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Many weddings these days aren’t just about the day anymore — they are about a whole weekend. We are asking all our friends and family to travel (some 300 miles, some 3,000 miles) to Burlington, Vermont, to spend the weekend with us. We’re taking over all 14 rooms at the Willard Street Inn for the weekend (Friday and Saturday nights).
My fiance and I, along with his best friend/groomsman, and his wife (who actually shares my name) will be heading up Thursday morning to get some last minute things done (OOT bags prepped, favors prepared, linens picked up etc.) and to enjoy some “down time” (haha — am I crazy?) before the festivities begin.
But what are those festivities? The folks coming in Friday (all the people at the inn and whoever else wants to make a weekend of it) will be invited to join us for a private tour and tasting at the Magic Hat Brewery in South Burlington (just 10 minutes south of Burlington). I am so excited as this is something that my fiance and I did on our first trip to Burlington together. Here we are in August, 2005:
It’s an optional event, but I wanted our guests who were coming in early to feel welcome and included. Of course, if they want to explore on their own, there are tons of things to do. I even created a “What Else?” section on our wedding website with suggestions of places we’ve been and loved.
Enjoy a walk and some shopping on the Church Street Marketplace:
Enjoy the view of Lake Champlain from the top of Mt. Philo State Park:
Check out the aquarium — the Echo Center:
Also in the area (30 minutes or so) is the Ben & Jerry’s factory and the Cabot Cheese Factory (yum). Both places offer factory tours and free samples.
Ben & Jerry’s:
Cabot:
If your wedding involves lots of (or all) guests from “out of town,” do you have anything fun planned to make them feel welcome?
Ms. Onion, I would also suggest the Cold Hollow Cider mill, just down the road from Ben & Jerry’s (especially if they are making cider on that Friday) and taking the Gondola up Mt. Mansfield in Stowe (and also the Alpine Slide, just down the road), which are two things I did with my now Fiance, when I brought her home to Vermont last summer to meet my family.
i would so be at the ben & jerry AND cabot cheese factory! slight lactose intolerence be damned! lol.
Last summer a group of us went on what we called “the culture tour” - this involved not culture of the formal variety, but all culture of the yeast/mold variety - chocolate, cheese, beer, etc. We also threw in the Teddy Bear Factory, and called that one real culture to make it fit.
As for our wedding, we’re planning on a day trip two days before the wedding as the day before will be busy with manicures/pedicures/rehearsal. The day trip will be to a beautiful valley near the wedding spot that has botanical gardens and a great restaurant - we’re providing transportation and letting people get their own lunch/admissions fees.
Also, the rehearsal dinner will be open to more than just the immediate family/bridal party. As it’s the groom’s family hosting, they’re inviting 50 people or so that will be in town on their side and a few key members of the family/close close friends on the bride’s side that are coming from out of town. Should be fun - we’re making that totally different than the wedding itself with really typical Costa Rican fare and decorations.
Don’t forget the Vermont Teddy Bear company! My friend did the same thing…we all traveled to Burlington, VT for her wedding (from CT) at the Harbor Basin Club. In addition to the great places you named above, we also visited the Snow Farm Vineyards (they have great apple wine).
thanks for the cold hollow cider tip. because of the time frame and folks driving up friday afternoon, there won’t be enough time to get to waterbury or stowe, vt prior to the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. that is one of the reasons we picked magic hat (right in south burlington) instead of something further out.
snow farm vineyards looks beautiful. we came across their website when we were thinking about wedding locations — we were looking at vineyards, apple farms etc. in the end it wasn’t cost effective for us because of all the rentals involved and hosting the reception at a restaurant saved us big bucks!
it’s nice to see others love vermont too! in fact, mr. onion and i are heading up to burlington after work today for the last time before the wedding! very exciting. we’ll meet the minister, i’m getting my hair/make-up trial done and we’ll be tasting our RD and reception menu’s! oh boy! i’ll be sure to report back 
I love Magic Hat. I think that’s a great idea. We had a “welcome” bbq the night before the wedding so all out of towners (since it was a destination wedding) had a place to go to eat dinner.
Burlington sounds awesome! That will all be so much fun.
We’re getting married in Portland, Oregon and the day before the wedding is ‘out of town’ day. Guests will have a choice: some folks will go on a wine-tasting tour, some will go hiking in the Columbia Gorge, and some will go rafting on the White Salmon river. I think we’re more excited about this part than any other part of the weekend! We can’t wait to share our part of the country with our east coast families.
Here’s a question: How do you tactfully let people know that there are fees involved with some of the activities? On our website? The river rafting especially is something people need to sign up for in advance. How do we deilcately let them know it’s not on us?
Your guests will understand. I’d post on your website that you’ve planned the following activities and would love to spend more time with them. Then be matter-of-fact and let them know what each activity involves (mix the cost in with things like “bring hicking shoes and don’t forget water!” or “bring a raincoat and shoes that can get wet!” If it’s included in a list of “what to bring” it won’t feel so pushy.
Our even happens to be free because I have a professional relationship with Magic Hat (they are the beer sponsor for the Litchfield Jazz Festival (www.litchfieldjazzfest.com) which is an even my mother founded and we run together. So I had a “hook up” but I’m sure if people want to join in they will happily.
Oh man I love Burlington!! This all sounds like so much fun and I can’t WAIT to see your pictures!!!
Wow that sounds like a fun weekend! We were planning on giving our guests a welcome letter on their first night with some suggestions, and then spreading the word that we’re doing wine tasting the day after the wedding (ahem, if we’re up for it), and inviting everyone casually to join us.
mmm - this makes me want to come back to VT for ben & jerry’s, cabot, magic hat, and more skiing at Stowe! (FI and I have been to Stowe twice).
What a pretty place to get married too!
If you had any young kids coming to the wedding, you could get them little Vermont Teddy Bears too!
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Miss Onion, NYC/Burlington, VT Age and Occupation: 27, PR & Marketing and Jazz Singer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Data Analyst Engagement Date: April 2, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2007 Blogging Since: July 11, 2007 Venue: Restaurant in Burlington About Me: I didn't think I'd be "that girl," but I am having so much fun planning our wedding (mostly by myself). I'm a PR and Marketing Director for a major jazz festival and camp by day, and by night, a romantic jazz singer and bride-to-be! I hope all my research can help other brides in their planning.
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