About this vendor
At the Wayside Inn, every celebration is wrapped in 300 years of New England history—complete with picturesque backdrops, warm hospitality, and all-inclusive wedding packages that simplify your planning. From outdoor tented receptions to intimate chapel ceremonies, your entire day unfolds seamlessly in one unforgettable place.
Our signature Event Tent offers a spacious, beautifully lit setting for receptions of up to 200 guests. With chandeliers, a full dance floor, heaters, a double-door entrance, private bar, and restrooms—all included—it's the perfect blend of outdoor charm and modern comfort.
Perched on a hilltop and framed by white pines, The Martha–Mary Chapel provides a romantic, non-denominational ceremony space for up to 150 guests. With its iconic white clapboards and sparkling Waterford chandelier, it’s a dream backdrop in every season.
A lush, enchanting setting nestled between the Inn and the Event Tent, the Garden offers a serene backdrop for your wedding day. Ideal for cocktail hours, intimate ceremonies, or relaxed mingling, the space features seasonal blooms, manicured pathways, and charming corners perfect for photos.
A classic New England landmark, the Grist Mill features a stone façade and cascading waterfall that create a stunning backdrop for portraits. Located just steps from the Chapel, it offers timeless charm and picturesque beauty in every season.
Rich in character and timeless New England charm, our indoor ballrooms provide ample room for dining, music, and celebration, making them an ideal choice for couples planning a classic indoor receptions.
Visit our website to learn more: https://www.wayside.org/weddings
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Ballroom
- Historic Venue
- Museum
- Restaurant
- Tented
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Food & Catering
- Rentals & Equipment
- Tents
- Service Staff
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
4.5
out of 5.043 reviews
We had our May wedding at The Wayside Inn and overall really enjoyed this beautiful and historic venue. When we began searching for a venue, we were initially sold by the history, ...
the location, and the pricing (given the inn is a nonprofit and all fees go to the upkeep of the inn). They did have a bit of a shift in employees throughout our wedding planning process which made it a little difficult in terms of consistent communication. Caitlin was extremely helpful, professional, and answered all of our questions leading up to the day of our wedding. The Inn is very accommodating and has several options for hosting your event based on the number of guests - we used the Longfellow garden for our ceremony and the main dining room for our reception. The food was delicious (although we were not given the option to taste the dishes before selection) and both spaces ended up working out beautifully for what we needed. Any future brides/grooms should know that there is no private getting ready space for your bridal party - we were provided with the Ford room and we had to walk through groups of people eating in order to enter/exit the actual room. Servers were also continuously entering and exiting the room with platters of food as we were getting dressed, having our hair and make up done, photos taken, etc. which was not ideal. There was also a bridal shower and another small wedding happening on the same day as our wedding with a ton of people surrounding the inn (something we would've ideally liked to have known in advance). The room that was suggested to us as the "bridal suite" to stay in that night was not a good fit (we ended up needing to move rooms due to the hot temperature, lack of mirrors/closet space, extremely low ceilings, tiny shower, etc.). I would recommend touring the rooms before you stay to make sure they fit your needs. Breakfast was provided to our entire wedding party who stayed at the inn, which was an amazing perk. There were several miscommunications with the front desk about room bookings, pricing, payments, etc. which led to some confusion among our guests - I believe the inn needs to update their systems and work on keeping better records of guest payments/information in the future.
Overall, we have no regrets selecting the Wayside Inn as our wedding venue and we are so glad everything worked out! We look forward to future visits to celebrate our anniversary.
I had the best wedding here!!!!
We got married in the church next door and had pictures done at the Gristmill and had our reception done in the tent! Everything is in walking dista...
nce!!!
The tent they do an amazing job of cleaning it up for weddings and making it look amazing!!! 💖🍀🥰
Overall we told ourselves nothing would ruin our day. However, there are pros/cons we would like to highlight to help other couples make their decision.
PROS:
• Mark MacKay is am...
azing, he was the first initial contact I had at the venue & was there for us throughout the entire process (2+ years) he was so accommodating
• Our $ would go back into restoring the inn
• The actual setting was beautiful
• Our guests all agreed the meals & cake were delicious & the chef whipped up mashed potatoes for me! I loved it! He also made a special pasta dish for my husband who doesn't eat meat!
• Mark was awesome with updating our contract whenever something changed
CONS:
• My biggest problem was the lack of help with ceremony set-up & clarity around communication. It was hard to get straight answers or clarity on our questions
• No real structure around weddings besides the packet outlining food, beverages & cost & rules
• I felt like I was the one doing the planning & outreach
• Servers were walking right in front of our videographers during speeches
• It was not clear we would need to have folks decorating the chapel for us until days before the wedding. I feel like there is enough people that 1-2 could help, I would have hired runners if I knew.
• Did not meet the DOC until the day before our wedding & was only supporting the reception, her title should be changed unless she’s with the bride all day
• My aunt who is handicapped could not make it safely up the stairs to the bathroom, no ramp? She ended up leaving early, if I had known I would have helped her or brought her inside. I'm surprised since they have so many older guests.
