When we were planning our wedding, my husband and I realized a lot of guests may not be so into dancing, which for many is a big and important part of their big day. As not huge dancers ourselves, we wanted to make sure there were other things available for guests as entertainment or activities.
The first thing that I knew we needed to have, since I had seen it at a friend’s wedding over a decade or so ago, was a photo booth. I enjoyed my time taking pictures at their wedding, and had seen photo booths on wedding shows throughout the years, and felt it would be a fun thing to add.
If you’re getting married on Cape Cod, and looking for a great photo booth company, consider Port Photo Booth. We went with them for our wedding at Wychmere Beach Club, and they were one of the vendors that you could hire to go against your minimum spend requirements, so it was truly a win win for us. It was also important for me to have the ability for guests to have digital and printed copy of their photos.
Another really important must have item for our wedding, for me at least, was to have a watercolor painter do portraits for our guests. We hired an artist from Western Mass, where we grew up, who travelled to Cape Cod for us for our event. The artist company we chose was Event Painting by Erin & Co. Meg was our artist for the night, and she did a fantastic job! The first photo on her page is actually my in-laws. Having a watercolor artist gave folks a chance to check out paintings being created throughout the night, but was also our “official favor” guests could have as a remembrance of our day. The only thing to note is most paintings can’t be completed in one night, so I did have to mail any that weren’t completed that day, but it was totally fine!
Finally, the last and most creative idea we had, was to have a physical activity or craft that people could do at their table if they weren’t comfortable dancing. After doing some research, thinking about our group of relatives and friends, we decided a “Lego” like experience could be fun! Since our event was a wedding, flowers seemed like the perfect choice. I even made my own little silly sign to encourage people to take a box!
I was able to find a multiple pack flower building block kit on Amazon that had 12 different flowers, including one kit that was a blue hydrangea, our main wedding flower! I really liked how the box had a wide variety of flowers, plants, colors, and designs.
Our wedding coordinator said when her team was setting up our table with the flower kits, that everyone on the staff was going crazy, wanting to grab a box for themselves. We honestly didn’t know how well they would go over with guests, since we did have many people in their retirement age, but guests from 20-80 were excited to grab a kit.
We bought a total of two boxes (Amazon Affiliate Link), thinking 24 total flowers would be enough for our small (60 something) person wedding, and figuring there would be some people that wouldn’t take one, as is often the case with favor like items at weddings. But we were shocked at the end of the night when we were collecting everything that all of them went! I’m still curious if they were all taken by guests, or if the staff may have taken any leftovers to enjoy since they loved them so much. Either way, we were thrilled they were a hit!
If you’re looking for unique touches at your wedding, or event, consider doing something a little whimsical and that represents you and your partner’s interests!
This May, after 19 years together, my high school sweetheart and I finally got married on beautiful Cape Cod. We were both born and raised in Massachusetts. After casually looking at the options and prices for a New Jersey or New York wedding near us, we decided to look up north to see if we could find a coastal location to tie the knot.
We ultimately chose Wychmere Beach Club as our wedding venue. You can learn more about our venue hunt here and the Wychmere wedding tasting experience here. So let’s break it down first with our venue, and then in an upcoming post I’ll take you through our vendors to help you plan your own Cape Cod Wedding!
We were holding a smaller wedding, so we chose the Ocean Room for our event. We had a total of 62 guests attend (and if it’s helpful to know, 3 last minute no shows). That guest size fit perfectly in our chosen room, with 4 tables on each side of the room. It didn’t feel crowded and didn’t feel too small, but just right.
Our ceremony was held outside on the Beach Grill Deck, which is behind the biggest venue space there, Dune. On the deck you can choose to have your ceremony facing the ocean, or facing the dunes. We opted for the ocean view. The deck is huge and can accomodate much much larger weddings, but it worked out well for us and our more intimate ceremony too!
For our cocktail hour, we use the Ocean Room Rooftop deck, which is attached to our reception room. We had a lot of older guests and folks with mobility issues, so we opted to have more seating spaces than regular cocktail hours, ensuring there were plenty of tables with chairs as well as the outdoor couch set the venue provides. The deck was a great place to take group photos and one on one photos with guests as well.
