Outdoor Weddings (New Bedford, Framingham, Gloucester: rentals, house, school)

[Bella Star14]

We just recently got engaged in Mexico, and we're trying to find a nice outdoor wedding venue! We're thinking either oceanside (since we can't have our destination wedding we wanted) or in a garden. I've been online for days trying to find something reasonably affordable, he is a school teacher, and I am an artist. A garden themed wedding is also appealing to us, and we've been scouting out botanical gardens in the Ma/ RI areas. We're really into nature, and kind of anti ballroom wedding...
but also sort of food snobs.. lol.
This wedding stuff is a bit overwhelming!!!
Any suggestions???

[miu]

I wonder if you can rent this place in Westford out. How many guests are you planning to invite?

Butterflies surround you at The Butterfly Place, Westford, Massachusetts

This place in West Framingham has a wonderful wildflower garden and they do host events.

Host an Event; New England Wild Flower Society (broken link)

Otherwise, there are places like Colt State Park in beautiful Bristol, RI and the Crane Estates in Ipswich, MA that rent out their mansions. There's also a place in CT that has a mansion to rent for functions.

A former co-worker had their wedding ceremony in a church near a beach. After the ceremony, they all changed into casual clothes and had a lobsterbake right on the beach. It was a budget production.

[leorah]

Independence Harbor in Assonet, MA is near Assonet Bay. It has beautiful grounds and a nice facility for inclement weather.

I concur with the suggestion for Colt Park in Bristol.

If you want something picturesque and different, check out the Seaman's Bethel in New Bedford. It's very historic (part of Moby Dick was filmed there--Gregory Peck was filmed in the boat-shaped pulpit.) My husband and I were married there.

Here's a Webshots file with some photos.

[1sweetp]

Hi - We had our reception at Castle Hill in Ipswich on a part of the lawn that looks over the ocean - Steep Hill Beach. We had it catered by Woodmans - who did a clam bake. Here is pic. About Steep Hill Beach - Steep Hill Beach at Castle Hill

Congratulations!

[scarletfire]

A lot of the rental places that are oceanside are extremely pricey and if you have a company bring everything in to do food by the ocean that can also be quite costly. I think Hammond Castle in Gloucester does rentals & might be more reasonable than the oceanside Cape places. Or a better thought might be to have the ceremony oceanside and then a reception right nearby.

[Bella Star14]

WoW! Great input everyone!!! Thank you so very much! I wasn't sure if I'd get any responses, and now I have a bunch of goodies to look into!
I REALLY LIKE the butterfly idea.. sounds magical!
We are actually thinking about the Independence Harbor, but they require a min. of 200 people.. and we were hoping on having one about 1/2 that size..
Steep Hill looks fantastic too!!! Much more our style, we'd like to skip the whole ball room thing!
I get a little stage fright on the spot! lol..
Seems like EVERYTHING is pricey I've been looking up.. $100/ a plate just seems absurd!!!
So thanks again, and I'll look into all your suggestions!

[miu]

On the food part, you could find a small caterer that might price the food by the amount made and less about it being per person. I had friends that had the wedding dinner renting a small restaurant by a lake in MA. Then the caterer roasted a couple of turkeys with the appropriate sides, and the food was served buffet style. Otherwise, the best wedding I've been to was at a tiny Unitarian church in Groton, MA (First Parish Church of Groton). It was a small intimate ceremony. The couple had an adopted child from Guatemala. So after the ceremony, we all walked over to the small meeting house on the side of the church. The food was buffet style and the theme was Guatemalan food. There was a small dance floor and a DJ. I am guessing that there were 80 guests. I don't think that it was a very expensive event. But I loved the simplicity and integrity of the whole event. I can't remember if there was alcohol available. And no fancy wedding cake either. If you order a wedding cake, get a small one for show and supplement with other desserts. I think wedding cake pricing is a racket with them charging per person.

[lisaarnoldphoto]

I just went to a wedding in Wilmington North Carolina. It's close to the airport, close to the beach, has a great downtown, from what I hear a wonderful botanical garden and...it just so happens, I know a photographer who could work with you there.

[RLCMA]

Believe it or not, Nantucket is either the most popular outdoor wedding venue in the US or one of the top ones. It is a great place for weddings. Another great choice is Newport, RI outside of one of the mansions. I would take Nantucket though. I've seen where they hold outdoor weddings and it's beautiful.