McLane Audubon Center

space in the courtyard, a stunning sunset surrounded the field for our reception, and quaint, well-groomed trails offered our guests the chance to take in the nature. Lauren and her team were very communicative and responsive to our messages throughout the planning process. Lauren provided numerous vendor recommendations, provided advice on when and how to reach out to them, and kept us updated on ongoing changes to the space. As far as wedding venues go, this is an incredibly affordable and beautiful space for all that is included! It is a great option if you are wanting a DYI wedding. Lauren and her team were thoughtful in offering advice and resources. The space includes all the aforementioned outdoor space, plus access to 2 kitchens, indoor restrooms, staff on the day to work with you and your vendors, and trash/recycling cleanup. We maybe underestimated the work that went into a DYI wedding for 150 guest-wedding, but we appreciated the team's willingness to work with us. One thing to note, however, is that the McLane Center core mission is as an educational nature center, not a wedding venue. While the team remained generous and thoughtful, this did lead to some hiccups. We booked the venue in January of 2021, and held our wedding in August of 2022, and during that time there were a few projects that altered the space, including updating the trails, the addition of a composting space, and plastic bagging placed on part of the field as part of long-term improvement. The team was willing to talk with us and was thoughtful about our concerns, but we did some last minute adjusting to adapt to the projects. Additionally, summer day-camp programming meant that some of the spaces that we were using to get ready were not cleaned (i.e. bathroom trash bins were full and arts and craft supplies were on the floor in one of the rooms were used to get ready). We never actually got to coordinate with the person who was there on the day of our wedding. All that being said, we really appreciate the McLane Center's mission and we were very pleased with our experience. We wouldn't have changed anything about our wedding!

operty and playing the yard games we had. I would recommend them for any outside event you might be thinking of!

pful and knowledgeable about all of the different aspects of a Wedding. I hope we have the pleasure of working again with them in the future, and I would recommend them time and time again

accessible for our older guests including one who uses a wheelchair. Our guests loved the opportunity to visit the raptor mews and explore the sanctuary trails. We opted to have a visit from the Audubon’s red-tailed hawk during our coffee hour -it was the best! This is the perfect location if you want to be surrounded by natural beauty. The space offers you plenty of freedom to decorate however you wish, though truly, it is beautiful on its own. Lauren was a dream to work with. As we were planning our wedding during the pandemic, our plans had to shift a few times and she was so helpful, flexible, and supportive along the way. She answered all of our questions in a timely manner and offered suggestions when needed. One of our favorite parts of choosing the Audubon, aside from supporting a great organization, is that we can go back and visit the grounds any time we wish.

mall ceremony on our original wedding date and have our reception later on. The outside spaces at the Audubon are beautiful and are a great backdrop to any ceremony/party you would want to have. I think we can literally say we would have our wedding here again, because we did! We would highly recommend having your wedding here if you want low stress and a great venue.

veryone fit inside just fine. There's plenty of space to wander outside on the patio, in the garden, or to visit the birds they have onsite (Raptors, Bald Eagle, Owls). If they bring comfortable shoes they can take one of the hiking trails (Shortest is 15 minutes). We had a lovely time and we especially enjoy that it's so close by and open to the public that we can revisit anytime!

we stopped by on a whim just to look at the place again. Setting up was a breeze and she had everything we needed to get things done easily. The place was clean and the outdoors were beautiful with flowers everywhere, well landscaped. I would definitely recommend a wedding here weather it’s inside or outside under a tent.

he venue as well and enjoyed interacting with an owl and hawk during the cocktail hour. Perhaps the best part was the flexibility with arranging vendors - great location for a DIY wedding. Lauren and Crista (day of coordinators) were both very helpful and easy to work with. I would highly recommend!

to a golf course? The McLane Center was absolutely perfect. We got lucky and the weather was beautiful, so we held the ceremony out in the back garden area, but it was nice to know we could have had it indoors if it was raining. The events co-ordinator Lauren was incredible. Because we brought in all the vendors, I had a lot of questions about the logistics - she was consistently responsive and helpful. Actually, all of the employees were fantastic, making sure the site was 'wedding ready' on the day. All of our guests had a great time and commented how beautiful and peaceful the location was. It was one of the best decisions I made for the wedding.

