Onions, Hounds and Countrymen:
19 years ago, my food-loving spouse and I tied the knot. Our wedding was a homegrown affair in the dining hall and courtyard of the Episcopal Divinity School outside Harvard Square, catered by a long-gone outfit, with iPod handling courtesy of my brother. (He only played the wrong song for our first dance once.) We put overflowing goblets of grapes on the tables as centerpieces, I bought my dress from ebay, and we had a blast. Fast forward to today, and we have decided to throw a giant party one year from now, and invite all of our favorite people and everyone who came to our wedding, which was one of the most marvelous, fun-filled days of my life.
This time around, we’d like to have live music, what with iPods having gone out of style and the aforementioned first dance debacle. I would guess about 150 guests, and my very preliminary vision of this would involve lots of appetizers, a bar, and no seated meal but at least a few tables scattered around. Somewhere in Somerville or Cambridge would be ideal, but that could be slightly flexible if Arlington or Medford has the perfect spot. I wouldn’t pick downtown. We could rent part or all of a restaurant, or use a function space and a caterer. Some outdoor space would be nice, but I was a nervous wreck about rain the first time around, so there has to be an indoors. I have no budget created yet.
Tell me your thoughts!
This sounds fabulous (and the original sounds pretty great, too). An early congrats!
I attended a wedding once at Oleana @Madrid, and it was pretty sedate (ie, boring), but that could’ve been specific to the couple—there was no music, live or otherwise, which is a no-no for me.
Personally, I’d do something like Kowloon, but I’m cheesy like that. I’ll try to think of non-cheesy places. Does it have to be T-accessible? Is there a particular restaurant that is near-and-dear to your and Mr. Parsnipity’s hearts?
ETA: We once went to a kids Halloween event at Waterworks Museum but it’s way out in Newton. The space is very cool, though, in a steampunk kinda way….Pardon my stream-of-consciousness thinking. Just trying to get my creative juices going.
ETA: The MIT Museum is cool, too, and they do after-hours events so they may be well-equipped for large parties.
I don’t know why I’m thinking about museum spaces right now. Maybe because 150 people sounds so large to me! I’m pretty sure between the 2 of us, B and I don’t know 150 people that we like enough to invite to a personal event. Hopefully you can find a space that won’t require a second mortgage.
2 Likes
BarneyGrubble
(Fan of Beethoven and Latina singers)
4
FYI I once went to a wedding reception at a restaurant where the guests took up the whole restaurant, but the owner decided to serve other customers before, and when we got there they were still eating, and it was mass confusion as nothing was set up. So, I don’t think renting part of a restaurant is a good idea. Just my 2 cents.
I love the deCordova and from their website, looks like they do private events. And there would be parking! You could enjoy the outside if the weather is good, and have the inside if needed.
I love the deCordova too- it is probably a bit more swanky than we were aiming but I will check.
I’m contacting the Armory- right in our neighborhood, so that’s a plus. They have either the mezzanine for 100 guests or the main space which is up to 350. I think I’ll need to be a bit further along in planning to pick one of those numbers. Maybe I’m kidding myself that we know 150 people?
For a restaurant, I would definitely be thinking a private space within the restaurant- not mixing it up with regular diners! For example, I know Gustazo used to have functions on their lower level and would close that entire floor. We don’t have a particular restaurant that is a favorite as we tend to always be trying new places.
I’m guessing if you did the Armory, you’d have the parking lot in back, too, which could be important.
This sounds like a very fun event to plan and enjoy!
I am suddenly remembering LaBrasa, which is down the street on Broadway from where I live in East Somerville. It’s a beautiful space and they’ve had a lot of weddings and events there, as we realized when went past at Carnaval, seeing beautiful plating and set up through the windows.
Recommend you start with the budget. A dear friend got sticker shock from venue pricing a couple of years ago. Also many venues insist on their own caterer or one they are partnered with (eg Harvard museums).
They ended up at the Museum of Science (outdoor with tents), which was wonderful and included museum admission for anyone who wanted to explore. Was a lot of fun, as it’s not often that people without kids choose to go there on their own.