• I had to beg for someone to be at the chapel to walk us through the rehearsal...the sextant was stressed even though we had the chapel booked. She was kind of rude & barking orders. She asked us if we wanted the cross up/removed & we said we don't want it up & they never removed it so its in all of our pictures
• Too strict about the times, you can only have the tent for so long, you need to start the ceremony at a certain time
• No tastings...
• The cocktail hour went over the $1,500 we put down, the DOC told us but then we said ok please tell us if we get near $3k, we were never told even though we went over that. I also wonder if folks were crashing our wedding at the cocktail hour because there were a ton of people we didn't know outside when we arrived to the cocktail hour after pictures we were both confused obviously the inn has guests & dining & visitors but they were in the garden so what was stopping them from getting served free drinks?
I don't know for how much we spent I just wasn't 100% happy with what we got. I think as a wedding venue there is so much room for improvement that will make it amazing. I still appreciate everything folks who worked that day did for us but I just wish we had some support with the ceremony space. I also think they should work based on first come first served, the fact this wedding was planned over 2 years in advanced and someone's daughter slipped in to have a small wedding during our original rehearsal time & our wedding weekend is messed up, it really threw the entire weekend off. Anyways, I hope if you choose this venue they improve because there really is so much potential & I know the staff are all good people they just need a little more departmental structure or someone with wedding industry experience to get in there.
We absolutely loved our wedding at the Wayside Inn. Mark was amazing to work with and was very quick to get back to us with our many questions. He also worked to be super accommoda...
ting and ensure we were able to enact our vision. The day of the wedding, lots of small touches made it clear the entire staff were doing everything to make our day the best. A server came over to the wedding party taking pictures by the pond to ensure we were able to have cocktail hour appetizers even though we were doing a photoshoot through the cocktail hour. Our three year old nephew was given ice cream instead of cake when he asked for it. The innkeeper was so kind to all our guests and worked to let several check in early with no warning. During the reception, we pretty much sat back and enjoyed ourselves without a care because the amazing staff had it all in control. We loved the food and the cake was beautiful and delicious as well.
This is all aside from the venue itself, which is gorgeous and charming (and loaded with fun history for locals and out of towners). We are so, so glad we chose to have our reception here.
What a lovely place! My husband and I were married there in August 2019. It was the perfect place for a small summer wedding (we had 34 guests). Our ceremony was held in Longfellow...
's Garden and our reception was in the Ford Room. We had a simple garden wedding, so our decorations were minimal. We rented a room at the Inn to prepare and stay the night.
The ceremony in the garden was nice - it's a beautiful setting that doesn't need any decor, and they provided plain white folding chairs for guests. Before the ceremony, we did need to go wipe them all down - so bring wipes. If you are planning on walking down the path as an aisle keep in mind that it is quite narrow - I had a sheath dress, but I think anyone with a puffier dress might have a little trouble. Something I personally didn't notice but my JP noted later was that at the front of the garden where the ceremony takes place, there were a few bees. They did not bother us, and it makes perfect sense for there to be bees near flowers outside in the summer - it's just something to keep in mind in case any of the wedding party has allergies.
The Ford Room was cozy and bright, but probably would not hold more than the 36 people we had. We used the window seat for gifts and a card box and took over the drinks table later in the evening for a party game. The location is right next to the garden and you can access it through a side door which is perfect so there is no need to cut through the inn itself. It has a rustic look to it, and I appreciate the wait staff supplementing our centerpieces with candles from the restaurant - I was not expecting it, but it looked beautiful and intentional, haha! The portion sizes for the meals were excellent and the waitstaff were super friendly. There is a tiny bit of space in the front if you and your spouse want to have a 'first dance' but this space is definitely more for a 'sit down' celebration.
The only reason I removed a star is because the communication between us and the event manager could have been better. We had to ask repeatedly what our cake options were until we were finally emailed a menu, and I wish that they had pictures of what the cake would actually look like (it was pretty swirls of white frosting). A floor plan for how the tables would be set up would also have been helpful, which we asked for and were told that they would be spread out in the room. We were allowed to walk through the room a few days beforehand, but the tables were set up differently, so when we went, we brought a small table (for gifts and favors) of our own, not realizing that there would be no need and no room for it. When you reserve the garden, it remains open to the public, and while no one wandered through our wedding during the ceremony, it probably wouldn't take much effort to put up a little sign letting people know the garden would be in use for an hour. Since you have to pay extra to use the garden, it seems a little confusing that it would remain open. I will also say, in order to try some of the dishes on the wedding menu, you need to go to the restaurant and order it as a meal. If it isn't on the every day menu, then you need to order in advance. It makes sense in hindsight, but I wish we didn't feel like we had to dig for info for this kind of stuff.
Other than some struggles with communication, the day itself was perfect! I wouldn't change anything, and I highly recommend this place for a small, laid back wedding! What a lovely place!
My aunt and Uncle had their wedding here on 28 October, and to say it was a disaster would be an understatement. First, they made the wedding on Sunday only because there were supp...
osed to be revolutionary war reenactments all day Saturday - and since it rained Saturday, the wayside decided to reschedule the re-enactment event to Sunday. There were tons of reenactors all over, and all you could hear during their vows was gun fires, drums, and flutes outside and it was awkward. There was also a fiasco with the tables - the bride was under the impression that the space could fit 8 tables, and then a couple days in advance they said no only 6, so she had to do damage control and move it to two long tables last minute.