our own. Lauren was wonderful to work with, she helped extensively throughout the planning process and I never felt alone. She was quick to respond and thorough. For photographs, this is a beautiful outdoor wedding venue with so much variety! They have a beautiful open field, trails, lovely forest backdrops and even a treehouse! Our wedding was everything we hoped it would be and we're so happy we chose to have it here! Thank you again Lauren!

the courtyard for the reception cocktail hour and photos. Everything worked out so well!

s. She was so incredibly kind and helpful through the set up, and the event! The grounds are lovely, and for a family-friendly event, we couldn't have chosen a better spot. There are handicap accessible bathrooms, parking spaces, lots of lawn for little ones to run around on, and trails and tree houses to explore! We took our wedding portraits down by Turkey Pond, which is a bit of a hike, but it is lovely. You will not be sorry to reach out to Lauren and plan your wedding here - plus, it supports the NH Audubon!

leading up to the event, helping with anything we needed, making adjustments, and giving wonderful recommendations. Calie was there the day of and made sure everything went smoothly. It was a small wedding but they put just as much time and effort into it as if it were a large one and that meant so much. Inexpensive and reasonable prices were nice as well. I will recommend them to everyone I know in the future!

s, incredible birds (want to impress your guests? Show them where to find the bald eagle and barn owls). We had a large wedding and a lot of unorthodox planning requests, and Lauren was incredibly flexible and accommodating-- even when rain disrupted literally all our plans. We can't thank Lauren enough for all the work she did, both hands on and behind the scenes. The McLane Center is an incredible value and a very special place. Highly, highly recommend.

016 and had an outdoor ceremony/tented reception in the meadow on the Audubon property. Everything was stunning! From day one the coordinating staffs, Lauren and Sarah, were absolutely fantastic. Seeing as neither of us had put together a wedding before, the coordinators helped guide us through certain decision making i.e. which linen is cheapest and where best to set equipment up. The Audubon contracts out with Exeter Rentals, which meant we had more time to make rental decisions and the Audubon staff made all the changes with the rental company (so one less person to be coordinating with). Other than this we were free to choose which vendors we wanted. As for the day of the wedding, we had a coordinator on site to help make sure things were running smoothly. Exeter Rentals had come the day before to set up the tent and the tables, then we (the wedding party) put up all our decorations/linens. There is a small room you can rent out to store decorations/drinks/etc, which was really helpful. In terms of the wedding, our guests really enjoyed all the outdoor space for games and we loved the small trails for pictures. Everything went off without a hitch and we are so thankful for all the hard work the staff put into helping us plan our wedding day. We highly recommend this venue: great people, great location, and great center to support!

odating- extending hours, providing decorations that were available at the Audubon, and giving direction about what has worked in the past while allowing us to create what we envisioned at the same time! We could not have been happier!

edding was my dream come true. Audubon was a perfect place for me and I thank Audubon to made it happen. Sarah, the manager is the best to work with! She is so flexible, made suggestions and she really helped me a lot. My guests were telling me how nice and cozy this place. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart! Highly recommended for wedding/reception and any other event. Not so expensive as well.

f is beautiful, with a courtyard for outdoor ceremonies, and a lovely reception hall with high ceilings and exposed beams.

was more then enough room for our 70 guests. I would recommend it for a couple looking for a rustic, outtdoorsy or eco-friendly wedding.

ouldn't have picked a better place to take pictures either. Absolutely perfect. Sarah and Kelly were so helpful and made sure everything ran smoothly from their end on my wedding day. I would recommend to anyone!

aptors (injured large birds of prey who can't return to the wild). Their reception rooms holds just below 150 people and has lovely vaulted and beamed ceilings. Their staff is attentive and cooperative, a great group to work with who is flexible with their space. We used the grassland meadow for our ceremony and the reception room and courtyard for our reception. The landscape was stunning, our guests felt at home and the money from our rental will help to continue the efforts of the National Audubon Society and our local Audubon branch. This venue was perfect for our wedding- it wouldn't have been as perfect anywhere else!