner just told me that we can cram as many people into the houses as we want. They advertise 25 because that's how many bed spaces they have. However, they don't care how many really stay. I asked because I want to have 25 adults stay, and let the kids camp out on the floor. Anyway... he said that people can also camp out in tents if they're in to that kind of thing. Also, for our guests that are lodging at the house with us, we're setting up a PP account and having them pay $50/adult for the whole weekend. Beats the hell out of having to arrange a much more expensive hotel room and either drive or cab back and forth. So... that really cuts the venue budget. Also, you can bring your own booze there. We're renting kegs and bringing cases of wine. Self-serve. I think we'll do BBQ catering to go with that theme. We're also looking to have a cheap wedding. At the end of the day, we just want people to have a ton of fun.
  • P.S. I call dibs on September 6! we haven't booked yet because we need to go next sunday o actually meet with them and look at the property.
  • Check out the Codman Estate in Lincoln, MA or the Rockport Art Association in Rockport, MA.
  • mrsaldrich - Thanks so much for the info on The Wolf Trap farm, Keith is very cool.  It's kind of a long shot literally because it's the farthest away ( I won't be able to visit it until the end of  November ) but it's one of my favorites. Are you from Boston? It's about a 9-10hr drive so my biggest issue with the place is some of my older family members would have to fly down and they really can't afford it..I'd offer to pay just so they could come but I don't want to offend anyone. I plan on having my wedding in May or June so Septembers all yours! Thanks again and let me know what you think of the property once you've seen it!

    daydreaminonthet - I have not checked out the Codman Estate! I'm looking at it between typing this! It looks wonderful and affordable I really like the carriage house and the tent. The only hesitations I have about renting a historical site is their limitations on food and drink, noise, and lodging. But I'll def look into this one thanks! The Rockport Art Association has a beautiful venue too. It doesn't look like it has a lot of out door space but I'll look into it.

    Does anyone know of any orchards or vineyards that can be rented with tables and chairs and food for under 10K? I'm looking into bittersweet farms and the bay end farm but they are both on the higher end of my price range. Thanks again. 

  • @HaleyCHodges - the RAA doesn't have a dedicated outdoor space, but there are several beautiful public outdoor parks nearby that can be rented for free/very cheap (Halibut State Park, Old Garden Landing, Millbrook Meadow, etc.).  The RAA has an indoor room that they often use for ceremonies so you have a backup option in case it rains.  Not sure if that's a dealbreaker for you or not.  I'm having my wedding at the Rockport Art Association next May and so far have been very pleased!
  • I highly recommend Pembroke Country Club! They are 30 minutes south of Boston they have an outdoor wedding garden for ceremonies and a beautiful ballroom for the reception afterwards!
    check it out!
    www.pembrokegolf.com

  • Thanks ladies! I checked out all the places mentioned. I think I am going to go with a home in Cape Cod. I found one on homeaway.com. It's got plenty of room for an outdoor ceremony and tented reception. Now I'm looking into tent rentals and catering. Has anyone used Party Cape Cod rental packedges? I also think we are going to go with Porky's BBQ for a buffet style... thoughts?
  • How did you find a place on homeaway.com that you knew would approve a wedding? Is there any guidelines or restrictions if you rent a place like that in regards to having a wedding there?
  • Try looking at Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, MA. I just got married there a month ago and everyone is still talking about how beautiful it is and how great the food was. http://www.capefunctions.com/ There are cabins and houses on location where the guests stayed over night and they put on a bonfire after the reception. It truly was perfection. =)
  • @Mrsby2015 I've been looking at homeaway.com for at least three months emailing large estate homes in the south shore and Cape Cod areas. It hasn't been easy since a lot of home owners are not willing to allow parties for liability reasons, noise complaints, or they can be expensive. With that said, there are some out there that do allow parties and reunions. They don't advertise it like normal venues… sometimes it's just a photo of a tent or they mention great for party's. The best advice I can give is to just email and ask. I had to go through about a dozen before I found one that I could afford.
    We plan on having less than 100 guests... smaller is always better for this situation. This particular house has hosted their anniversary party but ours will be the first wedding. I was looking for something that would allow at least my husband and me, my immediate family and bridal party to sleep there for the weekend (aprox 15-20ppl).

    @jmulvaney thanks for the suggestion it sounds wonderful. Did you rent a tent for your wedding and if so would you mind if I ask who? Thanks for posting

    To all brides: I'm still looking for tent rental and table companies in Cape Cod/South Shore area if you have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone used American Tent and Table...thoughts? Thanks again!

  • Bournedale has a beautiful function facility that has a wrap around deck outside. We originally had wanted to do a tent but my apprehensive husband was afraid of the weather. (which turned about to be beautiful) The wrap around deck provided a great alternative to the dance floor when it got to hot.
  • I second Bourndale.  Its beautiful.  Darin is very flexible with you and your ideas...I even entered on their pontone boat
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