But then when we thought things could get worse, in the middle of the ceremony the power went out! It got dark and then during “cocktail hour” the bartenders said they couldn’t serve us drinks without power due to Massachusetts state law (we looked this up later, couldn’t find anything of the sort) and they weren’t even nice about it - like “oh well, no drinks for you, not our problem” even though there were literally bottles of wine and cups just sitting there (ever heard of a cash bar??) It was so dark it was a fire hazard and I could have fallen down the stairs - they served platters of cheese and crackers in the dark with no tongs, so we couldn’t even see what we were putting on our plates. They had no backup generator, and were dismayed that we even asked about it. Finally, after 2+ hours of no power, we had to just pick up everything and leave to go to a nearby restaurant that could accommodate a group of 50-ish people so that folks could eat (and drink!) something. The wedding ceremony ended at 12:15pm and we didn’t end up eating until 4pm. It was a major disaster, and the worst part is that the wayside inn staff wasn’t even nice or apologetic or accommodating about it (no one brought out candles or flashlights when they power went out -they just shrugged and walked away!)
Brides beware - do not book this as a wedding venue.
I can’t say enough how great and stress free our wedding experience was working with the Wayside Inn. Thank you for a beautiful day! We highly recommend this amazing venue! Thank y...
ou Mark, Tara, Bill and team!!!
The Wayside Inn was absolutely stellar to work with, all throughout the process. Mark is the (new) manager there, in charge of all event planning, and he was so responsive, flexibl...
e to our change requests, and kind at all times. We could not have asked for a better experience with him. I would highly recommend Mark and the Inn to anyone looking for a quaint, beautiful, and unique setting to get married. Our wedding was absolutely lovely - staff on the day of was a dream as well, from the sexton who helped us at the chapel, to the catering and bar staff throughout the evening. The Inn is a classic New England setting - a perfect spot to get married!
Held our son's small - 35 persons - rehearal cocktail and dinner at the Wayside Inn Aug 2018. Could not have been better, and I should know: I'm a former fundraiser and event pla...
nner!
Outstanding, caring, and professional staff from management right on thru to wait staff, all of whom go the extra mile every time - and with a smile on their face. Food was very well presented, cooked to perfection, and delicious; several guests commented on the quality of the food. Very flexible in moving furniture about to stage the rooms better, accomodated decor team with good grace, even pitching in to help out!
Further, event was very reasonable - a real surprise for us, as usually the word "wedding" seems to be an open invitation to vendors to tack on anextra 20-30% markup on everything.
If you are hoping for an event with a quaint, colonial vibe I can definitely recommend the Wayside Inn!
I do not recommend this venue at all. The wedding package they sold us was their top price surf and turf seated dinner in the tent. When you use the tent you get a wedding coordina...
tor who handles your whole day. I went over everything but still many huge mistakes were made: I had a room the night before so I could get ready on site and check on any issues. I went to the tent multiple times and kept getting told everything was fine and not to be there. But it wasn't. When we arrived at the cocktail hour there was no music. The coordinator failed to tell us the music equipment hadn't arrived. We never got our appetizers set aside for us as promised in their package, the meals were also disappointing. Our butternut squash ravioli option came out in red sauce. I went to the kitchen and told them it comes with a brown butter sauce. First they told me it's traditional with red sauce. Then I found out it was mushroom ravioli. The veggies were cut all different sizes and many plates hat the zucchini stems on them. I told them it was unacceptable. I was told it was "rustic". They ordered us 2 cases of wine to be served at cocktail hour and dinner. I found it in the kitchen during dinner unopened and it wasn't even the right wine. As the bride, I should not have had to go into that kitchen repeatedly to fix the lack of attention by the tent coordinator. She was also caught rolling her eyes at me by guests. We had our ceremony at their chapel ( which was amazing) but the tent coordinator never retrieved our monogrammed isle runner for the guests to sign instead of a book. These are memories we will never get back. We had a caterer do our cakes after the "pastry chef" refused to meet with us and I found out their wedding cakes aren't from homemade ingredients. Just big jars of jam and custard etc... even though it was included in the wedding package we decided to go elsewhere. I requested the cakes (wedding and grooms) be wrapped and stored for us since we were staying at the inn after the reception. When we left the inn there was no cake. At our car we found just the grooms cake thrown in our trunk and melted into a mess. It was 90 degrees that week. Finally after the reception was abruptly ended an hour earlier than our contracted time, we requested to talk to the inn keeper to make things right. We have had zero response. give one star because the things our outside vendors did kept the day from being ruined. It was hard to finally write this review. Our wedding was 8/6/16. I always loved the wayside inn. It's a shame they didn't respond to any of our concerns only rude excuses and eye rolling.
We were married in the Martha Mary Chapel, associated with the Wayside Inn. Despite the wedding prior to us going an hour later than scheduled, the chapel coordinator Cha Cha still...
helped get our wedding off without a hitch and kept our own wedding on schedule. A bride's nightmare to show up and find out that the wedding before her was yet to have started!! I felt so relieved to know Cha Cha had taken care of the situation and helped seamlessly get us into our own ceremony. The chapel is so lovely and perfect, we were pleased!
