Cape Cod Wedding Venue: Highfield Hall

Highfield Hall amazes me every time I go. Built in 1878 as the summer home of the prominent Beebe family, the Queen Anne stick-style mansion is nestled high in the woods of Falmouth. The Beebes used the home until the early 1930s, after which it changed hands a number of time, serving as a hotel and theater before eventually falling into neglect. In 1994 a local committee raised nearly $8 million to save and renovate the building, which reopened in 2007.

It has every modern amenity but the meticulous renovation maintains the building's historic character and architectural details. If the story of the building and its glorious return from despair doesn't intrigue you, maybe its covered porches, giant fireplaces and a swoon-worthy grand staircase will: 

{ via Hemlines & Heels ... Check out the blue petticoat, too! }

{ Tim Cook via www.highfieldhall.org }

 

 { The Casual Gourmet }

Let's do a Great Gatsby style wedding here, with croquet out on the lawn during the cocktail hour.  Or a warm & cozy winter wedding inside the mansion.

Cape Cod Wedding Venue: Bourne Farm

There is something almost poetic about a fall wedding held at a farm.  Rustic barns... fresh-from-the-harvest-foods... crimson-colored leaves... full moons...cool nights... warmth of love...

I could write a little Ode to Bourne Farm and its utter perfection as a fall (or spring or summer) wedding venue, but I'll spare you the iambic pentameter. 

Bourne Farm, in West Falmouth, is part of the Salt Pond Areas Bird Sanctuaries. It's a working farm (they grow pumpkins!) overlooking a kettle pond, with a big ol' barn, rolling fields cris-crossed with stone falls and a grape-vine covered pergola. It's charming. It's classic New England. It's picturesque.

Some pictures to prove it:
 

{ Reception in the fields underneath a big white American Tent }

 

{ In the Barn overlooking the fields }

{ Under the grape arbor }

{ By the Pond }

{ Rolling fields }

Want to know more? Email us!

Cape Cod Wedding Venue: Ballymeade

For whatever reason, my travels across the Cape have never taken me to Ballymeade Country Club. I think I've seen almost every place there is to hold a wedding on Cape Cod, except this one. I think it's high time I went.

At the Rentals Unlimited showroom opening event this past Thursday I met Christine Antoine,  the event planner at Ballymeade. She was just delightful and her enthusiasm is infectious.

Located in Falmouth, Ballymeade is a semi-private championship golf course with a full-service clubhouse that underwent recent renovations. The function rooms look beautiful, most especially the grand ballroom that opens up to a veranda with panoramic views of the golf course and Buzzards Bay. 

 { image courtesy of Ballymeade }

I particularly love that instead of exclusively offering  in-house food service, Ballymeade instead lets clients hire their caterer from a list of approved vendors. Each couple has the flexibility of hiring a caterer who best meets their individual tastes and budget.  It is rare to find this best-of-both-worlds scenario: a country club setting with the advantages of off-premise catering.

I'm excited to see Ballymeade in the next few week. What other venues do you recommend?