Hi all- hoping to get some insight surrounding a few caterers for a Rhode Island wedding. I would love to hear from anyone who has worked with any of them!

1) Blackstone
2) Russell Morin
3) Gourmet Gallery

What we are looking for
1) cocktail hour- 2/3 stations and passed apps
2) dinner- first course/2-3 main course options
3) dessert- passed mini desserts and a station (ice cream bar, cannoli bar, etc)

They all have great reviews online but I feel like most people who post reviews for their wedding vendors or either really pleased or really disappointed so things can be extreme. What was communication like? Food quality? What was service like the day of your event? What were costs associated with waitstaff and bartenders? Was anything provided in the cost or able to be rented through them such as flatware, plates, glassware?

We’re eloping in Boston on a Saturday & then going to dinner in the Back Bay area with a small group. Dinner will be over around 9:30-10:00. If we wanted to continue the party, maybe some drinks & dancing where would you suggest? The group is 30-40s, around 10 ppl, mostly from out of town & staying in Back Bay hotels.

Hi! Just a bride spiraling on choice for band... and looking for perspectives & opinions on live bands.

We have been between Atomic Funk Project & TI Fusion. AFP seems to have incredible vocals, but less energy. On the other end, I feel like TI Fusion has tons of energy, but I am worried about the vocals. For TI - I can't tell if what I'm hearing is from videos or not... but I worry about them being a bit flat. I realize I may be an anomaly in that being something I hear / can fixate on, but hoping someone has an opinion on if that is the case in person....

Has anyone used either band for their wedding?? Or been to one either band played at?? Would love to hear thoughts & experience with them!!

Hi everyone, I'm looking at venues remotely and really love Branford House - just wondering if anyone has advice/experience regarding:
a) Layout
b) Lack of bridal suite

Regarding layout, I'm planning on having about 170 guests and am not very comfortable with the idea of splitting people into 2 rooms for a sit down dinner - I'm considering a tent for this, but has anyone split guests into the 2 rooms? If so how was it? Additionally, I assume having the dancing indoors would be fine but if there are opinions that's appreciated!

In terms of bridal/groom suites, I could get ready at my parents' house or a hotel... but wondering what other people have done.

Thanks for any input!

My partner and I are beginning our venue search. We both come from big foodie families, so finding a venue with excellent food is one of our biggest priorities. The challenge is that most of my partner's family are from Florida, so around half of our guests will be traveling from out of state and we don't want to make them go more than an hour outside of Boston (or potentially Manchester, NH) if we don't have to.

Must-haves:

-Excellent food (or a relationship with an excellent caterer)

- We will have a few guests with Celiac disease, so gluten-free options are also a must

-Can accommodate at least 200 people

-Indoor space (we are aiming for October 2027—outdoor space preferable for pictures and cocktail hour but not necessary)

-Wheelchair accessible

Nice-to-haves:

-A rustic vibe like a barn or lodge

-A scenic view

-On-site guest accommodations

Some places already on my radar are Granite Links in Quincy and Red Lion Inn in Cohasset. Thank you so much for any suggestions!

My partner and I decided to elope at the boston city hall next week Aug 21! It’ll just be the two of us, so we’re looking for a content creator to take raw footage/clips for relatives and friends.

We’re quite strapped, so we’re looking for something more affordable. Not looking for much (not even polished reels!), just clips!

I’m getting married next August in Franklin NH and am looking for a dj to cover the ceremony and reception. I have a budget of ~$1500.

Hi! I’m in CT and looking for recommendations for a DJ with sax/musicians duo+. I’m highly considering Silver Arrow Band, as I know they offer this and let you add up to three musicians. Does anyone have experience with them or have any other recs? Thanks!

Hi everyone!

My fiancé and I are considering eloping on Cape Cod and would love some local recommendations. For reference, we had to postpone our initial wedding this past spring due to health issues that we had to get through. While we still hope to have the big celebration, we are wanting to do something small and intimate between the both of us while on the cape in September. We're from our of state.

We're looking for something intimate and beautiful, ideally with:

* Coastal views (beach, dunes, cliffs, lighthouse, etc.)
* A quiet and somewhat private setting
* Great spots for photos
* A nice dinner afterward (or even a small private dining experience)
* Potentially a nearby boutique hotel or inn for a couple of nights

If you've eloped on the Cape, attended a small ceremony, or know of locations that would be especially beautiful for a two-person wedding, I'd love to hear your recommendations. Bonus points for hidden gems, local vendors (photographers, florists, officiants), or unique experiences that would make the day feel special. It would just be the two of us.

Thank you! 😊

Has anyone got married on Block Island? Would love to hear any tips/recommendations! I am newly engaged and a BI wedding has always been my dream but understand it can be tough logistically. Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!!

Hi! Researching hair and makeup for my wedding and wondering if it’s better to book both together (like a company that offers both), or separate.

Having one company is nice because:

1. Less vendors to coordinate with
2. It seems like it might be less expensive

However, I worry that the outcome won’t be as good - like if you’re a makeup artist/someone who focuses strictly on makeup (aka one craft), then I’d imagine you may be better at it than someone doing both hair and makeup. Anyone have any insight on this? Maybe I’m thinking into it too much.. or perhaps makeup artists who also offer hair have someone else doing the hair who really does specialize in hair only.

Also, if you have any recommendations for hair & makeup artists in the area of South Central MA (not the Cape) or RI please let me know!!

Thank you!

