When planning your big day, one big decision must be made before all the others: where do you want to get married? There are so many wedding venues in NH – how do you choose? A good starting point is knowing whether you want a city wedding or a country wedding. Now, city weddings can have their charms, but if you ask us, nothing can match the magic of a country wedding.
New Hampshire, and Bedford in particular, is a wonderful setting for a wedding. The state has it all: majestic mountains, rushing rivers, and fall foliage that transports you. With 2024 trend predictions highlighting intimate ceremonies and the “wedding weekend,” getting hitched out of town makes a lot of sense. Gather your favorite people in our stunning backyard, and let’s go through the top three reasons to take your wedding to the New Hampshire countryside.
1. Make Natural Beauty Your Backdrop
No matter where you go, a country wedding pretty much guarantees some gorgeous scenery. Unlike the more cramped and crowded cities, in the country, there’s room to spread out and take in the glorious best of what nature has to offer. There’s a photo op just about everywhere you look, especially on a country estate or at an inn with a beautifully maintained garden like ours. Even winter is no barrier to making the most of your outdoor setting – in fact, there’s something extra special about a winter wedding.
With so much beauty all around, you don’t need to do as much to dress up your wedding. Letting nature set the scene and provide some color and charm is light on the wallet, too. You can be more intentional and strategic about decor when your surroundings are doing most of the heavy lifting. This is true whether you’re planning on a garden wedding or using our stylishly-appointed Great Hall or the Grand Charolais Room. A good venue is enough of a blank slate that you can infuse it with your personality and theme but not totally devoid of character and interest.
2. Find the Historical Charm & Rustic Elegance You Seek
Many wedding venues in NH come with fascinating histories. The years have lent sophistication to these storied buildings, a sprinkling of the glamor of years gone by. The Bedford Village Inn started its life as a farmhouse during Bedford’s agricultural heyday, and there’s plenty of that 1800s style in evidence in the buildings to this day. The newer Grand Boutique Hotel also takes aesthetic cues from the original farmhouse building, creating a cohesive, nostalgic atmosphere.
When you get married somewhere that’s been around a long time, your love story becomes a part of that history, woven into the legacy of families over generations. The exposed wooden beams and elegant chandeliers give the Great Hall the perfect balance of rustic chic and elevated refinement. This kind of setting is grand and impactful without being uptight or pretentious.
You get to decide how opulent you want your wedding to feel or how much you want to lean into the cozy country atmosphere. A country wedding venue gives you a lot of flexibility – you can create your dream, whether it’s outdoors, indoors, or a combination of both. It’s a destination wedding that doesn’t require your whole extended family to update their passports and wade through visa paperwork.
3. Get Ahead of The 2024 Wedding Trends With Timeless Style
It’s the time of year when everyone’s preoccupied with how the coming year will play out. The experts are out in their numbers, predicting what trends will take the wedding world by storm this year. A country wedding never goes out of fashion and, it turns out, it’s also an effortless way to get ahead of the trends.
Smaller weddings and intimate ceremonies have been growing in popularity for good reasons. It’s not just about budget – people are realising that they’d rather set off on the new adventure of married life surrounded by those they love most dearly, without their parents’ “family friends” they haven’t seen in a decade. For some, this looks like a more select ceremony and a bigger reception, giving the extended clan a chance to join the celebrations.
Extending The Wedding Bliss
The coziness of a country wedding lends itself to gathering your favorite people, all staying in luxurious boutique accommodation, for an extended celebration. This ties in beautifully with the trend of spreading your wedding out over a weekend – spacing out the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception so the joy isn’t restricted to a single day or night.
If the thought of dealing with your whole family for that long makes you shudder, maybe the “minimoon” trend suits you better. When everyone else goes home after the party, you and your new spouse can relax together for a few days before going back to life. It’s more affordable than a full honeymoon and a nice way to treat yourself if you’re only planning on going away later in the year.
Tie the Knot in the Beautiful Countryside of Bedford, NH
There are so many reasons to go for a wedding in the countryside – we’ve only scratched the surface. Whether you are a fan of the great outdoors or want to evoke chic countryside charm, consider saying “I do” amidst the splendor of New Hampshire’s gorgeous landscapes. As one of the top wedding venues in NH, we’ll ensure your special day (or weekend) goes off without a hitch. Our experienced wedding team is at your service to make it a day to remember. Get in touch, and let’s make your country wedding dreams come true in Bedford.