The Experience
The afternoon before our wedding we brought over our decor items and anything we wanted to drop off and have the venue set up or put in our bridal suite. Our Wychmere coordinator, Ellen, met us at the door, helped us bring everything in and took a catalog of what we had to ensure nothing would be misplaced. From there, it was time for the parents to arrive for a quick rehearsal. The rehearsal was probably around 30 minutes total, showing our parents where the wedding was to be held, practicing walking down the aisle a few times, figuring out how fast and slow to walk, doing the first kiss a few times, as well as instructing our family when to sit and stand. It was smooth sailing!
Since our wedding ceremony was scheduled to be outside, and rain was in the forecast for the next day, we discussed the plan for the following morning and how I’d receive a call around noon to make a decision whether to keep our 3:30 pm ceremony outside or to move it in. On the dot at 12 o’clock the next day, Ellen gave me a ring, had a weather forecast ready for me, and I had been monitoring it closely too, and we decided to keep it outside.
When I arrived at the venue on our wedding day (fully dressed, hair, and makeup), I was met at the car by our coordinator, Ellen, who kept a watch as my future husband was brought into place on the docks for our first look. Once all was ready, it was time to head to the docks where I met my bridal attendant, assigned to me by the venue, that would be with me the whole day to help from getting us to the aisle, to ensuring we had drinks and food throughout the night.
My bridal attendant, Ogden, was fantastic. He met me holding my bouquet, that I got to see for the first time in person, he was there to arrange my dress for photos and carry my train as we walked around the grounds. He was always looking out for me, as well as my groom who obviously needed less help, and was there to help my mom when she was having some mobility issues. He was extremely attentive, kind, and warm.
When it was time to head to the ceremony, our bridal attendant and coordinator took us over by golf cart, and got our families in line. Our coordinator was in charge of the ceremony, lining both of our families up, telling us when to start walking and ensuring we were going the right speed and that everything started on time. My bridal attendant walked halfway with my father and I, getting us down a ramp and facing the crowd, while holding my train to ensure I would get to the aisle without issue or snagging.
After the ceremony, we were whisked away by both staff members on a golf cart over to the building we’d be having our cocktail hour and reception in.
We were first taken to our bridal suite, and everyone else was kept away from us so we could enjoy some of our appetizers and hor d’oeuvres we chose in privacy. Both staff members would check on us, bring us drinks, and ensure we were ok. When it was time to bustle, Ellen came in and took care of my dress and removed my veil as well.
Service
You won’t find better service than at Wychmere. I had heard from my photographer and stationary individual that Wychmere was known for their dining service, and they weren’t wrong!
When the staff attends to the reception, each table is fully served at once, so no one at the table is waiting for their food and no one has to sit staring at their food while others wait to receive theirs. It was amazing! You’d expect to see this in a movie or at a palace. We had multiple guests and family members rave about this. From tableside wine service to coffee and tea service later, everyone was well taken care of.
We had one vegan in attendance, and she said the staff was absolutely fantastic, going above and beyond to check on her, ensure she had plenty of food, and never had to worry if something was safe for her to eat. She said she had never been treated better by a server ever.
Food and Bar Service
The food was delicious and everyone kept talking about how much they loved the food. Apparently the scallops were a big hit (best they’ve ever had).
For the cocktail hour I really wanted a mashed potato bar. Now this was something they don’t offer on their menu, but they were able to add for me. Let me tell you, it was a hit! Our vendors said people were devouring it, that they loved it, and people kept getting more potatoes.
We also had a decorative boat filled with oysters and shrimp. I didn’t even know they’d have a boat for serving these items, so that was a fun surprise.
The bartenders were on top of it, friendly, and took great care of our guests.
Dinner was well received, with people devouring their meals. Seafood was the most popular choice from our guests, followed by the beef entree, and then we had a few vegetarians, and one vegan who received a specialized dish from the chef.
