Hayley and Tim love to host dinner parties at home and they wanted their wedding day at Long Hill to hold a similar vibe. There wedding day was intimate with 50 people, and they got to spend quality time with all of their friends and family.
This post covers the Long Hill wedding venue in Beverly, the ceremony spot in the gardens, when to go out for sunset, and the three decisions that made the night feel like a dinner party instead of a schedule.
Long Hill Wedding Venue in Beverly, MA
Long Hill is a Trustees of Reservations property at 576 Essex Street. The Sedgwick family built the brick Federal house in the 1920s and planted the gardens around it.
- Event season runs May through September.
- Capacity is 150.
- Catering and alcohol go through the venue’s exclusive partner.
- It is a raw space. Lighting, sound, tables, and rentals come in with your vendors.
- Beverly sits about 25 miles north of Boston.
The Getting Ready Room
I love the interior of this house for getting ready photos. The getting ready room has stunning wallpaper great light, and the a small convenient detail – bathroom attached to the room. I personally love photographing getting ready photos in a room that doesn’t have a bed in the middle of it (aka, any hotel room). This room is a nice open space, but also has lovely furniture in it.
Long Hill Gardens, Beverly MA
The ceremony spot is the best thing about the property. Landscaped garden sits in layers behind and around it, and tall trees close in behind that. You get real depth behind two people without arranging anything.
It also means the ceremony area is enclosed. Guests are close. At fifty people, nobody was more than a few rows back.
A Ceremony Officiated by Both of Their Mothers
Hayley’s mom and Tim’s mom married them. In their own words, their moms marrying them reinforced the family importance and the personalized feel of the wedding. The rest of the day ran on that same idea, which is why the whole day felt so intentional and intimate.
Handwritten Notes as Place Cards
Hayley and Tim wrote a note by hand to every guest. The notes doubled as the seating chart, so throughout the night guests would open a hand written note. Some opened the note right when they sat and others towards the end of the night. It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture, and showed how Hayley and Tim appreciated and loved each and everyone of their guests.
Extended Dinner Hour
If dancing isn’t the part you’re looking forward to, it doesn’t have to be in the plan. A reception works when it’s built around what the couple already enjoys doing. For this couple, that was talking with everyone who came. They skipped the first dances and kept music playing low in the background, and what that opened up was time. They spent the evening moving table to table and finishing conversations instead of stepping away. These two host dinners at home, and that’s what they wanted the night to feel like.
Micro-Wedding at Long Hill
The thing I noticed came after dinner. Hayley and Tim got up and went around the room, and they did not do it as a lap. They sat down with people. Full conversations, not thirty seconds and a hug.
Nobody came to move them along, because there was nothing to move them along to. That is the trade a smaller guest list makes for you. With a larger wedding, this isn’t possible. They told me before the wedding that they were keeping it small so they could spend time with every person there.
Is Long Hill Right for Your Wedding
Long Hill works if you want the gardens to be the whole design and you are willing to bring the rest in. It works especially well at a smaller count, where the enclosed ceremony spot and the garden rooms feel scaled to your group. But, it can also work for larger weddings too.
It is harder if you need a late night, a big dance floor, or a rain plan that holds two hundred people.
Planning a Long Hill Wedding
If you are planning a wedding at Long Hill, I’d love to chat. It is a conversation about your day. You can also look through full galleries or see photography pricing.
Long Hill Wedding Vendors
Photography | Madison Van Wylen
Venue | Long Hill
Hair | Salon Eleven
DJ/Entertainment | Marx Entertainment
Catering | Vinwood Caterers
Cake | J Cakes
