I am rarely left speechless. Early this week I found myself without words, eyes pooling and frankly in shock. The mass destruction surrounding the effects of rain Irene dumped into our waters is unfathomable. The roads in central Vermont I drive on to visit venues or when traveling for events are just gone. The people and places I love so much are in need of help and I cannot do anything to assist them – I cannot even get to them if I tried.
After the shock, the planner in my brain switched on. What do we do in emergencies… think clearly, form a plan and put it into action. And that is exactly what most of us are doing right now – acting on plans. Rebuilding and focusing on the future. Accidents, catastrophes and random acts of fate happen everyday – people survive and weddings WILL survive. Most importantly weddings in Vermont will survive, grow and be better than before! We encourage couples seeking Vermont Destination Weddings to still come and enjoy all we have to offer… we are an incredible state with amazing talents and we all pull together to make magical events happen.
But for now, there are couples displaced due to flooding and weddings have been cancelled or postponed. There is not much we can do, but we can certainly help. If you’re wedding venue has suffered severe damage or roads to the ceremony or reception site are closed, we suggest the following:
- IF the venue is capable of postponing the wedding and you okay with this, family and friends will certainly understand and you have another year to plan! If you must get married, have a small, intimate civil service with family and close friends and have the big party at your original venue in 2012.
-IF the venue is cancelling your wedding, find out if there is another site their kitchen staff and catering staff can work at. This way it might not be the exact venue you wanted, but you would have the same service, food and beverage you were planning on.
- IF your venue is closing all together and there are no options for you to postpone, or you do not want to, we are starting to compile a list of venues that are available, their open dates and contact information. These venues are more than willing to jump in and host a spectacular day.
*Please note Northern Vermont did not suffer much -if at all road damage and all wedding venues are operational.
Here is the list to start, we hope to add to this as we move along and hear about availability from venues. (Forgive the formatting – we just want to get the list started and out.)
- Cambridge, VT – Boyden Barn -contact: Lauri Boyden at www.boydenfarm.com
Open dates: 9/18,9/25,10/14,10/15,10/16,10/23,10/28,10/2910/30 then we close for the season. Please note you are welcome to bring your own caterer and bar service in this venue.
- Jay Peak , VT – Jay Peak Resort Contact Rob Hodgkins – rhodgkins@jaypeakresort.com
We have ceremony space near our trout pond and at the summit of the mountain (Elevation 4,000), along with reception space in our event tent which hosts 150, the International Restaurant space, which hosts up to 250 people and small wedding can be hosted in Alice’s Table. Many dates open and available.
– Stowe, VT - Green Mountain Inn - Contact Barrett Shaffer, 802-253-4400 ext. 606
This quaint inn is located right in the center of Vermont. Their capacity is 120 guests. Dates available are as follows:
September 5 – 15, September 17-30, October 2-6, October 9-31st. The following dates are available during the day only: September 16, October 7, October 8th.
Stowe, VT – Micheal’s on the Hill contact Laura at 802.244.7476
The barn dining room at this fabulous restaurant can seat up to 64 guests for intimate weddings and rehearsal dinners. Many dates available!!
Essex, VT - Essex Resort and Spa (Vermont’s Culinary Resort) – contact Stacey Elwell
We had a chance to visit the Essex Resort a few weeks ago. And in addition to the fabulous food, staff and great amenities (think cooking classes, tennis, spa, ropes course!) they have several venues to accommodate weddings. The Essex Resort has also completed several renovations – which we love! The Essex Resort also recently acquired the Ponds in Bolton Valley. Contact Stacey at staceye@vtculinaryresort.com
Available dates here are as follows: September 11, 16, 18, 23 October 7, 8, 9, 14, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30th.
Stowe, VT – Top Notch Resort and Spa
Topnotch Resort and Spa has venues and rooming available every weekend for the months of September and October for up to 200 people. Maxwell’s, an indoor venue can hold up to 80 people, our ballroom can comfortably seat 170 people, and our Mountain View Pavilion (tent) holds up to 200 people. We have areas on-site to hold ceremonies with weather back-ups available as well. For questions or more information, contact ShawnnaLea Zemanek at slzemanek@topnotchresort.com or (802) 233-6510 (cell) or (802) 253-6487 (office).
Please see the Vermont Wedding Parlor blog for additional venues. We are updating that site more frequently than this one. www.vermontweddingparlor.com.
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Additionally, Lasso’d Moon has graciously offered templates for venue change “postcards”. You can download them here http://www.lassodmoondesigns.com/postcardirene.pdf and http://www.lassodmoondesigns.com/postcardireneback.pdf
We hope to learn of more venues and will post as we can!
All our best, Carrie and Eric Lane { Storied Events }
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However, with the endless support of my amazing mother, words of wisdom and laughter from a few fantastic friends, the occasional reality check from my soon-to-be husband, and lots and lots of wine, we made it. And it was amazing.
4. Include as much information about your destination as possible. In addition to the date and place, be sure to note room blocks, airlines that service your destination and any other pertinent details that will make your guests experience easier. It will also save you from a ton of emails and phone calls. By simply including your wedding website address, you can direct guests to all the information you need. Just be sure it is kept up to date.
