Sending out invitations is a big milestone in your wedding planning! Many couples spend hours selecting design, fonts and language – and forget to ask a crucial question on the RSVP cards: does the guest have any food allergies or restrictions?
 
According to Healthline, food allergies affect 6% of adults and 8% of children — and these percentages are rising.
 
This is crucial information for your catering team, and if you don’t ask, you could be scrambling at the last minute, reaching out to guests to check and double check. A great caterer (like our own Woodland Catering) can always accommodate a last-minute change based on allergies, but better to be prepared.
 
So, on your RSVP cards, add this line: “Please indicate any food allergies or restrictions.” You need to ask this even if you are having a buffet and not a plated dinner (and are not asking for a main course selection in advance).
 
Then include their responses on the spreadsheet where you’re tracking guests and assigning tables numbers. We’ll provide a template for that closer to your event to make it easy!
 
Happy planning!

Twice a year (spring and fall), we host an open house for booked clients and invite our core team of required vendors plus a few other favorites. It's a great chance for clients and their friends/families (each couple can bring four guests) to see the venue all dressed up, get decor and floral inspiration for their own events, try delicious food from Woodland Catering, and enjoy a cocktail on us. For our Nov 6, 2022 event, our featured vendors were:
​
Woodland Catering
Beach Plum Flower Shop
PEAK Event Services
Kappy's On Call
Meritage Entertainment
Jenny's Wedding Cakes
Ebacher Photography and Phoebe the Photo Booth Camper (see photo below)
Anonymous Brewing
Mill River Winery (which is making our own Bradstreet Marquette wine for 2023!)

Thanks to all our vendors for making us look so good, especially Ebacher Photography who took all these photos! And, of course, thanks to our clients who took the time to come see us again. We'll keep you posted on the date for our spring 2023 event!

These two cuties met at summer camp as kids, became counselors at that camp and grew up and fell in love (or maybe fell in love and then grew up?)! This was a fantastic wedding full of love and laughs (and many friends from that camp, including one who officiated!). Tough to find a photo of B&M where they aren't smooching! Congrats B&M, and thanks for letting us be a part of your love story!

Rock star vendor team:
Catering: Woodland Catering
Bar items: Kappy's On Call
Entertainment: Men in Black
Photographer: June & Louise Photography
Videographer: M&E Videography
Florist: Blooms of Boston
Desserts: Woodland Catering and Fetching Goodies Bakery
Tent & Rentals: Sperry Tents and PEAK Event Services
Transportation: Salter Transportation

S&B had a gorgeous tented wedding here in October. Such a fun crowd, including beautiful Grammy Rita and the cutest flower girl! We loved hosting this event!
S&B, thanks for letting us be part of your love story!

Rock star vendor team:
Catering: Woodland Catering
Floral: Sweet Annie Floral
Desserts: Nancy's Marshview Cafe and Bakery and Kane's Donuts
Bar items: Kappy's On Call
Entertainment: Meritage Entertainment
Tent and rentals: PEAK Event Services and Sperry Tents
Photography: Jess Sinatra Photography

Oh, T & C! When we received these photos from Molly Quill, we were blown away! This wedding featured a beautiful color palette and a few touching family moments that had our staff happy crying. We absolutely loved hosting this event! Thanks for letting us be a part of your love story!

Rock star vendor team:
Catering: Woodland Catering
Bar items: Kappy's On Call
Floral: Beach Plum Flower Shop
Entertainment: 617 Weddings
Photography: Molly Quill Photography
Hair and Makeup: The Avenue Beauty Bar
Tent: Sperry Tents Seacoast
Rentals: PEAK Event Services

​Let’s face it, weddings can be expensive, and venue pricing styles differ greatly, making it hard to compare. When putting together your wedding venue budget, here are some things to look out for.
 
Service fees: Most venues tack on a 17-22 percent fee on top of the rental fee. Often this is disclosed only in fine print, or couples aren’t made aware of the fee until they are presented with a contract. Ask during your tour what the service fee is! (P.S. – Barn at Bradstreet Farm doesn’t have one!)
 
Add-ons: Often, venues price individual components of a rental separately, drawing you in with a relatively inexpensive entry-level rental fee, which quickly climbs as you add things that you thought were included. For instance, the base rental fee may include only the barn, and then there are separate charges for use of the field, or the dressing suite, or the ceremony area. They may upsell you on features like tables, linens, chairs, lighting, setup, breakdown, cleaning, parking staff, or décor. Ask for a list of what’s included, and what the typical total rental fee is for clients.
 
