Cheap Wedding in New England?

August 4, 2010 4:49 PM

Cheap weddings in New England?

My fiancee and I are planning to get married in late summer/ early fall of 2011. We have a very small budget (hoping to pay around 5K for the place rental) and are looking for cheap vendors in MA, CT, RI or New Hampshire. We are looking for a place:

1) Beautiful setting in nature
2) Place to have reception and ceremony
3) Place where we can do our own food (our friends are catering)

If possible, we would love to rent a place from Fri-Sun that has guest rooms (cost for rooms can be extra).

We have been looking at conference and retreat centers but do not know the area very well so wanted to get some recommendations.
Thank you in advance!

posted by tessalations999 to human relations (13 answers total)

We got married at the Keeler Tavern Museum in CT. It was 10 years ago and I think it cost $1200? The tavern has an interesting history (there's still a cannonball stuck in the wall from the Revolutionary War), a formal garden and the garden house was designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert. They have a small kitchen for caterers - I'd recommend ours but he's no longer in the business I'm afraid. They don't have rooms, but they gave tours of the tavern during appetizers while we did the picture thing - our guests loved it! The hotel our guests stayed at has since changed hands, but you can check area hotels for wedding packages - we got a great deal for our guests and the hotel even provided us with a shuttle.
posted by kittyloop at 5:07 PM on August 4, 2010

We had a beautiful ceremony and reception at Garden in the Woods,a wildflower botanical garden in Framingham, MA. Nontraditional, for sure, and very inexpensive--less than $1500, if I recall. The room we used for the reception would only accommodate about 50 people. We had a caterer come in, but you might be able to self-cater, though the kitchen facilities are pretty limited.
posted by libraryhead at 5:21 PM on August 4, 2010

How many guests are you planning to have?
posted by Ruki at 5:32 PM on August 4, 2010

You should check out The Towers in Narragansett, RI. Its within your budget and meets your other requirements too.
posted by blaneyphoto at 5:33 PM on August 4, 2010

We are planning to have 100 guests
posted by tessalations999 at 5:58 PM on August 4, 2010

Pamet Harbor Yacht Club in Truro on Cape Cod. But you'd have to find somewhere for people to stay.
posted by nicwolff at 6:03 PM on August 4, 2010

The Towers won't let you self-cater, though.

Have you considered renting a beach house for a weekend? In the off-season, it's pretty inexpensive, it comes with a kitchen, and there are no catering ore alcohol restrictions. You also have your own accomodation sorted and can put up a handful of guests.

We looked at this option all up and down the east coast and would have done this if we had been married in the US. In the end we did something similar with a loft rental in Edinburgh and it worked out really well.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:12 PM on August 4, 2010

Providence, RI - Was just at a wedding at Bell St Chapel (Unitarian) and reception at Edgewood Yacht Club. Edgewood let our friends cater and did a cash bar - a wedding about your size - also just did a big speaker and an ipod. It was beautiful and fun - esp with the balcony overlooking the water and boats. No lodging though.
posted by quodlibet at 6:25 PM on August 4, 2010

Rocky Neck State Park in Connecticut has an amazing stone pavilion overlooking Long Island Sound. Check out this link.
posted by Sukey Says at 7:23 PM on August 4, 2010

DarlingBri - the Towers definitely will let you self cater. Unless they've changed the rules since my brothers wedding last May.
posted by blaneyphoto at 8:25 PM on August 4, 2010

blaneyphoto: "DarlingBri - the Towers definitely will let you self cater. Unless they've changed the rules since my brothers wedding last May."

Oh, well then perfect! (They must have changed that, when we were looking they didn't but that was... okay, more years ago than I realised.)
posted by DarlingBri at 8:33 PM on August 4, 2010

I got married at Flag Hill Winery in 2007. Absolutely gorgeous! I believe it was less than 5K, but I don't remember, as we split the cost among a few people. They definitely allow you to self-cater. It is not a hotel/inn, so you will have to arrange accommodations on your own, but it was no trouble. There are both quaint and standard types of hotels & inns nearby.

Mid-September is right before their harvest, and the grapes smelled SO DELICIOUS during the wedding; plus, the lawn where they do the ceremonies has two enormous oak trees with beautiful coloring, depending on the time of year you choose. You can attend a special wine tasting and bottling event for couples who will be married at the vineyard in the upcoming year, and get yourself some bottles of wine to save for the future.

Their wedding planner, Heather, is totally aces, too. The only concern is that your date may already be taken; they fill up very quickly, as in, I called them at 8am on Jan 1st, 2006, to reserve our spot, just to be sure (They open their reservations for following years on Jan 1).

I can't recommend them enough. I'm not super-weddingy, but I loved that place so much! MeMail me if you want more details, or links to pictures.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 1:13 PM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Link, duh.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 1:14 PM on August 5, 2010