The Herb Lyceum

r guests are still raving about the chicken slider passed apps. Every detail was thought of and taken care of for us. Our coordinator Ariel was so easy to work with and made our day so smooth and worry free. I can't recommend this place enough.

edding at the end of September in New England is risky- but from the moment we booked they told us what the rain plan was. Sure enough, it rained the whole day of the wedding... and it was 50 degrees. They set up two beautiful large tents with twinkle lights for the ceremony, enclosed the outdoor dance floor which doubled as cocktail hour, and pulled strings to get patio heaters for the whole space. I don't even think our guests noticed the rain. The one time it rained the hardest was during dinner- and everyone thought it was extremely romantic to hear the pitter patter of rain on the greenhouse roof while enjoying a lovely candle lit DELICIOUS dinner surrounded by twinkle lights from above. We worked closely with Ryan and Ariel- who are both so patient and caring. They truly want your wedding dream to come to life and will do almost anything they can to make the space, the food, and the atmosphere tailored to your specific vision. During the evening our guests drank more alcohol than we had planned, and Ariel checked in with us several times to addend the bar plan. They were flexible and allowed us to make decisions on the spot. The day-of staff were also incredible. Even my extended family was commenting on how their whole staff continued to check in on them throughout the evening. Last and certainly not least, THE FOOD. The food we ate at our tasting was the best meal we have ever had- no exageration. When it came to our food the day-of, at least 30 guests came up to us after dinner and the consensus was "this is the best wedding food I have ever had". We've also been to their smaller weekend dinners and if you aren't getting married here, you at least have to attend a dinner. Foodie paradise. So so SO GOOD and so creative. These people love creating and they love food. We would get married at the Herb Lyceum 100,000,000 more times. Our wedding was unique, intimate, romantic, and so special to us. We'll always look back on our wedding day as absolutely perfect.

s really a one of a kind experience. The food is absolutely delicious. Our guests could not stop raving about our time at the Herb Lyceum, and it was the perfect kick off to our wedding weekend!

been together for 14 years so it was a pretty big deal when we decided to tie the knot. The Herb lyceum was recommended to me by a family friend. After seeing the grounds we made the decision to move forward. The venue is absolutely beautiful. It is a rustic setting, but has a beautiful elegance about it. There is a greenhouse, dance floor with a tent. There are a variety of spots outside of the barn area where guest can mingle, and spend time together. The venue is rich with history and the Groton area is absolutely beautiful. The venue is rustic without having a barn yard animal feel. I worked with Ryan throughout the planning process. Ryan is extremely intelligent and you can feel that he has a passion for what he does. he is extremely talented with all things food, and hospitality. Ryan and the team have the Lyceum running down to a science. Ryan helped coordinate all of the bar, rentals, and answered any questions that I had. Ryan has a very calm confidence about him. That truly puts you at ease. As many know the wedding planning process is extremely stressful and requires you to make a lot of decisions. Ryan guided me through that process where appropriate. His calm demeanor always eased my nerves. He definitely got my vision. The food is OUTSTANDING. They have a family style dinner, which initially I was unsure of, but it was absolute perfection. The food was to die for. It was extremely hard to narrow down our menu, because everything was so delicious. The beautiful thing about the Lyceum is that things can be tailored to your liking and customized if you choose. Having a family style meal, gave guests the opportunity to try everything and people are still talking about the food. The family style dinner also encouraged us to mingle and chat with one another. The staff at the Lyceum exceeded our expectations as well. Everyone was extremely courteous, kind and willing to go the extra mile. Their service was 10 stars. The food came out promptly and was displayed absolutely beautifully. The way that they set up are , decor, and all of the small details blew us away. I have not one complaint about our wedding. Everything was perfect. If you are looking to have a garden style greenhouse, outdoor wedding, I would highly recommend the Herb lyceum. From start to finish our wedding planning was extremely easy and organized. When I stepped into the greenhouse for first look to meet my then fiancé, it took my breath away. I really want to thank Ryan, and the entire team at the Herb lyceum. They gave my husband, and our entire family a night we will never forget. It was truly magical. I would also like to add that the flower shop in Groton lavender did all the floral arrangements for a wedding. They have a great working relationship with the Lyceum and I would highly recommend them as well. Lisa and her team did a phenomenal job.

