City or Country
Treeside
City: Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden
Astoria
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(Photo: Matt Hageman) |
Built in the early 1900s by the Bohemian Citizens’ Benevolent Society of Astoria, the Bohemian Hall now hosts lively weddings in its gravel-lined beer garden, where rows of picnic tables are interspersed with tall linden trees strung with lights. A reception for 100 or more can be accommodated in the garden, where guests can gorge themselves on Bohemian’s Czech specialties including beef goulash washed down with mugs of Straropramen’s pale lager. Additional space is available for those looking to have a dance party shaded beneath the leaves of the sweet-smelling lime trees.
Price upon request. 29-19 24th Ave.; 718-274-4925; bohemianhall.com.
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(Photo: Casey Sciesczka) |
Country: Spruceton Inn
West Kill, New York
Opened last year, Spruceton Inn was a Dutch farm in the early 1800s, then a Schwarzenegger-run hotel. There are fields of wild thyme for parties, and the moss-covered pine forest can also work for a woodsier wedding. Events in Spruceton’s meadows and by the �goatzebo� (a goat pen turned gazebo) are currently capped at 120 people, but next year, the inn’s Dutch post-and-beam barn will be converted into a larger event space. Next-door neighbor Nina’s Home Cooking can drive a yellow food truck over and serve cuisine on-site.
From $3,000. Spruceton’s nine rooms must all be rented for events. 2080 Spruceton Rd., West Kill, N.Y.; 518-989-6404; sprucetoninn.com.
In a Garden
City: Montemarte
Chelsea
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(Photo: Henry Hargeaves) |
Head to the back of Gabriel Stulman’s two-year-old French bistro to find a courtyard garden filled with mint and tarragon plants culled from Brooklyn Grange. Here, ivy creeps along the patio walls, ferns and radishes hang from baskets, and basil grows in tin pails lit by copper hanging lamps and strung patio lights�perfect for couples seeking a secret garden in the city. The garden alone can seat 40 guests, but a full restaurant and garden rental will buy you room for 70. Canapés and a three-course dinner (steak-frites and brook trout) come with the obligatory open bar, and true green-thumbs may hold a gardenside ceremony, surrounded by white candles and the smell of fresh herbs.
Event buyouts start at $8,000. 158 Eighth Ave., at 18th St.; 646-596-8838; montmartrenyc.com.
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(Photo: Marie Labbancz) |
Country: Morven Museum & Garden
Princeton, New Jersey
A national landmark that dates back to the 1750s, Morven’s grand Colonial mansion and five acres of lawns and gardens were restored about a decade ago. After a gardenside ceremony�surrounded by irises and peonies, cornflowers, and climbing roses�a reception can be arranged for 100 guests in the garden on open-air tables beneath three Norway spruce trees or for 300 on the Great Lawn under a large white tent, with room for dinner and dancing. Couples can use any outside caterers, and as for photos, all of Morven’s grounds�from the ivory manse to the horse-chestnut walk�are fair game.
Note: Morven will temporarily stop booking weddings during 2016 while the property completes further renovations. Rental fees from $7,000. 55 Stockton St., Princeton, N.J.; 609-924-8144, ext. 103; morven.org.
As Seen on VRBO
City: Former Synagogue
East Village
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(Photo: Vladimir Luzader) |
In 2005, this old tenement shul received a gut renovation and became a three-bedroom, yellow-brick townhouse with Wenge-wood paneling and an Italian-marble fireplace in the library, where the owner spends roughly half the year. The building’s religious roots (22-foot cathedral ceilings) lend a hallowed air to the small, family-oriented affairs for some 40 guests that are permitted here. Climb the glass staircase to the fifth-floor garden terrace and exchange vows amid lavender and pink trellis roses. A second terrace on the dining level is preset for candlelit dinners, while a third terrace off the master bedroom has an outdoor hot tub on deck. A library with a fireplace and wet bar ensures that guests stay occupied, and a live-in caretaker and housekeeper are available to assist throughout your stay.
Weddings from $10,000. 317 E. 8th St., at Ave. B; vrbo.com.
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(Photo: Courtesy of Green Door Magazine) |
Country: Cooper's Farmhouse
Shohola, Pennsylvania
In a sun-drenched clearing surrounded by pine trees, proprietor Cooper Boone has lovingly restored an 1866 farmhouse with a wraparound porch. His style is eclectic, ranging from vintage (bowling pins as centerpieces) to Scandinavian (the black bedside fireplace), and the setting feels much like a World of Interiors spread. Cooper’s sleeps 12 lucky guests, who can kick back on porch rocking chairs or explore the nearby Delaware River. Across the yard, an old-fashioned red barn can hold wedding parties for 50 during the warmer months. Beneath a 1940s crib turned chandelier, a king’s table seats 26 for dinner, and a wraparound lounge can hold another 24; several vintage apothecary stools line the wooden bar as well. Best of all, the barn’s sliding doors open up to sunset views of the fields and forests.
The house must be rented for a minimum of four days at $4,000, plus fees; barn rental is an additional $3,000. Lackawaxen Rd., Shohola, Pa.; vrbo.com.