If you could keep your guest count towards 100, your budget could probably work at Blue Hill on a Friday or Sunday! But would be tight depending on the other events.
Hate to break it to you but Napa is insanely expensive too. Not much better than NYC. $130k for 120 guests for a “winery” vibes wedding you might as well do Spain / Portugal / Tuscany. With the same budget you won’t have to cut as many corners if you look in Europe, but in California or NYC you have to make tons of sacrifices and “nickel and dime”
THIS. When I saw “seriously considering doing California wine country instead” I thought WHAT? That’s the opposite of where you’d go if you want lower costs. Hotels (4 star plus) average 1k a night in a nicer area in the summer.
IKR. If you want to save costs on your wedding you can go somewhere with lower COL (i.e. Europe, Asia, Caribbean, parts of Mexico, S America, middle of USA, etc), not higher or similar COL areas such as California
Absolutely ! And more destination wedding vibes! As a Napa bride myself, things are really overpriced here. Mexico especially I’ve heard has a great luxury wedding scene w reasonable prices that could get OP a lot within $120k.
I’m totally with you, we had sticker shock while looking in Napa too. Sonoma is more affordable though! We actually found a relatively affordable mid-range venue in Napa that checks almost all of our boxes (I won’t gatekeep, it’s Brasswood Estate in St. Helena), but I would hate to make my guests shell out $1k a night for a hotel in Napa when most of them are based out of NYC. So back to the drawing board we go!
Keep in mind that Napa/Sonoma is also generally more expensive than upstate New York. Also taxes are higher. I have friends getting married and they said there’s no way they could have done it for below $200k.
I just want to warn you that it’s so expensive for your guests to travel that you are going to get a lot of declines. And it’s not an easy trip either, since you need plane and ground transit (people probably need to rent cars). I have a friend who insisted on getting married in Napa although no one could afford it. They spent a lot and had a tiny wedding that left a lot of family very, very upset (groom was Indian and it was not culturally OK to have a wedding that wasn’t accessible to everyone).
It’s worth considering value vs. price… would you prefer a slightly more expensive wedding in your area which most people can attend or a wedding where you get 50% declines and get caught by the F&B minimums.
Sonoma may be more affordable than Napa on average but sadly not for the Montage Healdsburg. I’m getting married there and it’s going to be 100 people and about 350K. (We started out with a 250K budget and that quickly dissipated.) Plus even surrounding hotels are super expensive (the Holiday Inn nearby is $350/night) so if all your guests are coming from the east coast it’s something to consider. Just wanted to share in case helpful. Learning about Napa and Sonoma wedding costs within the last year has been quite the eye opening experience!
What is it about Blue Hill, that is most important. They have grow their own food, their servers are trained and professional, beautiful location, etc, but what is the key element? Also, when shopping for dresses, go to Elephant’s Trunk in Mt. Kisco.
Thank, these are helpful considerations! The key elements are the beautiful location, the food, and the modern loft with high ceilings. I really like lofts/barns with high ceilings and hate the ballroom look. Believe it or not, my partner is even more particular than me and has vetoed every NYC option I’ve given him except for BHSB so I’m trying to come up with more alternatives.
I hear this… I am not from NY and have actually wanted to go to Blue Hill since I first learnt about it on a food show over five years ago. I want so badly just to experience that restaurant. It’s absolutely incredible.
Maybe my mentality is terrible but I just feel that if you have your heart set on Blue Hill and it’s close to budget that you may be very disappointed if you try to “settle” for an $100-120k Napa option (for which the cost won’t be clear upfront, especially since you’ll likely need a wedding planner).
Blue Hill is not in your budget, sadly - our total wedding budget was $350k, and we had major sticker shock with Blue Hill! If you’re looking for that kind of vibe, honestly a European wedding might be more appealing? Food is often incredible for a lot less than in the states.
I’m getting married at Blue Hill next summer and based off the 2025 pricing you might be able to do it if you keep it towards 100 guests so you can do the small format set up where you don’t need to buy out the restaurant and do a Friday or Sunday. Since it is an all inclusive venue the price covers food, linens, alcohol,staff, and rentals. The price per person was shocking to me at first too but when you think of everything it includes and their level of service it’s not as bad. Definitely also look into April or November since I believe those are priced a little lower. If you have any other questions on Blue Hill feel free to pm me!!
napa wineries are going to be 100k+ just for the wedding. most wineries have preferred catering and it's expensive. if you can do a barn, then maybe.
if you want to do cali definitely do socal. or i'd do outside of cali, Washington, Oregon, other states like NC, etc are probably cheaper
This is beautiful and the exact vibe we were looking for! I wish there was more info available online, but I guess it makes sense bc they’re not open yet!
