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I'm not sure what your budget is or how many people are on your guest list, but you might want to look at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester: http://www.bluehillfarm.com/events/private-events Their "HayLoft" room looks similar to what you are looking for and they do outdoor ceremonies in an area that looks like it's not quite under a large tree, but in front of one. There aren't many photos on their site, but there are a bunch if you search with Google Images. It looks gorgeous and the food is supposed to be amazing. Good luck! :)
Check out the Arnold Arboretum in Boston:
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/
I'm not positive you're able to have a reception there, but they definitely allow ceremonies. It's beautiful!
Check out the Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton, MA. It is amazing. My family is from that area, but my FI and I have been in Brooklyn for three years now. So we wanted some rusticness but also really really elegant. It fits the bill for us! And the grounds are STUNNING.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
@sarahnyc23: Blue Hill Stone Barns totally has the vibe we're going for! but at $195/person, I think it's definitely out of the budget for us :(
@MrsMcGyro: the Arboretum is beautiful! unfortunately, there's a limit of 40 people at any event at the Arboretum.
@jenandchris: Congratulations on booking Gibbet Hill! It was on my list of venues to check out 'cause I also loved that it's rustic and elegant :) but I was concerned about its distance from Boston - if my guests are staying in Boston, do you think it's reasonable to have the wedding venue an hour away in Groton? I guess I wasn't really sure where else my guests could stay and how they would get to the venue...
The Arnold Arboretum IS beautiful (that's where my FI proposed!). It is, however, a nightmare for parking, and if it rained, you would not have a backup. I believe you are also not allowed to specifically reserve areas, so people can traipse around your ceremony site, or it may not be available at all. You also can't do receptions, and tenting, etc (for the almost certainly bad/uncertain New England weather) are not allowed.I'd look for a historic estate that has trees, and go that route. It will let you have your ceremony and reception on the same site, and you could have a backup rain plan that way. ALWAYS HAVE A RAIN PLAN IN NEW ENGLAND. I have 4 friends whose weddings were basically ruined because they were foolish enough to not have a backup plan in MA/ME.
Maybe Smith Barn in Peabody? http://www.peabodyhistorical.org/wedding_facilities.asp
Have you considered a historic mansion? Many of them around here have beautiful gardens that could be used for a ceremony.
I second crayfish's advice- always have a back up plan in New England!!
The Veronique ballroom in Brookline kinda/sorta/vaguely looks like your reception inspiration. Except that it not open-aired but it does have wood beams. Actually, it doesn't really look like it very much. But it would allow for a ceremony at the Arnold Arbor. or some other park in the Boston area.
However, it is true with Arnold Ar. that you can't book a specific place.
I have a friend who held her ceremony at Larz Anderson park (at the "temple of love"). She had her reception at a nearby country club. We all parked at the reception site and then she had a shuttle take us over to the ceremony site and back. The park was beautiful, sorry I can't be of any help with reception sites!
Gibbit Hill in Groton Ma might be of interest to you. Here are some internet pictures that I pulled. It was the first place I thought of when I saw your "dream wedding images."
Image.jpg (16.9 KB, 60 downloads) 1 year old 20100508_305.jpg (253.7 KB, 43 downloads) 1 year old
@thesejoys: Would you definitely have them stay in Boston? It probably is a bit of a trek if they are all staying there, but I think you could probably make something work. We are having our guests all stay in the area. My parents live in the area, so we are having our ceremony at the church I grew up at and then at GH.
I guess it depends on the experience you want to give your guests. There isn't a super ton of city stuff to do in the area, but I will be letting our OOT guests know about stuff to do in Lexington and Concord, and maybe some of the stuff in Lowell. And nicer and nicer restaurants are springing up in the area as well. Plus for some friends, they were interested in seeing where I grew up, so that might explore that a bit.
i fell in love with the desmond tutu center in new york like a year before we got engaged, but in the end we decided to get married in my home state. check it out though, it is soo beautiful, right in new york city (in chelsea), has beautiful outdoor space (with trees!) and has a great indoor, high ceilinged space. it used to be a seminary so it still has that look. they are reasonably priced for manhattan (althogh reasonably priced for new york is still not cheap). also, they've converted some of the seminary into hotel rooms so all of your guests can stay on site. omg if you get married there i will be sooo jealous (but very happy for you too).
Thank you, everyone, for all your suggestions! I've checked out every single one of your suggestions (researched, if not visited) and we finally settled on a historic mansion for our wedding.
Although it does not have the high-beamed ceilings or the large tree hanging over the ceremony site that I originally dreamed of (LOL), it's got a lovely outdoor ceremony site (@PinkPinstripes was right - many historic mansions do have beautiful gardens) and beautiful indoor space.
I'm so happy that we finally settled on a venue - yay! Thanks again!
I am not 100% sure this would meet what your looking for but I know this place is really gorgeous http://www.thegarrison.com/weddings.html its in the Hudson Valley.
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Hi hive!
I am looking for a wedding venue in the boston/north shore/south shore or new york/long island/hudson valley areas. In my mind, I keep picturing a wedding ceremony underneath a giant oak tree or something to the likes of it, followed by a reception (preferably at the same location) in a hall with high, beamed ceilings (see inspiration photos below).
In my research, I keep finding venues that completely fit the bill in California, but I can't seem to find the same thing here in the Northeast! Places I have investigated so far include: Onteora Mountain House, Shadow Lawn at High Falls, Old Field Club, Elm Banks at Mass Horticultural Society, Larz Anderson Park - but most of these do not have a giant tree that I keep picturing for the ceremony (except for Larz Anderson, but I'm not really feeling the Auto Museum as a reception venue...).
So I'm reaching out to the hive, since you guys are just full of resources :) I would appreciate any tips on finding my dream venue!