This was the PERFECT wedding venue. Melissa was so helpful with setting up the entire day with us and explaining all that needs to be done, and Tara was amazing the day of! I would...
highly recommend anyone looking at the Wayside Inn for a wedding venue! The staff is so friendly, accommodating and made my wedding day the best day of my life!!!
We had our wedding at the Wayside this August in the outdoor tent. Overall, we thought the Wayside was beautiful and the setting we had dreamed of for our wedding. However, it wa...
s stressful working with Michelle and Melissa and we wished they were more supportive and organized.
The actual wedding day was marvelous! Here are some of the highlights:
- Tara (the day-of-coordinator) was reliable, put use at ease, and was a dream to work with.
- The setting was picturesque and had a magical feel
- Food was delicious (we had an entirely vegetarian menu) and our guests continue to compliment on how much they loved the food.
- I stayed at the Wayside Inn with my family and bridesmaids. The accommodations were beautiful and it was wonderfully convenient to get ready on-site the morning of the wedding
- Surprisingly, the outdoor bathrooms were great and several of our guests have commented about their amazing quality!
Although in the end we loved the Wayside and had a blast at our wedding, there were some definite challenges in the months before when working with Michelle and Melissa. Here are some of our complaints:
- Initially Michelle assured us that we could have the garden area for our ceremony if we wanted. We decided to go with the Martha-Mary Chapel and luckily we did because she had already double booked the area. So not only could we not use the garden if we had wanted, but another wedding occurred just yards away during our cocktail hour. It ended up not being a problem, but it was frustrating, caused unnecessary stress, and made it difficult to trust that the Wayside was on our side.
- We had set-up and confirmed our tasting appointment with Michelle via email, however when we arrived they had no record of us coming and had to scramble to prepare food for us based on what they had in the kitchen.
- From the beginning we had requested to have lawn games with outdoor lighting. Wayside said that would be fine, however multiple times they confused where we could set them up (despite several email confirmations) and made us feel like we were the ones who had made the mistake.
We had our wedding this past July at the Wayside Inn. We utilized everything they had to offer- ceremony in the chapel, pictures at the grist mill, cocktail hour in the garden, an...
d the reception in the main dining room. Everything was perfect and went so smoothly. Michelle and Melissa were very good about answering all my questions (and there were quite a few!) promptly, and the day-of coordinator (Linda) was very sweet and very good at her job. Even the wait staff was super friendly and congratulated and hugged us many times. This is a beautifully picturesque location for a New England wedding. I could not be more pleased that this was where we chose to have our big day.
What a breathtaking venue! I worked with Michelle from the Inn from start to finish during the planning of my wedding, and she was very easy to work with. They have a fair number o...
f guidelines, but all of their policies were provided upfront. Michelle and Melissa encouraged me to email with any question or concern that came up, and were both very prompt with their responses. Linda was the host during the reception, and was wonderful as well. She brought mini plates of hors d'oeuvres us and the wedding party while were were taking pictures so we wouldn't miss getting to taste any. At the end of the night,they boxed up the top tier of our cake for us to take home. Linda really made sure everything ran smoothly. I had my ceremony in the Martha Mary chapel; totally worth it! It was gorgeous. Michelle (a different Michelle) was in charge of the behind the scenes details for the ceremony. Her attention to detail was very impressive. We also rented the horse and surrey and it really added that special something. Overall it was a great experience! Unlike the venue for my sister's wedding, the staff at the Wayside did everything they said they would do. Very easy to work with and accommodating. Picture perfect! The staff really know what they are doing and I truly felt they were there to make make sure I had everything I needed. I definitely recommend them!
Aside from being an absolutely idyllic setting for my wedding, the Wayside Inn is staffed by wonderful people! During the process of planning, they were very prompt in responding t...
o any questions my fiancé/husband and I had. And on the day itself they ensured that everything ran smoothly and that we were well taken care of.
We fell in love with the grounds, the history, and the idea of a tent wedding at the Wayside Inn. The location was stunning and our wedding turned out to be amazing, but it would ...
have been difficult to navigate if I didn't have a wedding planner. The wedding staff at Wayside was not very excited or friendly at our first meetings, which did not match how thrilled we were to be in love and getting married and was very off putting. They put up many road blocks to the tent wedding, and double booked the garden for our cocktail hour without realizing it. At the end of the day, the hostess was great, the food was more amazing than I expected, the drinks were great, and of course the setting perfect, but getting there was a bit of a challenge.
We had 30 people and the staff a accomodated us beautifully in their large back room!! Very private and food was DELICIOUS!!!
We got married in the Martha Mary Chapel on site, and our reception was in the Main Dining Hall at the Longfellow Wayside Inn. Everything was perfect, and the Event Planner and Hos...
tesses were outstanding to work with.
The Wayside Inn is a beautiful venue with lots of historic charm and so many lovely settings for photos. The Ballroom was perfect for our small wedding (50 guests) (though note th...
at the Ballroom is carpeted and doesn't allow dancing... go figure). Guests enjoyed exploring the Inn with its historically restored rooms, as well as the lovely grounds, the grist mill and the little red schoolhouse nearby.
The little chapel was perfect, just the simple, elegant New England style we were looking for.