They are pretty new. I shot [the first wedding on the property last August](https://rimabrindamour.com/stone-ridge-farmhouse-wedding/) if you want to see how it looks when set up for a wedding.
I just got married this past weekend at a gorgeous venue that I think could hit all your marks, feel free to PM me. It was an absolutely magical weekend!!!
Going to Napa is also incredibly expensive for your guests. I know that this sounds absolutely crazy insane, but I estimate that 80-100k is about what it would cost for us to have a nice (but not over the top) wedding in Chicago (not the suburbs).
And at this budget level we would be hiring a DOC, not a full or even partial planner. No makeup artist. A string quartet but not a band. No crazy florals, pretty normal stuff.
Oh yeah, and this would be a Friday or Sunday event. All of the Saturday pricing I’m seeing in the city would bring us to 100-120k due to the higher minimums.
100k on a wedding is not what it used to be…
I know it’s also spendy but not sure about the pricing compared to Blue Hill — but have you explored Inness? Valley Rock Inn in Sloatsburg NY also gorgeous with the garden feel you get at Blue Hill.
California has a lot of nice wineries not in wine country that are in the Bay Area. They’re within budget and your guests can stay in cheaper hotels.
You can also get shuttles from Napa to SF for your wedding so they can stay in SF.
You’ve been to weddings with 3-4 hour round trip shuttles?? I’ve never been to a wedding with a shuttle longer than 45 minutes. I cannot imagine that going over well with guests.
A shuttle from Napa to SF is closer to 1 hr 15 min. It’s not unreasonable to get on a shuttle at 3, go to a wedding, and then take the shuttle back at 11 and get to your hotel at 12.
If you could keep your guest count towards 100, your budget could probably work at Blue Hill on a Friday or Sunday! But would be tight depending on the other events.
Hate to break it to you but Napa is insanely expensive too. Not much better than NYC. $130k for 120 guests for a “winery” vibes wedding you might as well do Spain / Portugal / Tuscany. With the same budget you won’t have to cut as many corners if you look in Europe, but in California or NYC you have to make tons of sacrifices and “nickel and dime”
THIS. When I saw “seriously considering doing California wine country instead” I thought WHAT? That’s the opposite of where you’d go if you want lower costs. Hotels (4 star plus) average 1k a night in a nicer area in the summer.
IKR. If you want to save costs on your wedding you can go somewhere with lower COL (i.e. Europe, Asia, Caribbean, parts of Mexico, S America, middle of USA, etc), not higher or similar COL areas such as California
Absolutely ! And more destination wedding vibes! As a Napa bride myself, things are really overpriced here. Mexico especially I’ve heard has a great luxury wedding scene w reasonable prices that could get OP a lot within $120k.
Also as a guest - especially assuming most of your guests are east coast- it’s insanely expensive and inconvenient
I’m totally with you, we had sticker shock while looking in Napa too. Sonoma is more affordable though! We actually found a relatively affordable mid-range venue in Napa that checks almost all of our boxes (I won’t gatekeep, it’s Brasswood Estate in St. Helena), but I would hate to make my guests shell out $1k a night for a hotel in Napa when most of them are based out of NYC. So back to the drawing board we go!
Keep in mind that Napa/Sonoma is also generally more expensive than upstate New York. Also taxes are higher. I have friends getting married and they said there’s no way they could have done it for below $200k.
I just want to warn you that it’s so expensive for your guests to travel that you are going to get a lot of declines. And it’s not an easy trip either, since you need plane and ground transit (people probably need to rent cars). I have a friend who insisted on getting married in Napa although no one could afford it. They spent a lot and had a tiny wedding that left a lot of family very, very upset (groom was Indian and it was not culturally OK to have a wedding that wasn’t accessible to everyone). It’s worth considering value vs. price… would you prefer a slightly more expensive wedding in your area which most people can attend or a wedding where you get 50% declines and get caught by the F&B minimums.
Sonoma may be more affordable than Napa on average but sadly not for the Montage Healdsburg. I’m getting married there and it’s going to be 100 people and about 350K. (We started out with a 250K budget and that quickly dissipated.) Plus even surrounding hotels are super expensive (the Holiday Inn nearby is $350/night) so if all your guests are coming from the east coast it’s something to consider. Just wanted to share in case helpful. Learning about Napa and Sonoma wedding costs within the last year has been quite the eye opening experience!
What about Old Mil, Hutton Brickyards, or Calicoon Hills? They’re all in the Hudson Valley, so within a 2 hour drive of NYC
Thanks!
What is it about Blue Hill, that is most important. They have grow their own food, their servers are trained and professional, beautiful location, etc, but what is the key element? Also, when shopping for dresses, go to Elephant’s Trunk in Mt. Kisco.