e and given how much we already love Chef Will Gilson’s restaurants in Cambridge, we immediately contacted them. Rebecca and Ryan, who were our main contacts through the process, were incredibly helpful, friendly, and patient with our many questions and back and forths as we finalized our plans. Chef Will and the drinks/bar manager David worked with us to create a very unique, delicious wedding food and drinks menu that incorporated elements of my Turkish background. In the end, our wedding was the awesome post-COVID party we had hoped it’d be! The food was delicious, everything was set up so well, and all the attendants were incredibly helpful and friendly. The garden looked so beautiful even with the minimal additional decorations we brought — even with cloudy skies and some last-minute rain, we got the most gorgeous wedding photos! Overall, everything was just perfect, the whole process was made very easy for us, and everyone left feeling very happy and satisfied (people still keep telling us about how awesome the event and the food was!). We can’t recommend the Herb Lyceum as an event venue enough!

ed settings for portraits, casual photos, our ceremony, a cocktail hour, and dinner. Each garden is perfectly curated with plants, flowers, and objects that tie together the grounds' rustic charm. With so many gorgeous settings, we got to have each segment in a different and special spot, and everything went perfectly. Despite all of the outdoor magic, the dinner in the restored carriage house (beautifully appointed with drying herbs and farm accoutrement, no need for decoration) was the highlight of the evening. The Lyceum is known for hosting talented chefs-in-residence who prepare amazing farm-to-table dinners on most Friday and Saturday evenings. We'd been before and knew that, but were still blown away by what they prepared (the butternut squash ravioli and duck breast were superb, but somehow the pumpkin soup stole the show). Also, they're BYO which helped keep costs down and also allowed us to pick wine parings (a delightful touch). Cathy Gilson, owner and event planner, was our point of contact throughout and our day-of site coordinator. She's the best: organized, flexible, and easy to work with. With everything on our plates leading up to the big day, we really appreciated that. Bottom line: Gilson's Herb Lyceum is a truly exceptional venue and will hold a warm place in our hearts always. If you're thinking about using it for your wedding, book while you can. You'll be very happy you did.

one of the many other gardens. This venue is gorgeous and perfect for small weddings or up to 150.

trol what YOU want and not what the venue wants, and if you are looking to hold a small (under 100 people) wedding - we highly recommend The Herb Lyceum. The setting of the grounds include a beautiful lavender garden, flowers, trees and lawn spaces combined with the rustic charm of green houses, barns and sheds. This is the venue for a rustic bride, artistic types, romantics who love countryside, nature, wildlife and outdoor weddings. And most of all this is a great space for 'foodies.' The Herb Lyceum is a working herb farm nestled in the middle of beautiful New England countryside. Their claim to fame is that they are also a working farm to table restaurant that serves local produce in a contemporary and cutting edge way. The Lyceum's son Will Gilson is a famous chef in Boston with his own highly acclaimed restaurants, but here at the Lyceum the restaurant is run by Will's mum Cathy. The lady who taught him everything he knows. This is coming back to the family farm cooking but with a modern twist. Everything you eat was grown on site or plucked from neighboring farms. And here's the best bit... it's the only wedding venue we've found in Massachusetts that actually allows you to customize your own menu with the chef. My wife and I come from British and Portuguese cultures, so we were very excited at the prospect of bringing our own cultures into the menu. With the chefs guidance we created a dream menu for us that involved Scallops, Lobster and Steak all for half the price of any other venue we saw. Not only that but The Lyceum also has a "Bring Your Own Alcohol" policy. This was great because we were responsible for buying our own booze (which is much cheaper) - and we could customize it to what we knew our guests would like (more Portuguese wines)! Cathy, owner and wedding planner was great to work with and allowed us to use her beautiful space to create 'our wedding' with any personal touches we wanted to bring in. Which we did in abundance! We spent brought in everything and transformed her gardens into our own personalized wedding venue. It was great fun! We would recommend The Herb Lyceum to anyone looking for a small outdoor wedding who is on a budget. This is not your 'wedding factory' type of venue. It can be special and unique to you. Oh and the photographer we got, were a dream. This place really has lots of nooks and crannies that are a photographers delight! We also recommend The Lyttleton Inn as a great place for the wedding party to stay. It's only 15 minutes away in Littleton and it made the entire experience all the more special. Good luck with your planning. Enjoy every minute and have fun with it. We miss our day and would do it all over again if we could. Mr & Mrs Andrew P. Wilson