Dexter's Inn

ff are absolutely incredible. They made our wedding vision come to life and supported us through every step with great communication and planning - so much so that we were able to truly enjoy the weekend when it arrived - as if we were guests at our own party. Dexter's Inn is a magical place to get married. You can have 50+ of your closest people stay on site and you get the grounds for the entire weekend. It felt like our own private wedding camp, with delicious breakfasts each morning, tons of lawn games/hikes/tennis/swimming, an epic game room, and gorgeous nature. The innkeepers are so accommodating and helped us with extra set-up needs, use of the common inn spaces, and more. This wedding weekend was beyond our wildest dreams and we are forever grateful to this extraordinary team!! THANK YOU!

ere our guests could hang out with us and with one another. Dexter’s quickly stood out as that venue. Here are some of the reasons: The Full Property is Yours - When you book Dexter’s Inn, you get full access to all the rooms at the Inn (for your family and prized guests) as well as the property (lawn, pool, tennis courts, game room, etc.) and we made full use of that. This enabled us to do an event on Friday as well as the wedding Saturday. It also meant that all our closest friends and family were on-site to hang out those days and nights. We hosted a large (120 people) outdoor event the Friday before our wedding with a BBQ that night. We played music, played lawn games (many of which Dexter’s provided) and enjoyed our guests for the day. In the morning of our wedding after breakfast (which is delicious every morning), we played pickleball, basketball and lawn games with on-site guests before getting ready for the wedding. And lastly, we loved the game room. It was a great place to chill at night and to have the after party! Dexter’s Staff - The staff at Dexter’s were tremendous. They went above and beyond helping us with setup, day of preparation, wedding tasks and cleanup. They were invaluable to everything running smoothly and were a joy to work with. Beautiful Scenery - With Mount Sunapee in the background, the surrounding woods and well manicured estate, there were picture opportunities galore. It provided tremendous photos for the wedding day as well as great photos for the day before. It also was unto itself without other homes or properties near to distract from activities. Make it Your Own - Unlike most venues we looked at, Dexter’s enabled us to bring in our own vendors, food, drink and other decorations. By buying our own snacks, drinks and alcohol we saved a lot of budget. There’s also a ton of storage on site for cakes, drinks, food and ice on-site while being 15 minutes from the supermarket and NH liquor store. While we used Rolf and his wife (Dexter’s preferred caterer) for appetizers and dinner we used outside vendors as bartenders, the band, photographer and our cake. It really provided great flexibility to make the day and experience our own. We really couldn’t have imagined a better wedding weekend with our guests and many said it was the most fun wedding they had been to! We are so lucky to have chosen Dexter’s for our special day. Definitely take a visit to see the venue!

t perfect. The management team there was so great throughout the planning process and were so helpful and hands on for the entirety of our time on site. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful venue or a more helpful and friendly staff! Thanks Dexters!

family could stay all together and we could really spend time with our guests in a relaxed and beautiful atmosphere. Dexter's Inn is exactly this. We then scheduled our wedding in June 2020 and when it became clear we would need to postpone due to COVID, Innkeeper John Augustine made it so easy for us to postpone and reschedule our wedding. Our wedding weekend in July 2021 was amazing. It rained most of the weekend and was cold for July but it didn't matter in the least, because our whole family and friends were together. The game room in the annex building gave the kids a place to hang out all day and the adults a place to hang out all night. The grounds were beautiful and the colors and wedding photos were gorgeous. The tent was spacious enough for all of our guests and everyone had so much fun. The day after the wedding we were able to use the grill and host a casual BBQ for our family and friends, and swim in the pool and play yard games. John really allowed us to use the facilities as if it was our home for the weekend and we very much appreciated this trust. His staff became like family as we got to know them well during our stay. We look forward to going back for yearly vacations with friends and family!

hey have ever attended which we owe to John and his crew at Dexter's Inn. We had our rehearsal dinner Friday, and many of our guests stayed at the inn so we were able to have s'mores and play lawn games and the kids could swim in the pool. Then Saturday was the big day and guests staying at the inn were occupied playing lawn games and swimming which the wedding party got ready. The view at the ceremony was breathtaking and having the barn with the game room for the after party is perfect! Our weekend was perfect and we can't wait to go back someday! John was also very flexible with having to postpone our wedding and took much of the stress of our decision away which I can't thank him enough for! Highly reccommend!

