When I went to visit with my fiance we went on a cold and wet December day. On the drive up to the mansion you pass through an attended guard gate and up to the house. The drive up to the great house is very nice, you wind your way up a hill with increasingly better views. On our way was saw three deer just off the side of the road which really set a far away feel to the estate. The parking lot at the top of the hill is next to the estate and could easily fit 150 cars. The most striking thing to me about the Great House is the stone architecture of the building and the grandiosity of house. It just makes you feel instantly elegant and brings you back to a different time. We met with Kellie Keefe for our appointment and she took us inside to show us around. The house is very original so the inside is old and original. The grounds are amazing any my favorite thing about the venue. Overall, I liked it but didn't love the inside as much as I did the outside and ultimately the inside is where we would be spending a majority of our time. The price also lowered it on our list.
| Information | Comments | ||||||||
| The Venue: The Great House at Crane Estate | One of my favorites! | ||||||||
| Location: Ipswich, MA | It is set away from the main road and very near the ocean. | ||||||||
| Ceremony Onsite: Yes, indoors or outdoors. | Indoor ceremonies are really only for rain backup. | ||||||||
| Capacity: 200+ for a tent, 200 seated inside spread out over three separated rooms. | Our part of 100 would have fit in the Gallery but I personally don't like the idea of breaking up into different rooms for dinner. Aunt Sally is going to wonder why she is in the back room and can't hear or see anything. | ||||||||
| Bridal/Groom Rooms? Yes. | There is a space for the bride and groom to get ready onsite. The men's room is downstairs and has a private bathroom. The bridal suite is upstairs and had a private bathroom. | ||||||||
| Function Rental Fee (Prime season May-Oct): Saturday - $8,300 Sunday and Monday of Holiday - $7,500, Friday - $6,300, Weeknight - $4,600 | This includes a 5 hour rental starting at 5 pm on Mon-Sat because the it is open to the public during the day. Sunday you can pick any time frame. The prices go down by about $2,000 for April and Nov. | ||||||||
| Overtime Fee: $1,500/hour | All events must end by 10 pm unless you by extra time then they have to end by 11 pm. | ||||||||
| Ceremony Fee: $500 | This is pretty standard. | ||||||||
| Catering: Must use exclusive vendor | There is a range in per person price for the 9 exclusive caterers. I'd say anywhere from $80-$150/pp. | ||||||||
| Alcohol: Provided by Crane Estate, paid by consumption. | You can have any type of bar service you want but it has to be provided by the Crane Estate. They charge you on a consumption basis even for open bar. You pay a deposit of $30 pp but you ultimately end up paying per bottle of opened beer, wine, liquor and soda. They charge $120/liter of alcohol, set wine bottle prices and $5.50/beer. I thought this was a little expensive but some of the nicer places do it this way. | ||||||||
| Bar Fee: Depends on how many people. Up to 250 people = $750. 100 people = $325. | A lot of places have bar fees, and this is pretty average. Instead of charging you per bartender for so many hours it is a flat rate. | ||||||||
| Extra Fees: No extra admin or sales tax fee. | Nice, but they more than make up for the typical 20% admin fee. | ||||||||
| Accomodations: The Inn at Castle Hill can sleep ~20 people. A two night stay is required. | It costs $3,500 to rent out the entire inn/night or prices/room vary from $195-$495/ night. Also subject to 9.7% room tax and 7.5& admin fee. |
I haven't figured out how to upload pdf's to the blog yet so if you want any of the documents just leave a comment and will get them to you. You can also get them by e-mailing Kellie Keefe at kkeefe
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