Melissa, our main contact at the Inn, was wonderful: very friendly, organized, professional, well-prepared, and flexible. She patiently answered all of our questions and made sure we had all our bases covered. She carefully noted down all of our requests and agreements while we were talking (special dietary needs, herbal tea with the dessert, an extra ten minutes for speeches after the first course, etc) and gave us a copy, so we knew it would all be taken care of and we didn't have to worry about it.
We also had a fabulous reception hostess (an extra $100, but well worth it), Janice, who made sure everything was running smoothly and stayed on schedule the day of the event. We arranged our own flowers and had to drop them off ahead of time, along with various other items for the reception (normally the florists would deliver the flowers while the party is at the wedding). Janice was great about accommodating our needs and setting everything up just as we requested, and then greeting the guests and making sure everyone was well taken care of.
We also had a terrific chapel hostess, Kim. She was there at our rehearsal and again for the ceremony, making sure we had thought through all of the necessary steps and had everything we needed, providing helpful reminders and suggestions when asked, and then giving us our cues to walk down the aisle at the right times.
Having such friendly, competent staff really helped keep down the stress in the last few months and especially the day of the wedding. I was completely relaxed, knowing that everything would run smoothly.
The only thing less than perfect was the food. The entrees, especially the vegetarian tagine, were somewhat disappointing. The cake was beautiful (we got one of the simpler designs and then brought our own flowers to add to it for decoration) and the inside was good, but the buttercream frosting was much too sweet (a sour cream or cream cheese frosting would have been great).
The Inn has several reception rooms as well as an outdoor tent, so it's possible to run into another wedding party in the hallway. Some brides might prefer to be the only bride in town on their special day, but it didn't bother us since our reception room was perfectly private.
We and some of our guests spent the night in the Inn as well. The rooms are quaint and charming, and it was very convenient to stay in the same building. The only drawback was the noise coming from the party in the main dining room downstairs, but it did shut down as promised at 10:45 PM.
Overall, the venue was really beautiful and unique, and the service excellent - that part of the experience was definitely worth 5 stars. We deducted one star on quality only because of the food. If we were to choose over again, we would still pick the Wayside Inn!
I highly recommend the Wayside Inn. I was married at the Martha Mary Chapel, which is beautiful and perfect! The cocktail reception was in the garden and the reception in the tent...
. The garden is beautiful and the tent is elegant with white drapery and chandeliers. I also used thier horse and surrey, which was well worth it and added an extra special touch. The grounds are perfect for pictures. My guests raved about the food too. My "day of hostess" was fantastic. I can't say enough great things about her, I believe her name was Tara. I worked with Melissa for the planning and she was also great. I had a lot of little details that I brought in myself, plate charges, votives, table runners, chiar sashes, etc. Wayside set everything up and didn't miss a single detail. They also include a cake with thier package and that too was great-a bit palin so my florest added flowers to it, but simple and tasty. This really is a perfect place for a New England wedding.
The Wayside Inn was wonderful,The food was delicious,The staff professional,Mellisa and sales office helped make everything go perfectly.We had the ceremony in the chapel the horse...
& Buggy,cocktails in the rose garden and reception in the main ballroom.
Are guests stayed down the street at the Carriage house and transportation back and forth was provided.It was everything my daughter wanted and I was so thrilled with everything.I recommend this Venue for a perfect place for under 100 guests. The pictures came out wonderful so many great places on the grounds
Our Wedding went off without an issue and I can honestly thank the Wayside Inn for that. The event staff was amazing throughout the entire process and made our day so special. We u...
tilized the Main Dining Room during a non-average warm October Saturday which was great except our guests had to open windows since they didn't account for it being 70 at the end of October! You get what you pay for at the Wayside, the food was great, the staff was amazing and experience was out of this world. Our only negative comment would be that they had us add food choices to our place cards so that the staff would not have to ask the tables their meal choices and instead of looking the staff just walked up to the tables and asked not a huge deal in the long run and I would defiantly recommend this venue to anyone.
Longfellow's Wayside Inn provided me with the wedding of our dreams! We could not have imagined a wedding day with a better "backdrop", waitstaff, day of coordinator, food, etc. it...
was everything I ever dreamed of and more!!
Linda, the day of coordinator knew more about a wedding day than I would know in a lifetime! My guests were raving about her like crazy! And the waitstaff behind her did not blink an eye! These are people that know what they're doing!!!!
My only issue here was the planning coordinator Melissa. She was hard to deal with. And as much as she liked to come off as approachable I felt like every question I asked was a "stupid" question. As I was ending my planing process, they had a new sales consultant Amber, who is approachable, friendly and seemed to care about her clients!
I look forward to celebrating anniversaries and holidays her for the rest of our lives together and strongly recommend Longfellow's Wayside Inn to future brides!
I wish I could give the Wayside more than five stars. The events department is made up of the most professional and friendly people. I specifically worked with Melissa S. and fou...
nd her to be a real asset in my wedding planning. While I was busy working out other details with my family and bridal party, Melissa had everything in order at the Wayside and I never had to worry about whether or not she would deliver on her end. I felt completely confident everything would be as I had planned, and on my wedding day I was not disppointed. Everything was perfect and I received MANY compliments from my guest regarding the food. It was absolutely delicious, the cake was gorgeous, and the Wayside staff were an absolute delight to work with. I would recommend this venue to anyone looking for a great place and a great value.