Without regard for cost, any of the Harvard or MIT museums (which will give you floor access for an additional charge) or any other area museums, the Faculty Club, Harvard Club of Boston, the Boston public library (the courtyard tea room is catered by the same company that does Harvard venues), and so on. Many of these have affiliate pricing if you know someone.
Further out, I adore Hammond Castle I. Gloucester.
Wow, Hammond Castle! I’ve been there several times with separate groups of kids, including once with my own at a holiday event there. How atmospheric!
I went to a fabulous event at the Arlington Public Library (Arlington Center) years ago. It’s a truly beautiful space and they did a great job. No idea who catered or what the deal is, just remember how great it was. Love the sound of your wedding!!!
The Norton Woods conference center of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (136 Irving Street, Cambridge but it’s essentially on the Cambridge/Somerville border. The vehicle entrance is from Beacon Street) is available for private events. Lovely building. They have an in-house caterer, and my recollection is the food (passed apps at a reception I attended in the spring) is pretty good.
A couple of decades ago or more, the university program I worked for sponsored two conferences there that I organized. It was then a lovely setting (still is at least outside, I see the campus when I go to the nearby Wine and Cheese Cask) inside and out, the staff was really easy to work with, the food was good. Long ago from my personal experience.
Agree about possible stress with hiring a restaurant. My friend’s husband, who is a high-flying lawyer, organised a 50th birthday dinner at a very upscale London restaurant. He had multiple meetings to ensure arrangements were just so, as he had very important business contacts attending. On the day, the restaurant was not ready to receive guests at the agreed time and guests ended up waiting for over 20 minutes with restaurant staff totally clueless. My friend’s husband was not happy at all.
You’re absolutely right. I will need a budget! It’s not that straightforward because it sort of becomes a question of how much do we want to spend? Obviously none of this is necessary, but we were both inspired by an interview recently with the guy who wrote “Die with Zero” and who talked about what is money worth if you don’t use it to create memories with friends and loved ones? While I didn’t actually like the person, who made oodles of money as a hedge fund manager, his argument that
we need to optimize our life to have memorable experiences before it’s too late and that most people are over-saving and under-living
spoke to us, and we looked at each other after listening to the interview and said “Big party next year??”
So I thought I’d gather a range of options, price out what they would cost, then work backwards from there.
We do not have oodles of money, so the higher end venues will be a no, and having guests wait a few minutes or the potential of some minor missteps on the part of a restaurant does not worry me. After all, we had the wrong first dance song played at our wedding, a keg we didn’t know about in advance, and several guests who we weren’t expecting. We’d roll with it.
Ooh, I LOVE the Robbins Library. Their website also helpfully lists rental for $350/hr x 4 hour minimum so it’s easy to think about cost. Maximum of 90 people. Will definitely look into this further!
3 Likes
BarneyGrubble
(Fan of Beethoven and Latina singers)
17
Just as bad are the people who don’t bother to respond to the RSVP, lead you to believe they’re coming, and then don’t show up. When you’re paying the caterer by the number you give them before the event, those no-shows cost you.
I’ve been to a great event at Commonwealth in Kendall Square (behind where Shybird is now) and, when I couldn’t remember the name to report here, I went to Google maps, which shows me that there is now a stunning looking restaurant called Glass House near that same spot (in the same spot??). A quick perusal of the Glass House site shows that they do events and the pix are lovely - maybe worth a shot?
Live music! Years ago, we hired a music school student to play at our small wedding. I have no idea what rates are like these days but would check out Berklee School of Music to see if they might connect you with someone.
Two of the most fun wedding celebrations we have attended over the years were catered by Woodmans. Think clambake kind of fare. They do travel to off-site venues so you would not be limited to Essex. I still wish that I had known this was an option back in the day.
Glass House is not in the same spot as Commonwealth. Commonwealth unfortunately closed sometime ago (and would have been a nice location and restaurant) but Glass House is a lousy restaurant with horrible food.
One restaurant relatively close by where we had several company related buy-outs with very good (finger) food etc is Catalyst