, with stone walls stretching out over many areas of the venue, a beautiful patio, high quality rooms, and a huge open-air tent for seating many guests. John, the innkeeper, is so kind, helpful, and communicative, and he went above and beyond to make sure everything worked out perfectly throughout the weekend. We were able to host all of our wedding party and family at the inn for the weekend, holding our rehearsal dinner on the patio and our wedding after party in Dexter's beautiful game room on campus. The inn provides a delicious hot breakfast to all guests each morning, and the venue and its sprawling grounds is basically yours during your stay. We could not have asked for a more perfect site for our wedding weekend and recommend it very highly!

ening - Dexter’s was the perfect place. We hosted Lawn Olympics for our friends, as well as rehearsal dinner on Friday; family and friends were then able to enjoy the property Saturday while we prepped for the wedding on-site. The outdoor ceremony site was stunning, overlooking the mountains and the tented reception (catered by on-site caterer, Rolf) was perfect. We were able to host a brunch the following morning as well. By having everything on-site, in one location, it was easy for us to maximize the time we spent with our friends and family, while being incredibly convenient for our guests. John was fantastic to work with - he is calm, professional and experienced in running events; he allows a lot of creative freedom with the space, while offering suggestions of what has worked/not worked in the past. John is available and responsive to questions throughout the planning process; on wedding day, he was helping run the show as the on-site coordinator, but you never would have known - he worked behind the scenes to make sure things ran seamlessly. We could not have imagined a better wedding weekend, and it was all built upon the foundation of our venue choice - we HIGHLY recommend Dexter’s for your wedding. So many of our guests still talk about our wedding as one of their favorite weddings ever, which I attribute to the quality time we were able to spend with everyone over the course of the weekend at Dexter’s.

sure everything ran smoothly all weekend long and without a hitch. I was never once stressed as he was able to coordinate everything and was easily accessible over the last year and a half of planning. The inn was comfortable, clean and offered lots of space to enjoy our family and friends who came from out of state and country. There was not a single downside to this venue - every one of our guests couldn’t believe the spot, it was beautiful and completely unique. It was the most amazing place to hold our wedding vision.

the start when booking all the way up to the day of. The property is beautiful and all of our guests loved the fact that we had a weekend wedding. They have 17 rooms onsite that are yours for your wedding weekend. We had all of our close family and friends stay there and those we could not fit there rented air bnb properties on the lake or stayed at other local hotels. They do catering as well and everyone raved about how good the food was. Dexter's Inn Chef, Rolfe, is very professional and accommodating. The game barn was a huge hit with our guests after the reception. Guests were asking us the next weekend if we could do it all over again. For anyone thinking about Dexter's, you will not regret it!

relaxed, beautiful wedding weekend with family and friends. Thank you Dexter's Inn!!

r guests to do, including swimming, tennis, shuffleboard, and several other lawn games. The food served was amazing. Rolf did a fantastic job for both the rehearsal and the reception. The spicy mac and cheese was amazing! John even helped us to arrange for babysitters to provide a kids’ reception for the many kids we had attending. The babysitters did a phenomenal job and had many activities for the kids. The tented reception was beautiful and the staff was great. If you are looking for beautiful setting for a New England wedding then Dexter’s is the place!