What we chose to serve:
Pan Seared Scallops & Butter Braised Local Lobster
We chose to serve this with: Roasted Crushed Fingerling Potatoes, Roasted Seasonal Root Vegetables, Lemon Vanilla Emulsion
Seared Petit Filet Mignon
This was served with: Smoked Pancetta, Fingerling Potato Hash, Sweet Corn Succotash, Roasted Garlic Butter
Raspberry Bavarian as a plated dish set at the tables
Dark Chocolate Cake with a raspberry jam filling and chocolate buttercream
Extras
Hot chocolate bar at the end of the night
Chicken tenders and fries station as a late night snack
End of the night
At the end of the reception, our bridal attendant helped gather all our supplies, decor items, etc and piled them in our cars for us, checking that we had everything we needed. We had also noticed they had left us some slices of cake in our bridal suite, which I wish I had known about because I would have tried to bring those home with me.
While we were leaving our upstairs venue space, we could see the wedding on the first floor was just getting into party mode. While Wychmere is popular and can have 3 weddings happening at any given day at all their venue spaces, they made you feel like you were the only wedding there. We never heard the party below us, we had our own dedicated staff, and you felt like the day was all your own.
Overall Thoughts
You can’t go wrong with Wychmere. It’s a beautiful space, the staff are top notch, the food delicious, and the coastal vibes are perfection. We truly felt so well taken care of by the staff from the moment we toured the venue, to planning with our provided venue coordinator, to day of, everything was smooth, efficient, and beautiful.
If you’re looking to save some money as well, consider getting married in the off season, where they can work with your budget and wedding sizes a little better. However, no matter when you choose to get married, I feel their costs are 100% justified, and you truly get treated with care and love throughout.
***Photos in this post are mostly from Kelly Cronin Photography. You’ll see more of her amazing work in my vendor recap post coming soon!
One of the pivotal moments in planning a wedding is attending a Wedding Tasting in preparation for your big day with your venue. Going into our wedding planning adventure, I had some ideas of what a wedding tasting might be like based on movies and TV shows, but I wasn’t fully sure what to expect. Today, I’m going to share our experience at our Cape Cod venue so you can go in ready to fully enjoy your wedding tasting experience.
What to expect at a Wedding Tasting for Wychmere
Around 6 months before your wedding date, Wychmere will schedule your Wedding Tasting onsite. As a May Bride, our Wedding Tasting event occurred in December. Ahead of time, your coordinator at Wychmere will pass along a questionnaire to collect insights into your wedding day expectations, vendors, menu preference and share an updated list of hor d’oeuvres, speciality cocktails, cocktail hour stations, entrees, deserts, and more!
The tasting itself is a Group Tasting, meaning it’s not just for you and your partner, but all couples getting married in a similar timeframe. Our tasting event had around 20 couples total, and each couple was allowed to bring up to 2 guests if they so desired, but some I saw were able to bring 4 guests.
Tastings at Wychmere aren’t free! I had gone into this assuming there would be no cost for a tasting since you’re already paying tens of thousands of dollars, but at our particular venue in 2024/2025 they were charging $175 per person to attend the tasting. At that price, you may rethink how many people you want with you 🙂
Brian and I opted for going alone, and not bringing our family with us. I actually preferred it this way because we were able to experience the offerings without judgement or opinions of others, and could make our own decisions for what we thought we and our guests would enjoy best. There were 2 other couples also solo during our group tasting, with most bringing one set of parents with them.
Cocktail Hour
Just like a real wedding, you attend a cocktail hour during your tasting. During this time you can try some speciality drinks, sample some butler passed hor d’oeuvres, check out some serving stations, and plated hor d’oeuvres. Here’s what our event included:
11 of the most popular passed appetizers
Soup station (clam chowder and tomato bisque with mini grilled cheeses)
Full open bar
Speciality cocktails
Table of appetizers
Dinner service
After cocktail hour, another room was opened to reveal tables for dinner service, as well as sample table settings at the entrance so you could check out a variety of place settings, linens, glassware and more.
What I loved about this part of the evening was that each couple/party received their own table. When I heard we were attending a group tasting, I was afraid we’d have to sit with strangers, but nope! Thankfully each group had their own round table so you could privately enjoy the offerings.
This part of the evening takes around 2-3 hours. So get ready for a lot of eating! I’ve never eaten for so many hours straight in my life! Here’s what to expect during the dinner portion of your tasting.
3 of the most popular salads + bread (these are already out at your table when you arrive)
4 popular fish entrees
3 popular beef entrees + 1 popular chicken entree
Variety of Plated & Petite Desserts
Cake samples to take home
Full Open Bar + Tableside House Wine (that we have paired with entrees)
You also receive a menu card at your table letting you know what meal selections you’ll be trying, which was helpful to keep note of what we liked and what we’d change.