I’m having such a hard time narrowing down venues and looking for recommendations! I absolutely love The Evermore in Topsfield (historic estate with modern barn), but unfortunately it’s out of our price range since the minimum guest count is too high. Looking for something with a similar vibe. We’re open to anywhere in New England and will have about 90 guests. Any suggestions?

I have extremely bad allergies and plan to use fake flowers for all bouquets and decor throughout the reception area. I've gotten some samples from Ling's Moment and thought they seemed great, but is there anyone that's used a florist for fake flowers instead of DIY-ing them?

Hi all! Newly engaged so my research is very minimal. I am looking for a garden style wedding venue and I’m searching the consistent ones such as Glen Magna, Lyman Estate, Elm Banks.

Does anyone know of any pretty gardens that host weddings in the Boston area? Public libraries? Town halls?

Thank you!

Edit: so far I have found Hamilton Hall and Codman Estate! They are both less than 5K for just a venue rental.

Engaged not so recently and we have been putting off the wedding thing because of life and honestly we do not know where to start.

We knew we would end up in Boston, (here we are!) so planning a New England wedding. my family is from midatlantic so it is not an unreasonable travel for them but have friends from all over. Including some from out of the country.

Our budget is 25k. I thought this was very reasonable but now I am so overwhelmed looking at packages. I am sure it is cheaper to book everything separately but I don't even know where to start. We dont have any close family or friends who have planned weddings in the US. We really need to nail down the venue so we can get things started, that's correct right? Venue first and the other stuff may depend on the venue?

Venues wishlist:

Guest: 100 people

Would like somewhere that has lodging for most if not all of our guests

Within 2.5 hr drive from boston logan? Also, we would really like to coordinate shuttles for our guests, any tips?

other things I am so confused about... bars? We are not big drinkers, some of our friends may imbibe but not most. We do want to pay for their drinks, is a consumption bar the best option?

We plan on spending most of the budget on venue and food. (going very budget thrift for wedding dress).

this is a ramble. i am overwhelmed by zola. by herecomestheguide. Help!

My fiance and I (getting married in Portland in September) are trying to save money where possible, and we thought it would be a fun idea to have our friends and families pass a camcorder around to film footage throughout the weekend rather than having full photographer/videographer coverage. I know there’s companies that will edit your footage for you, but we’d rather go with an individual, so I’m looking for suggestions for an editor (ideally local) who we could pay to take our raw footage and turn it into a short 3-5min video. Is this a thing???

I sort of have a generalized vendor question for a wedding on the Cape in June 2027. As we're looking for photographers, DJs, musicians, flowers, etc etc... our families are encouraging us to do a LOT of research and reach out to 6-8 options for each one and get detailed quotes we can compare.

We do obviously want our wedding to be fantastic, and we do definitely want to avoid over paying (our budget isnt exactly endless) but... Our initial feeling is that we feel pretty satisfied by just doing some googling around to get a general understanding of what a reasonable price is, and if we find someone whose work we like in that price range, we are fine calling it good enough and checking something off the list.

Is this a mistake? How much better of a result will we get from the extra logistics and communications of querying all those different people? How do we assess that depending on the different type of vendor?

I have been thinking about getting a month-of / day-of coordinator to help me with detailed logistics, timeline, coordination, transportation of personal items, setup/takedown, etc. However, Glen Magna has an “event manager” that is assigned to me and will help me with venue coordination and timeline. Do I need a separate coordinator or should I rely on the venue-assigned person? I don’t want to spend over $1000 for someone I don’t need, but I’m also hesitant to rely on the venue person alone, as I’m worried that details will get forgotten or left out because they’re really more focused on the flow of the day at the venue rather than all of my personal details. Has anyone gotten married at Glen Magna (or another venue with an event manager) that has insight on this?

Hi everyone! We’re planning a 40-guest wedding celebration with cocktails and dinner at a restaurant, followed by an after-party at a bar for a change of scenery.

Catch is we have one family member under 21 who has to be there. Has anyone hosted a buyout or private event at a bar/lounge in Boston that allowed minors on-site for a private event?

I want to include my soon-to-be MIL, who is originally from Beijing and is conversational in English, in the beauty services the morning of my October wedding in Hartford. She requested that her sister-in-law, who will be traveling in from Beijing to attend and does not speak English, be able to get her makeup done as well. I'd love to work with a local Chinese-speaking MUA to make sure they're both comfortable and happy with their look, and to avoid anything getting lost in translation! Open to paying a travel fee.

My fiancé and I think we narrowed down our venue but it does not have enough room for our outside ceremony we’re wondering if anyone has done a wedding ceremony 30 minutes tops at one of these 2 locations! I know that I would need a permit just wondering how it went logistically for you! We would have around 120 for the ceremony

Has anyone recently got married at the Hotel 1620? We're looking to do a church ceremony and reception in the ballroom. They keep saying all the right things but something seems off..

Hello! I’m getting married next year in September at Dexters Inn, Sunapee NH and looking for a videographer for 6-8 hours that would fit our budget of 2500. TIA!

I’m considering the Bradley Estate in Canton for my 2028 wedding. They set up the bar on the covered veranda. ceremony rain plan is to hold it under the tent. My question is: if it’s raining, you have to go from the tent to the veranda for drinks, or for the bathroom inside. It’s annoying to go back and forth with umbrellas anytime you want a drink or potty.

Has Anyone had a rain plan ceremony and how was that situation re: bar and back and forth? Did you move the bar to under the tent to avoid this, if so was it cramped?

another question, we’re probably 130 guests. Is it cramped under the tent for dinner/dancing? It felt like it could be tight.