eliminary questions to narrow down our venue search. Since we were out of state, he worked with us to set up a site tour over Christmas week. Our wedding weekend at Dexter's Inn was wonderful. If you're looking for a beautiful venue that is effectively yours for the whole weekend, Dexter's would be a perfect fit. We were able to extend our reception time (in advance) for no charge; at every other venue we toured, they offered us a hard 5 hour time frame for cocktail hour and reception (5-10 or 6-11) with very few exceptions. At Dexter's we were able to make our own timeline, had full use of the property for the majority of the weekend, and had no restrictions for off-site vendors. John was great at greeting our vendors, tending to our guests, and making the venue look spectacular (mowing lawns, etc.). We lucked out with the weather, and had an extremely successful event at Dexter's Inn with only minor mishaps (even though we were prepared for something to go wrong!). Future brides: a disclaimer, however, that this wedding took a LOT of work. Our results were phenomenal, and we can't picture having held our wedding anywhere else, but the amount of work that this venue required was substantial, at least on a modest budget and without a planner or weekend coordinator. In addition to the regular guest lists for our ceremony, reception, and rehearsal dinner, we also needed to coordinate filling every room at Dexter's Inn to avoid paying for rooms ourselves. While this seemed like an easy endeavor up front, we dealt with many people backing out or being too "unsure" to book a room, and this ate up a lot of planning time. (Luckily, we ended up paying for only one extra room.) Because everything at Dexter's is rented, including # of forks, plates, chairs, tables, etc., we had to organize above and beyond what you would need to do at a more traditional venue in order to place this equipment order for both the ceremony and the reception. As Dexter's is a BYOB facility, we also had to organize the planning, purchase, and delivery of all alcohol on the premises. While this certainly saved us money (since we weren't charged $5 for every beer consumed), it required a lot of additional legwork, including breakdown and return of extra alcohol (we bought waaaay too much). And of course, all set up and break down of all decorations was also our responsibility. Friday and Sunday were extremely hectic and stressful, even with all of our months and months of legwork. Despite all of this, however, we are so incredibly happy that we booked Dexter's Inn. It was more than we'd hoped for. Our ceremony overlooking Mount Sunapee, our all-in-one no-driving-required venue, outstanding catering and service by Schmidt Catering, and the biggest and best party we'll ever throw in our lives made our wedding at Dexter's Inn something we'd do over again in a heartbeat.

king a venue for ourselves, it was a no-brainer! We had the entire inn to ourselves from Friday to Sunday, so our families and friends were able to relax, enjoy the scenery, play lawn games, and just spend time with each other. The views are absolutely breathtaking, and the Inn itself has so much character. The mountains of Sunapee were the perfect backdrop for our outdoor wedding, and the convenience of walking across a dirt road to the reception tent is unbeatable. The after-party in the "barn" (ping pong, pool, foosball, etc.) was a huge hit with all our guests :) John, the innkeeper was so fantastic to work with. We were kind of clueless with the planning process, and John was so experienced and organized that he made it so easy for us to know which steps to take when -- answering all our questions quickly and kindly. We also had Dexter's cater our wedding, and it was so delicious -- Rolf Schmidt and his catering team did an incredible job! Everything was absolutely perfect: The atmosphere, the accommodations, the scenery, the food, the service, the price. So many of our guests told us it was the best wedding they've ever been to. And we agree :)

a weekend that everyone is still talking about!

the review, but I did not want to miss any of the details. The venue is perfect. Our ceremony took place on the beautiful grassy hillside overlooking Lake Sunapee and Sunapee Mountain. After the ceremony, our loved ones made their way to the patio area in the gorgeous backyard, where small lights cascaded from tree to tree to give it a magical touch. The reception was held in the large tent, which covers an old tennis court, making it the perfect spot for a reception. John Augustine, the owner of the inn, is the most organized, thorough, honest, professional and calming person I have had the pleasure of working with. From our very first conversation I had full confidence that every detail would be handled with the meticulous care and consideration one could only hope for in planning a wedding. John gave detailed information regarding the venue, the prices, and our options to consider for our wedding. He was extremely responsive to my questions and would always respond thoroughly. He often covered things I would never have thought to ask. John provided information about vendors, and has a caterer on site, but did not pressure us to use any “preferred” venders. John’s attention to detail was comforting. The night before the wedding we had a situation with a last minute change of tables, and John stayed calm, helped me to figure out what I needed, and then let me use his office computer to re-print name cards that had to be adjusted last minute. His organization and thoroughness was apparent on the day of our wedding. John maintained a strong command over the whole operation, while never appearing stressed, which was very helpful for me to remain calm. As I mentioned, the caterer is optional, but I would HIGHLY recommend using Dexter’s caterer, Schmidt’s Catering Service. The food was amazing. We had guests coming up to us all night raving about the food. The chef, Rolf Schmidt is equally as pleasant to work with and the food is to die for! We had a spicy pork chop, which was AMAZING. My wedding was the most amazing, perfect, magical time of my life. I cannot say enough about John and the beautiful place he runs.