The staff at the Wayside Inn were professional, attentive to detail, and flexible. We picked the Wayside Inn as our venue more than a year before our wedding, and throughout that t...
ime, everyone in the Functions office was responsive to our questions and always willing to help. We met with the Functions staff four days before the wedding to go over all the last minute details, and their hostess made sure on the day-of that everything was exactly the way we had intended it to be. The food was delicious and the wait staff was very receptive to guest needs. It rained during our reception at the tent and you wouldn't have even known it! Everyone had a fantastic time dancing the night away!
The Wayside Inn was a perfect venue for us - ceremony in the chapel, cocktail hour in the garden, and the reception in the dining room... a one-stop shop for a fabulous wedding! Th...
e staff were helpful and the service was incredible. The cost was reasonable and Melissa and her team made us feel like family!
I chose the Wayside Inn because they have a beautiful chapel, reception venue, and hotel all on the same property, in an historic location, all at a good price (at the time I booke...
d).
Pluses - Charming, beautiful location. Good food, nice service during the dinner. Everyone told me it was beautiful and they had a good time. The event was wonderful, and the Wayside Inn did a really fantastic job with it!
Minuses - They have many rules that can be a turnoff for a bride. They won't meet in the evenings, so I had to take time off work for every meeting. They don't offer food tastings, you have to come in and buy your own dinner. They only allowed vendors to come set up for one hour before the event. The restaurant stays open, and they had another wedding at the same time, so we had drunk guests trying to join our party.
Pat and I had the most magical wedding at the Wayside Inn! The horse and surrey, the chapel, the Inn, the people, the food, the scenary, it was all perfect! I would STRONGLY recomm...
end this vendor to anyone!
The Martha Mary Chapel was the perfect venue and the reception dinner at the Inn was exceptional!
...venue!
In my own experience many establishments promise the earth but, sadly, so often disappoint.
Here the couple, and their parents, were delighted with the service they enj...
oyed. The planning stages with Melissa were smooth, very professional, attentive and knowledgeable. She was clearly highly experienced in her field.
The day of the wedding itself was a little cool and damp (hey it's New England!) so it was nice to have a decent marquee, in both size and quality, to retreat into.
The food was good, better than the usual fare on offer at most weddings I've been to and the waiting staff were both efficient and friendly.
The Inn is rustic although comfortable and really quite elegant with a wonderful atmosphere and is steeped in history.
The Marth Mary chapel was the perfect New England setting admist the serene grounds.
Overall we thought the pricing appeared to be exceptionally competitive. Personally, I was cheered to learn that they are a non-profit organisation, and that therefore our expenditure was not only just providing the bride and groom with their most special day but also helping towards the preservation of such a historic New England landmark.
I would certainly consider getting married there and commend the Longfellow Inn to all your readers.
From the mother of the bride standpoint, I must tell you that the staff at the Wayside Inn made the whole wedding planning experience a joy. I was contacted by e-mail in a timely ...
fashion when it was time for me to send them head counts and meal preferences and I felt very assured that our wishes would be met as the pre-wedding planning went so smoothly. Melissa (event planning) was very patient with all my questions, Linda ( hostess the day of the reception) allowed me to mingle and enjoy time with my guests as I knew she would handle all the details of the day and our personal waitress Miranda always asking if we needed anything made us feel very comfortable and well taken care of. Every single person that we dealt with was very accommodating and reassuring as being the mother of the bride can sometimes be stressful and emotional. A week after the wedding, I still had guests calling me to tell me how delicious the meal was. From our clam chowder first course right to the wedding cake. My daughter had her mind set on how she wanted the room to look and thanks to the staff her white pumpkins, candles, wishing tree set the tone for the already beautiful dining room. We especially loved the rectangle shaped tables which enabled you to talk to everyone at your table in an intimate setting. The history of the Wayside Inn and the beauty surrounding it with the Grist Mill and gardens proved to be the perfect backdrop for all our pictures. I would highly recommend this venue for your wedding or any special function as you can be assured it will be a day to remember.
We had our wedding at the Way Side Inn on September 17th, 2011 and it was the best day of our life. We had 7 rooms in the Inn and several rooms at the Carriage House Inn and it was...
perfect. The rooms were quaint at the Inn as if we stepped back in time. The rooms at the Carriage House were stunning the guest were raving about them and the how Helpful the staff were.
Prior to the wedding I have to say I spoke with Michelle at the Wayside Inn a couple of times and she assisted me in booking all seven rooms and she was Wonderful. At the Carriage House I must have spoken to Jameson and another gentleman ( Sorry I forgot your name) at least 8-10 times and they were Fabulous and patient, Assisting in the room block process and helping to book several guest from out of the country.
We worked with Millisa at the wayside she was our coordinator and She was so helpful and sweet we felt extremely comfortable with the Wedding planning, we were able to bring all of our Item for the dining room several days prior and this was so helpful!!
The wedding ceremony was at the Martha Mary chapel and we used the horse and surry and it was so romatic. The Chapel was so amazing I can't say enough. The Sexton was fabulous and I could not have done this with out her as our officiant was unable to attend the rehersal .