Dessert Time
This was a seemingly never ending experience! We received a platter of small desserts that had a wide variety of items, and then before we knew it, we were then being served a number of full sized desserts too! When the evening was coming to a close, each table also received a box of cake samples to take away with them, which I appreciated because it let us take a break from eating and have something we could nibble on either later that night or the next day. Cake is a big deal, so you want to choose the right kind!
5 hours later
After what was around 5 hours at the venue, it was time to head out. After meal service, you were welcome to walk around the other venue spaces on the premise to check out the rooms you’ve already booked for your wedding, see some sample tables and floor plans, and just get excited for what the vision will be for the big day! Safe to say we were stuffed and exhausted after our tasting!
Napkins
Table Setting 1
Table Setting 2
Table Setting 3
Observations
Bigger parties during cocktail hour would wipe clean the butler passed hor d’oeuvres, so you often had to wait for a second, or sometimes third pass to be able to try something since those parties of 6 often grabbed as much as they could.
Cocktail hour for the tasting felt too long. I think we would have enjoyed 30-45 minutes max since there was often a lull in things to do or eat
I really loved seeing sample tables done up with various lines, plates, and glassware. You could see some of the things in real life that are only listed on the vendor websites, and it really got me excited to pick things out to compliment the vision I have for our wedding.
Takeaway cake is great! We had fun the next evening tasting the various cakes and were able to make a selection we were happy with.
Overall, we had a lot of fun, and it really made it feel real that we’e getting married before we know it!
Just Married Cake
You can check out my Youtube Short for a video version of our experience!
When I got engaged in the Spring, I knew my partner and I were going to want to look outside our current state of New Jersey for a wedding venue. New England seemed like the perfect choice since that’s where he and I both grew up, but the question was where?
As people who grew up in a fairly small town with not a lot of unique or fancy venues available in the nearby area, and having spent more high school dances than I can count at those said venues, it was time to broaden our horizons. We eventually decided a coastal feel for a wedding might be worth exploring, and I immediately suggested Cape Cod.
I grew up going to the Cape every summer as a little girl, and when I got older I was eventually invited to the ladies Fall trip to the Cape with my mom, aunt, and late grandmother. Brian and I even took a brief vacation or two to the Cape over the years. We knew we wanted to avoid a New Jersey wedding because they’re all over the top here, very expensive, and have that distinctive “Jersey” feel to them that we wanted to avoid. It just didn’t feel like us. So, the Cape it is!
After much research, we narrowed down our search and visited 4 venues. Follow along below for our thoughts on each, and maybe it’ll help you, a possible future Cape Bride or Groom find your perfect spot too!
West Dennis Yacht Club
West Dennis Yacht Club
The West Dennis Yacht Club is just that, a Yacht Club. They aren’t a venue by nature, but rent out the space for weddings and events to bring in extra income. The space inside was airy and I liked the colorful sound blockers they chose to hang from the ceiling, and the views of the water were nice.
Pros: – Close to Beach if you wanted a beach ceremony – Right off the water – Great menu including fun late night snacks
Cons: – Not a great backup rain plan. Your guests would sit at their assigned tables and you’d get married in between the tables. – Aren’t very welcoming of smaller parties, especially during the Fall. They apparently had two dates open, one in April and one in the Fall, but they wouldn’t offer me the Fall date in hopes they could make more money from a larger party than mine – Bar area was very dated and dark feeling
Pricing Info: – Menus start at $130 per person – Space rental can range from $2000 to $5300 depending on time of year – Peak season requires a minimum of 130 guests for a Saturday wedding – If you use an open bar, there will be a 20% gratuity added – Prices do not include 7% meal tax or 20% service charge
West Dennis Yacht Club reception space
Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club
Ocean Edge Resort Carriage House
The Ocean Edge is a beautiful old historic home turned hotel. Due to our smaller party size, we were looking at their Carriage House venue. The hotel has a few different areas where they can host weddings, and are really into providing you with a whole weekend getaway resort like event. Parts of the property are absolutely beautiful, and they have a lot of interesting things going for them, but ultimately, I wasn’t overly impressed with what I saw in terms of the Carriage House or ceremony spaces.
