Sage the DateFind your venue →

Lakes Region & White Mountains venue guide

Updated

Lakes Region and White Mountains wedding venues: barns, farms, and mountain inns

North of Concord, New Hampshire turns into lakes and then mountains. Around Lake Winnipesaukee and the smaller lakes near it, the venues are working farms and timber barns. Further north, in the White Mountains, they're old inns, a ski resort, and barns with views of the peaks. Many are rented for a whole weekend, with room for your family and friends to stay.

We've gathered details on 12 venues in the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes its prices.

Barn or farmOnly our wedding that dayGuests stay on site

What should you budget?

Start with the site fee, then add the rest

$14k

Typical site fee

What the property alone costs at the venues here that charge for it, before food, drinks, staff, and rentals. Their published fees run from $5k to $30k or more, depending on the venue, the season, and how many days you have it.

From there, add a caterer and the bar for your guest count, then what the venue doesn't supply: tables, chairs, linens, and sometimes a tent. Then add staff to serve and clear, and someone to run the day. Last, ask whether the fee includes the rooms or cabins, and what goes on at the end for service charges and tax.

We're not giving you a typical all-in total here, because too few venues publish enough of their pricing for us to build one we'd stand behind. Each venue's own page has our estimate for your guest count wherever its published pricing covers enough of the day.

Venues with catering for 100 guests

Use − and + to reprice every figure below.

Source: SagetheDate.com

Every filled dot is one the Lakes Region & White Mountains venue that can host 100 guests, shaded by its own estimate on the same scale as the New Hampshireguide's map; grey ones don't publish a venue-with-catering price. Outlined dots are venues in neighbouring regions.

Narrow it down

See which the Lakes Region & White Mountains venues fit your guest count and budget, and why

Guests

100
See matching the Lakes Region & White Mountains venues

By budget and guest count

Lakes Region & White Mountains wedding venues by budget and guest count

How many Lakes Region & White Mountains venues come in under common budgets for the venue and food, at the guest counts couples plan for most. Each row counts the venues that can host that many guests and publish a full price for the venue and the food, so the list gets shorter as it grows.

Lakes Region & White Mountains wedding venues under each budget, by guest count
GuestsTypical venue and foodUnder $15,000Under $25,000Under $35,000Under $50,000
50 guests—0 of 42 of 44 of 44 of 4
100 guests—0 of 42 of 44 of 44 of 4
150 guests—0 of 42 of 43 of 44 of 4
200 guests—0 of 31 of 32 of 33 of 3

Our estimates for the venue and food, including service charges and tax where the venue lists them, on a Saturday in peak season. Not quotes. A typical figure is shown only where at least five venues publish a price. On their cheapest published date, usually a weekday or a winter month, 2 more venues come in under $15,000 for 100 guests.

Lakes Region & White Mountains venues by price for 100 guests

$15,000–$25,000
The Barn on the Pemi, Waterville Valley Resort
$25,000–$35,000
Cardigan Lodge, The Wentworth Inn
See which fit your guest count and budget

How venues price weddings

Two venues can quote the same number and mean very different things

Pick one to see what its price contains, what it leaves for you to buy, and what it typically comes to.

You pay for the space and their kitchen

Venues with catering

Venues publish their price in two ways: as a site fee plus a per-guest menu price, or as a bundled package (venue + food).

At100guests

$25k

typical for venues with catering

$17k–$26k

where 80% of these 4 venues land

And then you still buy

  • Bar, where it isn’t included
  • Rentals and décor beyond the basics
  • Every other vendor

Good if you

don’t want to worry about sourcing a caterer or any outside catering fees.

What you’d still need to find out

Whether drinks are inside the menu price or billed separately, and what the service charge and tax add at the end.

What changes the math here

You rent the place, then bring the wedding. Most venues up here charge for the property and let you choose the caterer, the bar, and most of your vendors. That's a lot of freedom and a lot to organize. What you get in return is time: many rent you the whole place from Thursday or Friday to Sunday, with beds for the people you want close, so the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the breakfast after all happen in one spot.

Charge for the space only
67%

Food, drinks, and staff are yours to add, compared with 56% across New Hampshire.

See venues that charge for the space
Let you bring your own caterer
100%

Of the venues that say either way, compared with 86% across New Hampshire. Some from a list they approve.

See venues that allow your caterer
Have rooms for guests
75%

Right on the property, compared with 63% across New Hampshire. Ask how many people it sleeps.

See venues with rooms on site

What kind of place

Three kinds of mountain and lake wedding

Barn or farm

A timber barn on a working farm near the lakes or under the mountains, often yours for the weekend. Ask what the fee covers, what the barn has for heat and restrooms, and whether there's a tent or indoor space if it rains.

8 of 12 venues here

Space alone, typical
$14k (7 venues)
Find venues like these

Mountain inn or resort

A White Mountains inn in Jackson or a ski resort in Waterville Valley, with a kitchen, a team that runs weddings, and rooms for your guests. The least to organize. Ask about the season they host weddings and how many rooms you have to book.

