Hawthorne House

So, I'm not planning a wedding, or a wedding planning business, so I might not know the specifics of what a bride is looking for. But I have definitely been around my fair share of event spaces. And Hawthorne House seems like a good one. There is a nice little chapel. It's crisp and clean and bright. Also, I appreciate that it's a "chapel" but it's not remotely religious. It's basic, to be sure, but I think there's a lot to be said for simplicity. My only complaint was that the acoustics here are ROUGH. Plan on adding some sound absorbing features if you want people to actually be able to hear what's going on. OR, ban loud, noisy children from attending. Seriously, I couldn't hear a single word of the ceremony because of a few irritating babies. You cross a nice little bridge through some trees, and then you're at the reception venue. I was quite impressed. The aesthetics match the chapel in that it's simple and clean. There are quite a few windows and the lighting is fancy without being overly ornate. The bar is completely adequate, and has room for 8 taps of beer, if that's your thing. Around the front of the house is a wraparound porch that just felt great to be on, as if you were at the house of some wealthy relative. And the front lawn is expansive with a pretty nice little gazebo. Not sure what you'd do there, but I'm sure it would fulfill your gazebo needs. My only complaint about the reception hall itself was the limited number of bathrooms. I can see with a larger event how there'd be a line for the facilities. The staff was all friendly and helpful, an stayed out of your way. The food was provided by the venue, and it was alright. It wasn't all totally to my liking, but that could be the menu the couple selected, or the cooks could have had an off night. But they kept the buffets filled and hot and did a good job otherwise. I can't say that I was OMG blown away by Hawthorne House, but I was certainly impressed. Any bride-to-be that chose this venue would be making a wise decision.

The ladies at the Hawthorne House are helpful and fantastic to work with. I am a photographer so I get to see lots of wedding venues, I (personally) love the charm that this venue has to offer. Outdoor weddings at the gazebo are lovely and so are the indoor weddings in the chapel. The bridal suite is spacious and has and area dedicated to hair and make-up. If I were a bride, I would just soak it all up - take breakfast and eat on the balcony outside of the bridal suite, in the morning and enjoy every moment of my time there. I haven't even talked about the food yet... Lets just say, AMAZING! I've had Chicken Marsala, Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, Sirloin Tips (my personal fave) and that's just the entrees - the mashed potatoes. The roasted red potatoes, the steamed broccoli, the glazed carrots... There is nothing that I've eaten there that has been less than fantastic. They had an appetizer item at the last wedding I shot there that was so good I looked it up to pass it along because I wasn't sure of the name - it was the Rosemary and Parmesan Shortbread Crackers with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Feta Cheese the crackers were heart shaped and looked awesome on the tray. The ambient light from the chandeliers at night is stunning in the reception area and the natural window light flooding the room during the day is a photographer's dream! If you are looking for a classy, elegant, charming chapel or a floral picturesque outdoor wedding this is definitely worth your time checking it out. Irene and her staff will take very good care of you :)

My parents and I toured the Hawthorne House while searching for wedding venues. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. There are clearly marked signs leading up to the property, so you know where to go. The first thing you see is the gorgeous white chapel, which is spacious, climate controlled, and has a baby grand piano. Downstairs in the chapel is even MORE room, with bathrooms and a big area where the wedding party could wait before the ceremony. There is the cutest bridge leading from the chapel to the main house. The main house has all been beautifully updated, and has rooms with private bathrooms upstairs for the groom/groomsmen and bride/bridesmaids. The bride's room even has a shower and big balcony overlooking the gazebo. Downstairs, you find hardwood floors and plenty of space for a large reception. The food and drink menus had lots of options; something for everyone. The gazebo out front is really cute, and the pictures of it with the lights on in the evening were gorgeous. The lawn is PERFECT, and there are pretty flowers hanging from the giant porch on the front of the house. Adona was working with us, and was very personable and really went out of her way to get us a great deal and all necesssary information in only a few short hours. We ultimately decided to have our wedding in a different city, but the Hawthorne House is an exquisite venue!

We drove in from Texas and attended a wedding here 2 days ago and I was blown away by this place. I do wedding photography and have been to countless weddings but this venue ranks among one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Our friends got married in the chapel there and then had their dinner/ dance in the reception hall. The chapel was gorgeous with lots of nice bright natural light. Following the wedding we went over to the hall for an ice cream bar and lawn games while the bride and groom took pictures with their wedding party. The DJ kept things flowing at a great pace, the ice cream bar was super cute and a nice touch, and the staff was friendly and helpful. They had a buffet-style dinner and the good was SO DELICIOUS!!!! They had a chicken breast smothered in a cream sauce, 4 cheese macaroni (OMG!!), green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and dinner rolls. Everyone was talking about how amazing the food tasted. Following dinner, we spent quite a bit of time out on their beautifully manicured grounds and on their covered porch. They had ample space for a dance floor and a photo booth (fun!) inside too. The only negative I could find was that the bathrooms were downstairs. There was one on the same floor as the hall itself for handicapped guests though. Overall, it was a beautiful location and I definitely recommend it. :)

We scheduled my daughter's wedding at HH for 6/6/20. We paid the $7,000 venue fee upfront. Because of COVID, the wedding could not be held on that date. HH told us that per our contract we could re-schedule within the calendar year so we re-scheduled for 8/21/20. As that date grew closer we felt uncomfortable holding a large event on that date due to the virus. HH would only allow us to re-schedule within 2020 without paying a new venue fee. We wanted to re-schedule farther out than that. We could schedule in January - April 2021 by paying 50% of a new venue fee and after that, it would be a new venue fee in full. After going back and forth with HH our options were these: 1. Hold the wedding prior to 4/30/21. 2. Schedule farther out and pay a new venue fee, after we had already paid a venue fee of $7,000. 3. Go to a different venue and forfeit our $7,000 venue fee.We opted to go with a different venue for the wedding, which is happening later in 2021, and Hawthorne House kept our full $7,000 despite the fact we weren't holding a wedding at their venue.Please be sure you ask the venues you're considering what their re-schedule policy is. That's true in general of course, but especially so in these times. We had no idea we would be rescheduling the wedding once, let alone twice. Incidentally, our new venue did not require the full venue fee upfront. All of the other venues we toured the second time around had much more forgiving policies than HH during this pandemic. And all of our other vendors, without exception, worked with us. Even our caterer who is not approved at our new venue. We are not difficult people and would have loved to have held the wedding at Hawthorne House, but we couldn't stomach staying there once we knew we were going to have to pay a second venue fee.