We had a wonderful weekend at the Old Saco Inn. It was so convenient to work with one vendor for our lodging, food, and venue services. We put on a Welcome Party on Friday night fo...r nearly 140 people, as well as a 170-person wedding on Saturday. Bruce, Kathy, and Laura worked with us to ensure we could pull off two large gatherings in one weekend. Though communication could be a bit slow at times during the planning process, we would highly recommend this venue.
Lodging:
We were able to rent out the entire Inn for our group starting on Friday. It had enough space to house our immediate families and small wedding party. Not all of the rooms had closets, which was a bit odd since so many in our group had suits and dresses to hang. We also found quite a bit of material from renovation projects in Izzy's Loft, which was disappointing. The check-in and payment process was a bit confusing, as there is no true front desk area to check-in at when you arrive. Breakfast was included with the lodging, and it was so delicious each morning. I was also thrilled to be able to have our dogs stay with us for a couple of nights before the wedding since the Carriage House rooms are dog-friendly.
Food:
We weren’t really sure what to expect with our food at our wedding. We did go to a large group tasting, but many of the items we were interested in trying were not available, and due to scheduling conflicts, we weren’t able to take them up on an offer to do another tasting before the wedding. However, all of our expectations were more than exceeded with the food. We did the summer barbecue buffet on Friday night, and I had been too busy talking to guests to eat. Kathy was able to put together a plate for me so I could enjoy, even though I missed the buffet while it was outside. On our wedding day, we had assorted wraps delivered to the bridal suite and the Inn so our wedding party could eat. We had a slight mix-up on the timing, but they were light yet filling. At our wedding, we did get to enjoy a few passed appetizers during the cocktail hour, and the staff had put together a plate for us as well. Our buffet dinner was also very delicious, and the event staff was attentive. We even got to select the beers that were on tap, and the bar moved quickly and efficiently.
Venue:
There are so many possibilities at this venue! We put up a tent on the bonfire side of the Inn on Friday night for our welcome party, did our first look photos on the bridge, had our ceremony way out in the field facing the mountains, and did our cocktail hour and reception at the barn. We got so many compliments from our guests on the beautiful scenery and the air-conditioned barn. Bruce and Jon do a wonderful job maintaining the property, and Kathy and Laura were there every step through both of our events to make sure we had everything we needed. We realized during set-up that the ceremony site was being set up in a different location than we wanted, but the team was quick to correct it. Upon our request, they also moved additional tables that were not needed for dinner out of the barn and onto the patio for cocktail hour, which our older guests appreciated. Additionally, having the bridal suite and sitting area in the barn is so convenient because I could greet some of our vendors as they arrived for set up as we were getting ready.
Thank you Bruce, Jon, Kathy, Laura, and the event staff for an amazing weekend!