Pros: – Plenty of onsite accommodations – Can host rehearsal dinners and welcome parties – Onsite spa for getting ready services – Everything can be self contained here, from meals, to evening activities, to the actual wedding – You can repurpose some of the space for a getting ready/bridal suite like space – You get the whole building to yourselves for the whole day – Very friendly and welcoming staff
Cons: – The main room of Carriage House felt very old, dimly lit, and dated – The ceremony options weren’t super impressive. You can get married upstairs in a room or on the very small titled lawn outside in front of the big carriage doors. You could also get married on the main lawn in front of the hotel too, but you have to contend with traffic, and it’s very out in the open.
Pricing Info: – Carriage House food and beverage minimum for a Saturday is $18,000 or $12,000 for Fri/Sun – Off season pricing is a $12,000 for Saturday or $7,500 for Fri/Sun – Lawn ceremonies range from $1000 to $2000 depending where and what day – Beach Ceremony: $3,500 – Above doesn’t include Admin fees, taxes, etc
Carriage House of Ocean Edge Resort
Wychmere Beach Club
Wychmere Beach Club
Wychmere Beach Club is a private club, that is home to 3 different venue spaces that can accommodate weddings of various sizes. It’s located right in the port, off the water, and offers great views and picture spots. Venue spaces are designed to feel airy, are full of natural light, and have a modern updated coastal feel. I also really liked the lighting options in the rooms. We toured the Ocean Room at Wychmere, their smallest space (which is still huge), and it’s located on the second floor.
Pros: – Rooms can be sectioned off if an indoor ceremony is needed due to weather – Each venue space seems to provide either a private deck or patio space, giving you indoor and outdoor flexibility – Staff was the most welcoming, and really made visiting feel like an event – Fireplace – Bridal Suite and attendant – Lots of big windows with water views – Private deck for Ocean Room (for ceremony/cocktail hour/hanging out) – They have recommended vendors that can be used towards your event minimum spend
Cons – Multiple weddings can be held there in a single day, although they do space them out by different start and end times – Parking might be challenging for those weddings being held later in the evening, since the first wedding of the day (Ocean Room) get’s parking lot priority – Minimum spend needed to be met, regardless of party size – Limited hotel rooms onsite
Pricing Info: – Event Minimums are based on time of year. Peak season is July, August and October. – Least expensive to most expensive days: Sunday, Friday, Saturday – Peak season Saturdays can start around $50k – Off Season can start around $28,000 for a Saturday depending on the month chosen – Above doesn’t include Admin fees, taxes, etc
Wychmere Beach Club Ocean Room
Chatham Bars Inn
Chatham Bars Inn Boathouse
Chatham Bars Inn is a luxury high end hotel that can host a wide array of events from your wedding day ceremony and reception to rehearsal dinners, after parties, and morning after brunches. They have 3 main venue spaces for weddings, all right off the sand with the ocean in the distance. They can accommodate small weddings to large tented events for hundreds of people. We checked out their Boathouse event space.
Pros: – Resort gives a very high end and impressive feel – You can walk right out onto the sand and beach – Beautiful photo opportunities – Private patio or deck area – Use of beach – Nice outdoor ceremony space (but many stairs to walk down for the bride)
Cons: – Boathouse didn’t feel impressive compared to the resort itself. The room wasn’t anything special and felt like it would be cramped. – No bridal suite or getting ready space – Beach House was ok, but didn’t feel as wow as the main resort either – Venue sales person wasn’t super friendly and felt disinterested the whole time. An event was happening in the main space we had an appointment to see (Boathouse) and she wasn’t sure we’d be able to get in to look around. We felt rushed, and it was the quickest least informative tour – Very expensive accommodations, so if you’re guests aren’t wealthy, they’ll need to look elsewhere to stay
Pricing Info: – Pricing for basic food and beverage packages starts at $600 per person – Reception fee starts at $5000 – If you want the lawn of the Boat House, that’s another $3500 – I heard from some people that Saturday min spend is $90k, but can’t confirm
Boathouse at Chatham Bars Inn
Final Decision
While the West Dennis Yacht Club was reasonably priced, had great food options, and had a nice outdoor space, it didn’t check off all the boxes for me. The bar was very old feeling, they were against allowing us to get married in Oct due to our small wedding size, and it just didn’t give me the wow factor I was hoping for.