us through all the logistics which was great. Everything is all right there onsite, which is very convenient and intimate. We rented out the entire Inn for the weekend with family and close friends. Had a BBQ the night before and our wedding on the front lawn and reception in the tent the next day. The food is outstanding! Every room is different, which is really neat. Lots of character there. There are some trails in the back part of the property which are very beautiful. Look no further, this is the best, most reasonable and beautiful place!

edding from Colorado and he made the experience stress-free. He is professional, communicates well and often, helpful, knowledgable, extremely flexible, and welcoming. His calm demeanor helped me stay calm too all weekend, and he even served as a day-of wedding planner and vendor coordinator. He even facilitated our entire ceremony rehearsal!! It was obvious the work and care he puts into the Inn, and he put the same work and care into our wedding weekend. We filled all the rooms with guests starting Friday, and held both our ceremony on reception on property - I couldn't have asked for better, and all our guests loved it!! It has more character than an average hotel, while being completely comfortable, and the property is unbelievably stunning!! Rolf Schmidt, the in-house caterer, is an excellent choice with this venue as well. The food is delicious, great service, and competitive pricing. I would recommend this place to anyone for a New England wedding!!

nds. 1. Everything is on site. Beginning with the rehearsal dinner, through the ceremony, reception, and goodbye brunch- everything (including lodging for several guests) was "on campus." This was such a nice touch. I didn't realize what a benefit it would be when we booked, but it was amazing. 2. You can bring a bartender and buy all of your own alcohol. An enormous cost savings. Our caterer brought a bartender and we purchased all of the beer, wine, and alcohol ourselves. The N.H. state liquor store will accept returns on anything unopened and unchilled so there isn't a worry about over or under buying. You're also not paying tax (9%) or tip (20%) on that. 3. John is great! John, the owner, is very helpful and the venue fee includes his expertise. 4. It's beautiful. The property is a typical N.H. setting with a view of the lake and mountain. It's a big piece of land and you rent out the entire place for the weekend. There are several lawn games, which our guests really enjoyed. It made it more of a getaway for them as well. I really can't say enough good things. We're so happy we got married at Dexter's Inn.

d. The staff were incredibly helpful through the whole process and there for us every step of the wedding day. The guest rooms and breakfast area could use some updating and TLC, however the grounds and tent were beautiful. I would say compared to other local venues you get a better "bang for your buck." The Inn included a large breakfast for the guests and was able to offer us a reasonable caterer for the wedding dinner.

fleboard. There is a little swing set area for small children. It was nice to book the inn for Friday and Saturday nights because I felt like I was able to spend time with everyone, which I don't hear a lot of brides say. The rooms are clean and comfortable, and each has its own bathroom. The breakfast is delicious, we got a lot of positive feedback about that. John, the innkeeper is really helpful and will give as much or as little feedback as you want through the planning process. I highly recommend Dexter's Inn!

elaxed and went really smoothly. It was deffinately the best day of my life!

c and we were the only guests onsite all weekend. We had a pig roast on Friday night, which we put on ourselves and the wedding on Saturday catered by another vendor. We had an onsite "kid's party" inside the Inn, coordinated by Dexter's staff, while the wedding was outside and the reception was out in a tent. Everything was beautiful and everyone at Dexter's was fabulous!! John was everywhere he needed to be and I hardly even noticed his staff as they set things up, cleaned up as we went and coordinated every aspect of the weekend seemlessly. I've heard that all of the kids had an awesome time and I was impressed with the arts & crafts they left with. We never even looked at another venue as we live a mile away which was too convenient and we just loved it during our first tour. I am so happy we chose Dexter's and would do it again in a heartbeat!! (My total cost was our cost, the guests staying for the weekend paid for their own rooms.)

Dexter's Inn exceeded my expectations! I got all those things plus a friendly ever-present staff. Th inn owner and his staff went out of their way to provide us with whatever we needed. John Augustine also was available at all times before the wedding to help with planning and our slew of questions. Love, love, loved this venue!