Linda was my savior the day of the wedding she put our room together and it was stunning! We did a Black white Theme with red accents and the room broght tears to my eyes! The cocktail hour out in the garden was a perfect touch our guests raved about is and we lucked out that there were no other weddings that evening so were, were the only ones in the garden. The service at the open bar and the appetizers everyone raved about them!
We used the main dining room and it was perfect size we had approx 110. I can't even say enough about the food, service and the amazing wait staff and bar tender. Thank you for taking such fabulous care of our guests!
Last but not least I wanted to thank Bill for my cake, we had gone to dinner in august and he was our waiter and we were telling him that we were getting married at the Inn in September and he told us he would be making our cake. i had some pictures with me and he looked and said that would not be a problem. The cake left me speechless it was so amazing everything I ever dreamed of!!!
I would do all again It was the perfect wedding!!!
My daughter's wedding turned out perfect! The day, June 18, 2011 had beautiful weather and the wedding came off without a hitch. They were married at the Martha Mary Chapel and tr...
aveled by horse and carriage to the Inn where the reception was held. Linda (the coordinator) was absolutely wonderful as was the sexton who helped us at the chapel. The ladies who handled the horse and buggy were also friendly and a joy to work with. The service and food at the reception was exceptional.
The planning stages of this perfect wedding were not so perfect. There were several miscommunication issues especially in the beginning. The biggest issue was regarding the rental of 8 rooms above the reception room. This came as a huge surprise 6 weeks after booking the reception - this was never mentioned in the original reservation. We had to have a special note made in our contract (which we didn't receive until 4 weeks later) to allow us the use of the room without booking the rooms. This seems ridiculous to expect people to book 8 rooms just to have their wedding reception at that location. We did work it all out and eventually had a great experience. It's too bad that the planning didn't go as smoothly as it could have with a little more communication and or meetings in the beginning.
All in all we had a fantastic wedding and everything was perfect.
Longfellow's Wayside Inn means so much to me and my family. We have been going to the Wayside Inn for years and my mom and dad got married there 44 years ago! I knew INSTANTLY th...
at I my wedding would be at Martha Mary Chapel and reception at Wayside Inn. The entire experience was WONDERFUL! The team was great and they assisted with all of our needs and desires! The food was superb.....truly a great day! My only complaint is that the day went by much too fast!! I wish I could go back and re-live it all over again!!! Thank you Wayside Inn for making our wedding a magical day. It's such a special place and any bride and groom would be LUCKY to have Wayside Inn as their wedding venue!
Thanks again.
I have to give very mixed reviews to the Wayside Inn. On the day of the wedding itself, everything was fabulous and all in all I am glad that we got married there. Everything wen...
t very smoothly, and we had a wonderful wedding. The food itself was absolutely delicious; it was truly a high quality meal. The setting is lovely and the space allotted was appropriate for the wedding size. The staff was great, efficient, and very friendly.
However, we had some trouble with the planning beforehand and feel that we were misled on several very crucial items. First of all, make sure to ask for the contract to specify all prices. When we booked the Inn about 10 months prior to the event, the contract said that prices were subject to change. The functions coordinator at the inn said that they weren’t done putting together their 2011 wedding packages, but that it would be “about the same, just packaged differently.” Thankfully, I still had them put in the contract that we could opt to stick with the 2010 prices. Had we not, I’m not sure we could have afforded to host our wedding there with the 2011 prices. We unfortunately still had some trouble with the inn closer to the wedding date as to whether or not alcohol was included in the “2010 package” and subject to the 2010 or 2011 prices (it was part of the 2010 weddings PDF, as it is now part of their current weddings PDF on the website, but they argued that it was not “part of the wedding package”). Our wedding coordinator and her manager got involved and though they made us feel like we were being difficult clients through their email correspondence, they did make concessions and worked hard to resolve the issue with us.
Secondly, think carefully before booking an outdoor ceremony in the garden in the spring/ summer/ autumn. We booked ours in November for the following September, and at the time the inn staff already knew that another wedding was booked for the same day in the tent by the garden. However, they assured us that we could do our ceremony outside and that we would never run into the other wedding or be affected by them in any way. That was a blatant misinformation. When we arrived at the inn for our details meeting in July, we saw that the tent was pitched (permanently for the entire season) about 30 feet behind the garden where we would have had our ceremony, obscuring the view with an ugly tent background. The worst part of it came when I inquired, and the functions coordinator told me that at the time of our ceremony, the other wedding would be enjoying their cocktail hour between the tent and the garden…. All 200 guests, and the live band. When I expressed concerns about the ceremony, her only reply way “yes, I wouldn’t want to have my wedding there, either.”
The functions coordinator we were working with was particularly apathetic to our case and often made us feel like she had better things to do than talk to us or work things out. She was also entirely unapologetic about the garden debacle, and we had to talk to her supervisor to get our garden deposit refunded.
Despite all of these planning troubles, the Wayside Inn was a wonderful venue for our wedding, rich in history and perfect for our ceremony and reception. Rather than discourage brides and grooms from getting married there, I hope my review will help them avoid some of the troubles we had in the planning stages.
