Destination: The Berkshires

Weather: All four seasons are well represented in the Berkshires, and each has its own charms. And its own weather. You can plan a wedding around the best that any season hs to offer - from gloriously hot summer weather to the-definition-of-crisp Fall temperatures - and you'll find it in the Berkshires. Words of caution: the hottest summer days can sometimes include a thunderstorm, and if you're planning a winter wedding, the occasional snowstorm could have you and your guests holed up in front of a fireplace for a few days...which might be just wonderful. The iBerkshires website has weather information.

Tourist Information: There are a few tourist boards dedicated to "The Berkshires," though some tend to emphasize whichever part of the area they are in. Try Discover The Berkshires (covers mainly Massachusetts) or Berkshire Web. At Berkshire Map you will be able to get maps of any town in the Berkshires, with driving directions from one cultural site (or any address) to another. You might also want to check out Berkshire Living Magazine, a wonderful regional magazine that has won national awards.

Unique Venues

Are you looking for stately elegance, a luxurious atmosphere and serene setting? The Wheatleigh, an Italianate mansion and inn in Lenox leaves nothing to be desired in this category. Their entryway, with its curving marble staircase and Tiffany windows makes a dramatic ceremony location, their Great Hall (and catering) are ideal for an elegant reception. With 19 suites the hotel is intimate enough to take over for a wedding weekend, but its rooms and architecture are grand and impressive. Once a private Tudor estate, The Blantyre is a fairytale wedding venue. The main house is a small gothic castle complete with turrets and gargoyles, and there are cottages and a carriage house, and a beautiful spa on gorgeous grounds.

Another mansion venue, located in Manchester, Vermont, is Hildene which was built in 1905 by Robert Todd Lincoln, the president's eldest son. The Georgian revival main house offers ceremony locations, as does the estate's 400+ acres of quintessential Vermont countryside. Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Mount underwent a multimillion dollar restoration, including the reinstallation of magnificent formal gardens, and it is available for weddings and private functions.

If you love these gracious old buildings, but can't afford to rent a baron's summer "cottage," consider The Lenox Community Center. It is a little-known fact that the center is rentable, and it lends itself beautifully to a reception in its living room and long, back porch; its ballroom can accommodate 150 for dinner.

MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts is a sprawling, much-lauded modern art museum located in a complex of 19th century mill buildings. It may be on your list of sites to see in the area, but it is also available for private events. Dramatic and funky, with interesting courtyards and lobbies, it might be the perfect place for the right couple. If your taste in art (and wedding locations) is a bit more conservative, consider The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, whose gallery, as well as tented terrace and manicured lawns, are available for private events. One of the most interesting museum venues for weddings is the 1,200 acre Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. Couples can choose from the beautiful 1910 barn at one end of the village, or a giant wooden tent deck that accommodates 300 guests and offers a panoramic view of the whole Shaker Village, pastures, and the Round Stone Barn.

There are so many wonderful inns and restaurants in the Berkshires that are classic choices for an intimate, lovely wedding and/or reception location. One of our favorites is The Gateways Inn, in Lenox, MA, with its beautiful "Arthur Fiedler Suite," and two of the most gracious hosts you could ever want to meet, Fabrizio and Rosemary Chiariello. Other favorites include The White Hart Inn in Salisbury, Connecticut, The Williams Inn in Williamstown, MA, Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, Connecticut, or The Equinox Resort and Spa in Manchester, Vermont. Inns off the beaten path include The Inn at Silver Maple Farm in Canaan, New York, or The Porches Inn in North Adams, MA.

The Gedney Farm was once a working farm, but now it is a sort of heaven-on-earth for weddings. It offers a wonderfully unique mix of the rustic and elegant, with a 3-story atrium barn that hosts weddings for up to 200, a stone manor house, colonial inn, and spa. Consider arriving by coach to your wedding there at dusk, as mist covers the hayfields.

If you like your "country" a little more funky and less manicured, consider a camp or lodge wedding venue. The Racebrook Lodge in Sheffield, Massachusetts is just too cool. A 1790's rustic mountain lodge, it has 31 guest rooms and a 150 year old barn decorated with a fascinating collection of found art and artifacts. Great Barrington's The Seven Stones is great for a summer camp experience, with 82 wooded acres along Lake Buel and the Appalachian Trail, enough cabins to house 180 guests and an historic lodge with a big fireplace.

More Great Vendors

The Berkshires is the spa and beauty capital of the country. Well O.K., maybe Los Angeles and New York has it beat in numbers. But a visit to Michele's Day Spa in Great Barrington will show you how delightful it is to combine the very best of beaty and spa treatments with a wonderfully congenial, intimate country setting. Canyon Ranch and Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club, both in Lenox, are spas on a grander scale. Any of these could provide first-rate beauty treatments for a bridal party.

Sabine Vollmer von Falken has been working in portraiture for over twenty years in the Berkshires. Her daughter has now joined her as a partner, and their work captures the deep emotions and unexpected moments of events. John Fitzpatrick photographs throughout the Berkshires; his portfolio is a worth browsing through to see his talent, and to get ideas for beautiful venues in the area! Ellen O'Connor is based in Vermont, but travels to New York and Massachusetts, too. If there will be animals in your wedding or reception - his yellow lab is going to be the Best "Man"?! - you'll doubly appreciate her beautiful work. Ogden Gigli, wh grew up in a successful New York City photography studio, uses creative visual techniques to capture your special day from start to finish. You'll love how the pictures tell the story with beatuiful portraits and lot of candids.

Caterers? We have been impressed with Mezze Caterers in Williamstown. It doesn't hurt that Mezze Bistro and Bar is both the hottest nightspot and best restaurant in town, Mezze brings the same sense of sophistication and fun to their catering. The Marketplace of the Berkshires is small but chef-owned, and they pride themselves in planning uniquely personal menus for events. Bezalel Gables in Chatham New York sings the praises of the Berkshires and Hudson Valley regions as gastronomical meccas, and their extraordinary food, using mainly local ingredients, will convince the fussiest gourmand.

If you can imagine it, chances are Classical Tents has it. They have covered the Barkshires (literally and figuratively) for over twenty years with the finest selection of event tents and rentals you could hope to find. If you're considering setting up a tour of the area, or perhaps just making sure some guests get to the symphony at Tanglewood while others find the best local golf courses, consider a tour company. Greylock Discovery Tours is in Lenox, and Berkshire Tour Company is in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Finally, there are many wonderful options in the Berkshires for wedding music or entertainment. The Berkshires is a cultural mecca, and we know sources for everything from classical singers to country swing bands, jazz quartets to jammin' djs; but once again we've gone on perhaps too long and only scratched the surface of a wonderful area. We'll leave you with an entertainment suggestion you're unlikely to get elsewhere...one that is just so unique it is likely to charm, amuse and bewilder your guests at the same time! A little piece of the Northeastern Berkshires by way of the British Berkshires: the Berkshire Morris Men. Check them out!

The Gateways Inn

51 Walker Street, Lenox, Massachussetts

(413)637-2532