Food and beverage minimums: Most venues impose a food and beverage minimum for events – it can be a dollar amount, or it can be a minimum number of people. If your guest count is on the smaller side (under 150), you may end up paying for more people than you’ve invited. Ask what the food and beverage minimum is before you tour, to make sure you understand the total potential cost.
 
Bar fees and alcohol: Bar fees and alcohol costs can add up quickly, particularly if you’re doing a consumption bar (where you are charged per drink, often the retail cost – which can be $8-10+ per drink). Look for a venue where you have flexibility on what goes on the bar, and where you can source alcohol inexpensively. (It also helps if you serve beer, wine, champagne and signature drinks rather than having a full bar – this is common, and a great way to keep your bar costs down.)
 
At Barn at Bradstreet Farm, we have no service or administrative fees. Everything we have here is included – ceremony fee, indoor and outdoor spaces, bartending, décor, tables, chairs, linens, lawn games, outdoor fire pits and furniture, whiskey barrel tables, dressing suites and more. Our caterer Woodland Catering has no food or beverage minimums, and we have partnered with Kappy’s On Call for bar items – clients pay Kappy’s retail prices and can choose exactly what goes on their bar.
 
All of this means our total cost is often lower than neighboring venues at the end of the day. To learn more, email us at hello@bradstreetfarm.com.

​Many couples hosting a wedding have guests coming from out of town, or even local guests who want to make a weekend of it. Booking room blocks at a hotel (or two) can help ensure your guests are able to find nearby accommodations – as hotels tend to sell out especially in the busy summer and fall seasons.
 
What’s a room block? It’s an arrangement with a hotel that secures and guarantees room availability for your guests.
 
According to Kathy Hitchings, General Manager at the Essex Street Inn in Newburyport, clients can book room blocks as far as 18 months out from their event (at some hotels, this number is 12 months). “Rates are quoted based on our current rack rates with up to a 10 percent discount,” says Kathy. “Guests may also be eligible for other discounts, such as AARP, AAA or military.”
 
The Essex Street Inn offers courtesy blocks, which means it does not require any upfront deposits until a set release date, which is typically 45 days prior to the event date. “If a group chooses to drop any unreserved rooms on that date, they don’t pay anything for those rooms,” Kathy explains. “We release them back to general inventory and sell them ourselves. If they want to continue the hold, those rooms are subject to a 10 percent non-refundable deposit to continue the hold up to seven days prior to the event date.”
 
Kathy recommends putting 2-3 room types in your block, to meet guests’ varying budgets.
 
It's common for hotels to ask clients to sign a contract for a room block. Some may even ask for a deposit. Pay careful attention to the release date and release any unreserved rooms by that date in order to avoid fees.
 
Reserving a room block also comes with the option to arrange for welcome bags for your guests. Typically, clients can deliver them to the hotel front desk on arrival day, and the hotel takes care of getting them to guest rooms.
 
Essex Street Inn is one of several local inns and hotels that Bradstreet clients have loved!
 
For other questions about room blocks, reach out to kathy@essexstreetinn.com or hello@bradstreetfarm.com.  

Fall florals have finally arrived, and we are here for it!! Loved hosting P&J's September 2022 wedding and reception. This couple made us all swoon! Thanks for letting us be part of your love story, P&J!

Rock star vendor team:
Catering: Woodland Catering
Desserts: Party Favors Brookline
Florist: Beach Plum Flower Shop
Bar items: Kappy's On Call
Rentals: PEAK Event Services
Makeup: Backstage Salon & Spa
Hair: Wild & Free Salon
DJ: DJ Marty & Company
Photographer: Christian Napolitano

A little rain wasn't going to stop these two from having the Best Day Ever! Check out the superhero gear for the groom's team, and T's absolutely beaming smile! Thanks for letting us be a part of your love story, T&D!!

Rock star vendor team:
Catering: Woodland Catering
Bar items: Kappy's On Call
Photography: Metzger Studios
Videography: Press Play Studios
Florals: Beach Plum Weddings
Dessert: Carlos Cakes
Hair & Makeup: Tangels Salon
Espresso Bar: Espresso Dave
Rentals: PEAK Event Services
Transportation: North Reading Transportation

What's not to love about this wedding?! The suits! The flower girls! The flowers! A's wardrobe change! Beautiful, amazing day on the farm with this couple and their friends and family. Thanks for making us part of your love story,  A & S!

Rock star vendor team:
Photography by: Ashley Olafsson Photography LLC
Entertainment by: DJ Bell Tower
Rentals by: PEAK Event Services
Catering by: Woodland Catering
Florals by: Blooms of Boston
Bar items by: Kappy's On Call
Transportation provided by: MBT Worldwide
Hair by: Ashley Elizabeth Salon
​Makeup by: Makeup by Ambar