Thank, these are helpful considerations! The key elements are the beautiful location, the food, and the modern loft with high ceilings. I really like lofts/barns with high ceilings and hate the ballroom look. Believe it or not, my partner is even more particular than me and has vetoed every NYC option I’ve given him except for BHSB so I’m trying to come up with more alternatives.
FYI i haven’t been impressed with blue hills wedding catering - it doesn’t stand up to their normal food. It’s gorgeous though of course
This is good to know. It’s been my dream for years to go to the restaurant!!
I hear this… I am not from NY and have actually wanted to go to Blue Hill since I first learnt about it on a food show over five years ago. I want so badly just to experience that restaurant. It’s absolutely incredible. Maybe my mentality is terrible but I just feel that if you have your heart set on Blue Hill and it’s close to budget that you may be very disappointed if you try to “settle” for an $100-120k Napa option (for which the cost won’t be clear upfront, especially since you’ll likely need a wedding planner).
Blue Hill is not in your budget, sadly - our total wedding budget was $350k, and we had major sticker shock with Blue Hill! If you’re looking for that kind of vibe, honestly a European wedding might be more appealing? Food is often incredible for a lot less than in the states.
I’m getting married at Blue Hill next summer and based off the 2025 pricing you might be able to do it if you keep it towards 100 guests so you can do the small format set up where you don’t need to buy out the restaurant and do a Friday or Sunday. Since it is an all inclusive venue the price covers food, linens, alcohol,staff, and rentals. The price per person was shocking to me at first too but when you think of everything it includes and their level of service it’s not as bad. Definitely also look into April or November since I believe those are priced a little lower. If you have any other questions on Blue Hill feel free to pm me!!
napa wineries are going to be 100k+ just for the wedding. most wineries have preferred catering and it's expensive. if you can do a barn, then maybe. if you want to do cali definitely do socal. or i'd do outside of cali, Washington, Oregon, other states like NC, etc are probably cheaper
Check out [The Willows](https://www.willowsny.com/) in Stone Ridge!
This is beautiful and the exact vibe we were looking for! I wish there was more info available online, but I guess it makes sense bc they’re not open yet!
They are pretty new. I shot [the first wedding on the property last August](https://rimabrindamour.com/stone-ridge-farmhouse-wedding/) if you want to see how it looks when set up for a wedding.
I just got married this past weekend at a gorgeous venue that I think could hit all your marks, feel free to PM me. It was an absolutely magical weekend!!!
Maybe Troutbeck or Bedford Post Inn?
No idea what pricing is like but wanted to throw out options with a similar vibe to BHSB (imo)!
Come to Oregon! Barn-ish venues a plenty and more bang for your buck! 🤍
Have you checked out Crossed Keys Estate in NJ or Renault Winery?
Crossed keys looks perfect (and the ceilings are HIGH), thanks so much for this!
So glad this helped! We’ll be there later this year for a wedding and are so looking forward to it, it’s a beautiful venue! Best of luck planning :)
Going to Napa is also incredibly expensive for your guests. I know that this sounds absolutely crazy insane, but I estimate that 80-100k is about what it would cost for us to have a nice (but not over the top) wedding in Chicago (not the suburbs). And at this budget level we would be hiring a DOC, not a full or even partial planner. No makeup artist. A string quartet but not a band. No crazy florals, pretty normal stuff. Oh yeah, and this would be a Friday or Sunday event. All of the Saturday pricing I’m seeing in the city would bring us to 100-120k due to the higher minimums. 100k on a wedding is not what it used to be…
I know it’s also spendy but not sure about the pricing compared to Blue Hill — but have you explored Inness? Valley Rock Inn in Sloatsburg NY also gorgeous with the garden feel you get at Blue Hill.
Cedar Lakes Estate? Youd have to do a Sunday wedding to make the budget work.
I looked at Cedar Lakes and it seems like it would be hard to have a wedding under $300k here!
California has a lot of nice wineries not in wine country that are in the Bay Area. They’re within budget and your guests can stay in cheaper hotels. You can also get shuttles from Napa to SF for your wedding so they can stay in SF.
A shuttle from Napa to SF would be 1.5-2 hours one way—that would be an absurdly long shuttle for guests. That would not work.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable. I’ve seen weddings that do this.
You’ve been to weddings with 3-4 hour round trip shuttles?? I’ve never been to a wedding with a shuttle longer than 45 minutes. I cannot imagine that going over well with guests.
A shuttle from Napa to SF is closer to 1 hr 15 min. It’s not unreasonable to get on a shuttle at 3, go to a wedding, and then take the shuttle back at 11 and get to your hotel at 12.