3 of 12 venues here

Find venues like these

Lodge or retreat

A lodge in the woods or a private retreat with cabins, meadows, and a pond, taken for two or three nights. Ask how many people it sleeps, what you have to bring, and who cleans up after.

4 of 12 venues here

Find venues like these

What different types of venues cost in the Lakes Region & White Mountains

The same wedding costs different amounts at a barn and at a hotel — and so does the shape of the bill. One way to look at it, for 100 guests.

What just the space costs

The venue rental across every venue that charges one as its own line — whether or not they also sell you the food. Just the room, nothing else.

  • Retreat Center$9k (3)
  • Resort$12k (2)
  • Barn / Farm$14k (8)
  • Estate / Mansion$14k (3)

Every venue that itemises a rental, including the ones that cater. Venues quoting a single package over the room and the meal never name a room price, so they aren’t here — and this is a part of a bill, not a whole one, so it can’t be subtracted from the next chart.

What changes the shortlist here

Three decisions to make early

Decide on a weekend or a day

Several venues here only rent for a long weekend, and the fee covers all of it. If you want just the wedding day, ask whether that's possible. If you want the weekend, ask who can sleep on site and what the other nights include.

See venues for a weekend wedding

Line up a caterer who knows the venue

Bringing your own caterer means they'll be working in a barn or a field, not a restaurant kitchen. Ask each venue which caterers have worked there, what kitchen or prep space they get, and what rentals you'll need.

See venues that allow your caterer

Plan for mountain weather

Few venues here say what happens if it rains, and evenings get cold in spring and fall. Ask whether there's an indoor space or a tent that holds everyone, who pays for it, and which months the venue is open for weddings.

See venues with a rain plan
How the Lakes Region & White Mountains compares with New Hampshire
  • Let you bring your own caterer5 of 5 vs 86%

    of venues that say either way (5 here)

  • Have rooms for guests on site75% vs 63%

    at least, of all venues (12 here)

  • Give you the whole property67% vs 56%

    at least, of all venues (12 here)

  • State a rain plan8% vs 41%

    at least, of all venues (12 here)

  • Require something extra17% vs 11%

    a planner, insurance, security or similar, of all venues (12 here)

What affects the cost of your wedding

Your date can change the price a lot

Wedding venue pricing is seasonal. 4 of the 12 Lakes Region & White Mountains venues we track charge differently depending on the day, and 7 charge differently depending on the month. Every figure below compares a venue with itself, so it says what moving your date does — whatever kind of venue you pick, and whatever the size of your wedding.

Day of the week

Months you’d consider

Peak months are selected to start. Tap any month to compare.

Saturday, peak season

The most expensive date most venues sell, and the date almost every published price assumes. Choose a different day or month to see what typically comes off.

How much less than its own most expensive month a typical Lakes Region & White Mountains venue charges, comparing Saturdays all year (7 venues price a season)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

What gets added at the end

Taxes and fees mark up a Lakes Region & White Mountains quote typically by 14%

Every pricing model carries them. At the 2 Lakes Region & White Mountains venues that publish their fees, the middle result is 14%, with most landing between 3% and 14%.

Various fees to considerTypical

  • Sales tax3 venues

    8.5%

    Set by the state, and charged on the service charge too at most venues.

Dots are sized by how many venues charge that rate. The gold line is the median rate, and every fee has its own scale: read the spread within a row, not across them.

Places worth a closer look

Six Lakes Region and White Mountains venues to start with

These include barns in the mountains and near Concord, a working farm by Lake Winnipesaukee, a mountain club lodge, a lakeside resort, and a historic house with a barn. Open a venue to see its pricing, capacity, spaces, vendor rules, and other planning details.

Find venues that match your vision and budget

Describe your guest count, your budget, and anything you can’t compromise on. See a ranked list of venues, with why each one fits, trade-offs, and what to double-check.

Try:

Sage the Date reads each venue's own published details, including pricing, catering and alcohol rules, music curfews, rain plans, whether you get the whole property, and how many guests each space holds. Every estimate uses your guest count. When a venue doesn't say, we tell you instead of guessing.

Before you book

Three questions worth asking

  • What does the site fee include, and for how many days do we have the property?
  • Which caterers have worked here, and what tables, chairs, and rentals will we need to bring?
  • If it rains, is there an indoor space or a tent that fits everyone, and does it cost extra?
See all 12 Lakes Region & White Mountains venues we track
How this guide is built

Sage reads each venue's own published pricing and policies and puts different kinds of quotes on the same footing. Too few venues up here publish a complete price, so this guide prints the typical site fee rather than a typical total built from a handful of venues. If a venue doesn't say something, we treat it as a question to ask, not a no. Venues can't pay to appear or to rank higher here.