The Ocean Edge Resort has a lot of wonderful people working there. Everyone made us feel so welcome and comfortable. If you’re looking to create a weekend retreat for your wedding, then this has a lot going for you, with activities, games, and great food spots, and plenty of rooms for everyone to stay in one spot. The venue space just didn’t level up to some of the other options we saw.
It was a tough call, initially, between Wychmere and Chatham Bars Inn. When we first walked through Wychmere, it was love at first sight. From the entryway, to the coastal inspired bar, to the water steps away. You could feel it was special and outshined the other spaces we had seen so far. The hotel and grounds at Chatham Bars Inn can’t be beat, they are beautiful, classy and elegant. However, the venue space left us disappointed and surprised, based on how beautiful the hotel and restaurant spaces are.
Ultimately, we decided that Wychmere would be our special spot, and the host for our wedding. The staff were amazing, they welcomed us with champagne and a bottle of sparkling wine as a gift, and they took the time to answer our questions and show us every little detail. The venue space was beautiful, bright, and had the coastal feel we were going for. I can’t wait to show you what we do with the space and how it all turns out!
Last week, the day I have been waiting for, for a very long time, finally arrived. My partner and I got engaged!
Our story starts almost 2 decades ago, in high school, where we officially met, became fast friends, and soon started dating. High school sweethearts are far and few between, and it’s something I’ve always held closely in my heart. I’m lucky to have some friends who went on the same journey as us too.
How did it go down?
I always knew he wanted to surprise me with a mystery trip, to keep me on my toes and guessing. On a Thursday night, I was presented with instructions to pack a bag, given some rough ideas on temperatures at our final destination, and nothing else. Friday we headed to the airport, and almost didn’t make our flight due to weird system errors with our check-in, but thankfully we made our flight. Our first flight was just a transfer, but it was a long layover in Denver, so it gave me plenty of time to wonder what kind of adventure I was about to embark on.
Our final flight took us to Ontario, California. Who knew there was an Ontario in California, not me! It’s also quite confusing with California and Canada each abbreviated to CA. But I digress. Our final destination was not Ontario, but about an hour and a half drive away in Rancho Mirage, just outside of Palm Springs. We’ve never been to either location, so it was a new adventure and place to explore.
On day one of my surprise trip, we visited a beautiful place called Indian Canyons. If you’re ever in the area, I 100% recommend you go. There’s a number of hikes you can take, but my favorite is at the end of the road, where you hike down the canyon into a Palm tree oasis. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It was a magical spot, but very windy when we were there. When we got back to the hotel for the day, our faces and necks were coated in dust. Our face cloth was no longer white when we were done with it.
The next day was the big day. As fans of the National Park Service, we like to visit parks with our official Parks Passport, a little blue book you can stamp at each location, commemorating the date and location of your visit. Our plan was to drive out to Joshua Tree National Park during the day for hiking and checking out the visitor center for our stamp.
After hiking for miles through various sections of the park, which is beautiful and seemingly out of this world with some of the landscapes, we decided to end our adventure for the day in the Jumbo Rocks section. This section of the park has massive light brown boulders that I can picture being scattered on Mars. It’s gorgeous and fun to see the different shapes and sizes created over time by the wind in the valley. We decided to do some off trail exploring and climbing of the Jumbo Rocks, which is when I spotted a cool rock that had a little cave like cutout, so we decided to get a closer look. It was at this special spot that Brian got down on one knee and asked me a question I’ve been anxiously awaiting. It was a special moment, just the two of us, and it was one we’ll never forget.
I can’t wait to get started with planning! Life is a bit busy right now so I probably won’t get into the weeds until mid April due to work travel and a personal vacation, but I’m sure it’s going to be quite the ride. I feel guilty not using the next few weeks left of this month to get a good grasp of things, but planning an international work trip and vacation across the world is probably more than enough stress for me at the moment.
I’m not sure where to start, so if you have any tips, good templates, planners, etc, let me know! I can’t wait to bing you on this next journey with me!