I got married and had my reception at Longfellow's Wayside Inn. A friend who had his reception at a local museum said that his main regret was in not choosing a place with a restau...
rant on site. The Wayside Inn has a chapel, a restaurant, smaller rooms for smaller groups, and rooms for overnight guests. For my wedding the staff could not have been helpful, both in the planning stages and on the evening itself. The food, the setting and the attention to details were excellent. There were roses on each table, a fabulous buffet, and tasty and beautiful cake. Ours was a more intimate group of 40, family only, but there is a tent on the pond for larger parties. I ordered my flowers from the nearby Frugal Flowers, stayed overnight at the Wayside Carriage House Inn, used Leise Jones as my photographer and Scott Poole as organist. The florist, photographer and organist had all worked at other weddings at the inn and so everything flowed smoothly. I have many happy memories and cannot say enough about this venue. We'll go back this fall for a special dinner and I look forward to celebrating our wedding anniversaries there. All in all, I could not be happier with Longfellow's Wayside Inn.
We have received so many comments from guests that our wedding was one of the best that they have been to, and I think a huge part of that was in our choosing the Wayside Inn as th...
e venue. We had set out to find a beautiful spot for a wedding, with some history and a lot of old-fashioned charm- and we found it! Our photographers had a field day with the limitless picture spots on the property... the inn itself with its rustic and cozy rooms, the pond, old barns, the adorable Martha-Mary Chapel set up on a hill, and the Grist Mill which made an awesome spot for bride/groom as well as family formals. You can also opt to be taken to the ceremony in a horse and surrey, which added such a unique touch to our wedding, and the women who ran that were so sweet and friendly. The staff at Wayside- incredible! The Functions Office was amazingly helpful during the planning process and they all seem to genuinely enjoy what they do. Our wedding planner for the day was very nice and caring, and managed to calm our nerves as we worked our way through the wedding ceremony and reception. We had dropped off all of our table decor and escort cards the night before, and when we saw the reception room all set up, it was just how we imagined it. The waitstaff were very efficient and polite, and the food was amazing. The cake tasted just as good as it did the night of the cake tasting. Nothing disappointed. It was just perfect. We can't thank Wayside enough for giving us such a special wedding that we, and our guests, won't forget.
Kim & John, Married 4/29/11
The best part about Wayside is the waitstaff were able to treat my wedding like a special event, even though they do hundreds of weddings a year.
Another selling point is everyt...
hing can be done on one campus. Wayside owns a chapel for the ceremony. There's the gristmill and garden for pictures. And they even own a hotel a mile down the road, which does provide shuttle service between the hotel and inn. And of course there's the Inn which provides the catering for the reception.
With Wayside it's one giant wedding package, so there is some initial sticker shock, but in the long run it's easier and cheaper to pay one company to do it all rather than try to coordinate with dozens of vendors.
The Martha-Mary Chapel at Longfellow's Wayside Inn is so picture perfect, it has even been featured in a couple of recent movies, both starring Jennifer Garner. Floors were recent...
ly redone and walls were painted a soft seafoam. While there are some restrictions in decorating due to the fact that it's also an historical site, we had a perfect setting for a wonderful wedding. We used two pedestals to hold large floral arrangements, had a "long and low" arrangement on the altar and had beautiful half-rounds of roses and baby's breath on the end of every other pew - that's all - so our floral bill wasn't outrageous. Also had real ivy hanging from wall sconces but that didn't seem necessary. The golden chandelier is beautiful. The chapel only seats 120 though but that was a good number to go by. Had the option of horse and carriage to bring bride to chapel which we did - she and two flower girls, ring bearer and father of bride. The Bride and Groom left the chapel by horse and carriage with the bride's brother pulling the rope and ringing the bell for joy! People at the Inn were most helpful in all arrangements. Reception at the Inn - set up inside, sweetheart table, bar in back, transferred floral arrangements to Inn and they took care of that. Oh, there's a sexton at the chapel to help with the ceremony. She handed out corsages and sent people down the aisle at the right times - even cued the music. (We had a terrific harpist.) Food was the best ever at a wedding - people were raving about the prime rib, the chicken and the vegetarian selection and the cake was just like we'd envisioned. All we gave them was a picture - it was all picture perfect!!! (Oh, it got even better -settling the bar bill the next morning - they owed us money as we'd overestimated.) HIGHLY recommend the hot hors douvres - bacon wrapped scallops, the phillo triangles with onion and bleu cheese especially.
The staff was exceptional and took care of evrything and made sure things went as planned. The wedding planner Sandy was a godsend. The venue it's self is beautiful and histori...
c. Everyone raved about the quality and freshness of the food. We also felt that the price was extremely reasonable for the quality of the venue;limited size unless you want to be in the tent.
It was all in the same place- chapel grist mill with waterfall for great photos garden for photos tent by pond for reception with cement floor and wood dance floor. It was perf...
ect and allinone.
The Wayside Inn is a beautiful and historic location. We loved that they had an ontiste ceremony location (Martha Mary Chapel) and a perfect place for pictures - the old grist mil...
l. The food was delicious the staff was wonderful and it was the absolute perfect place to get marrried. And it was a lot less expensive than many other locations!;This place is perfect for smaller weddings - the chapel holds about 130 and the main dining room is about the same.
Contact
72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury, MA
