South County venue guide

Updated

South County and Block Island wedding venues: seaside inns and beach clubs

South County is Rhode Island's beach country: salt ponds, sandy beaches, and old inns from Narragansett down to Westerly and Watch Hill. Block Island is a ferry ride offshore. The venues here are mostly inns with rooms upstairs, plus a beach club, a country club on the bay, and a farm with a winery. A wedding here tends to be a weekend by the water.

We've gathered details on 6 South County and Block Island venues. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes its prices.

What should you budget?

Venues with catering for 100 guests

Use − and + to reprice every figure below.

$38k

Typical estimate

The median cost for South County & Block Island venues that include their own catering.

$15k–$136k

Typical range

A very wide range. The beach club and the country club sit near the low end, and the oceanfront inns reach well past the top of it.

These are our estimates, not quotes from the venues. They include service charges and tax when a venue lists them. Your date, guest count, bar, and rentals will all change the final total. Guest rooms aren't included.

Source: SagetheDate.com

Every filled dot is one South County & Block Island venue that can host 100 guests, shaded by its own estimate on the same scale as the Rhode Islandguide's map; grey ones don't publish a venue-with-catering price. Outlined dots are venues in neighbouring regions.

Narrow it down

See which South County & Block Island venues fit your guest count and budget, and why

Guests

100

By budget and guest count

South County & Block Island wedding venues by budget and guest count

How many South County & Block Island 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.

South County & Block Island wedding venues under each budget, by guest count
GuestsTypical venue and foodUnder $15,000Under $25,000Under $35,000Under $50,000
50 guests$28k1 of 52 of 53 of 54 of 5
100 guests$38k0 of 51 of 52 of 54 of 5
150 guests—0 of 41 of 41 of 42 of 4
200 guests—0 of 30 of 30 of 30 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, 1 more venue comes in under $15,000 for 100 guests.

South County & Block Island venues by price for 100 guests

$15,000–$25,000
Meadowbrook Inn
$25,000–$35,000
Galilee Beach Club
$35,000–$50,000
Shepherd's Run, Sullivan House
Over $75,000
Weekapaug 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

$43k

typical for venues with catering

$15k–$136k

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're paying for the water and the weekend. The typical total here is higher than across Rhode Island, and most of that is the oceanfront inns: they come with a lawn above the water, rooms for your guests, and a kitchen that does the food, so there's less to hire. They also come with more rules than most venues, from what you can throw at the send-off to what you can hang on the walls.

Have rooms for guests
50%

Right on the property, compared with 33% across Rhode Island.

See venues with rooms on site
Limit sparklers, flames, or décor
86%

Of the rules venues here publish on sparklers, candles, confetti, and hanging décor, the share that ban it or allow it only with conditions.

See each venue's rules
Added on top of the price
+24%

Typical service charges, admin fees, and tax, compared with 22% across Rhode Island.

Compare full estimates, fees included
Let you bring your own caterer
20%

Of the venues that say either way. Most cater in house.

See venues that allow your caterer

What kind of place

Three kinds of South County wedding

Seaside inn

An old inn on a salt pond or the ocean, in Westerly, Charlestown, or on Block Island, with a lawn for the ceremony and rooms for the family. Ask how many rooms you have to book, for how many nights, and whether the inn is yours alone that day.

4 of 6 venues here

Find venues like these

Beach club

A ceremony on the sand and a clubhouse reception in Narragansett. Simpler than an inn, and nobody sleeps there. Ask what happens to the ceremony if it rains and where guests will stay nearby.

1 of 6 venues here

Find venues like these

Club, farm, or winery

A country club ballroom above the bay in North Kingstown, or a farm with a winery and a tent in South Kingstown. Bigger rooms and fewer rules than the inns. Ask what the package includes and what gets added at the end.

2 of 6 venues here

Find venues like these

Before you tour

Three decisions to make early

Decide who sleeps on site

The inns can put up the wedding party, sometimes most of your guests. Work out who you want on site, then ask each inn how many people it sleeps, whether you have to book every room, and what happens to rooms you don't fill.

See venues with rooms on site

Plan the trip for Block Island

Getting to Block Island means a ferry from Point Judith or a short flight, and summer ferries book up. Check the schedule for your date, give guests a realistic travel time, and ask the venue how it gets vendors and rentals across.

See venues across the region

Ask about the house rules

Sparklers, candles, confetti, and anything you want to hang are often limited at the old inns and on the beach. If a sparkler exit or candlelit tables are part of the plan, ask before you book.

See each venue's rules
How South County & Block Island compares with Rhode Island
  • Let you bring your own caterer1 of 5 · same as Rhode Island

    of venues that say either way (5 here)

  • Have rooms for guests on site3 of 6 vs 33%

    at least, of all venues (6 here)

  • Give you the whole property2 of 6 vs 28%

    at least, of all venues (6 here)

  • State a rain plan3 of 6 vs 28%

    at least, of all venues (6 here)

  • Require something extra3 of 6 vs 39%

    a planner, insurance, security or similar, of all venues (6 here)

What affects the cost of your wedding

Your date can change the price a lot

Wedding venue pricing is seasonal. 3 of the 6 South County & Block Island venues we track charge differently depending on the day, and 4 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 South County & Block Island venue charges, comparing Saturdays all year (4 venues price a season)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

What gets added at the end

Taxes and fees mark up a South County & Block Island quote typically by 24%

Every pricing model carries them. At the 6 South County & Block Island venues that publish their fees, the middle result is 24%, with most landing between 12% and 32%.

Food & drinkVenue rentalService chargeSales taxon the bill and on the fees
Solid lines are what a fee is always charged on; dashed lines are charged that way at some venues only. Sales tax comes last, on the bill and usually on the other fees too.
Various fees to considerTypical
  • Service charge3 venues

    20%

    The venue’s charge for its staff. Not a tip.

  • Sales tax5 venues

    8%

    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

Four South County and Block Island venues to start with

These include a beach club, a farm with a winery, and two oceanfront inns, one of them on Block Island. 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

  • How many rooms do we need to book, for how many nights, and is the inn ours alone that day?
  • What are your rules on sparklers, candles, confetti, and decorations?
  • What will the total be for 100 guests once the service charge and tax are added?
See all 6 South County & Block Island venues we track
How this guide is built

Sage reads each venue's own published pricing and policies, puts different kinds of quotes on the same footing, and estimates the cost for 100 guests. 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.