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North Shore venue guide

Updated

North Shore wedding venues: historic estates, mansions, and the ocean

The North Shore is where Massachusetts keeps its old estates. From Ipswich and Topsfield to Beverly and Danvers, you'll find mansions with formal gardens, plus a castle in Gloucester and ocean-view rooms in Nahant and Salisbury. The grounds are big and the guest lists can be too, but few of these places have rooms for guests to stay.

We've gathered details on 20 North Shore venues. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes its prices.

Weekday weddingOnly our wedding that dayHistoric estate

What should you budget?

Venues with catering for 100 guests

Use − and + to reprice every figure below.

$31k

Typical estimate

The median cost for the North Shore venues that include their own catering.

$19k–$39k

Typical range

Beach venues sit toward the low end, and the estates and garden properties toward the top.

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.

Source: SagetheDate.com

Every filled dot is one the North Shore venue that can host 100 guests, shaded by its own estimate on the same scale as the Massachusettsguide'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 North Shore venues fit your guest count and budget, and why

Guests

100
See matching the North Shore venues

By budget and guest count

North Shore wedding venues by budget and guest count

How many North Shore 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.

North Shore wedding venues under each budget, by guest count
GuestsTypical venue and foodUnder $15,000Under $25,000Under $35,000Under $50,000
50 guests$27k0 of 147 of 1410 of 1413 of 14
100 guests$31k0 of 144 of 1410 of 1413 of 14
150 guests$35k0 of 132 of 137 of 1312 of 13
200 guests$44k0 of 131 of 132 of 139 of 13

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, 6 more venues come in under $25,000 for 100 guests.

North Shore venues by price for 100 guests

$15,000–$25,000
Blue Ocean Event Center, Colonial Hall at Rockafellas, Cruiseport Gloucester, Oceanview of Nahant
$25,000–$35,000
Andover Country Club, Beauport Hotel Gloucester, Grove at Briar Barn Inn, Groveland Fairways, Stevens Estate at Osgood Hill, The Commons 1854
$35,000–$50,000
Floriana, The Estate at Moraine Farm, Tupper Manor
$50,000–$75,000
Willowdale Estate
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

$32k

typical for venues with catering

$19k–$39k

where 80% of these 12 venues land

What makes up the billTypical80% of venues
Venue rental11 of 12$7.5k$4k–$9.5k
Ceremony fee10 of 12$1.8k$0.9k–$2k
Catering$15k$11k–$20k
Bar10 of 12$5.3k$3.9k–$7k
Service charge & tax$4.4k$0.7k–$7.8k
Each line is typical for the venues that charge it separately, so they don’t add up to the figure above. At 1 venue drinks are priced together with the food, so they sit inside the Catering line rather than a separate bar charge.

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

Big historic grounds, with guests staying somewhere else. Many North Shore estates give you the whole property for the day, and their lawns and ballrooms hold bigger guest lists than most of the state. What they usually don't have is bedrooms, so plan on a hotel and a shuttle. Your date matters a lot here too: the same venue can cost far less on a weekday or outside the busiest months.

Typical size
230 guests

The most guests a typical venue here says it can hold.

See venues that fit your guest count
Have rooms for guests
15%

Of the venues here, compared with 34% across Massachusetts. Most guests will need a hotel.

See venues with rooms on site
A weekday instead of a Saturday
21% less

The typical Monday–Thursday price, compared with the same venue on a Saturday.

Compare weekday prices

What kind of place

Start with the kind of North Shore wedding you want

Estate or mansion

Historic mansions with gardens in Ipswich, Topsfield, Beverly, Danvers, and North Andover. Many are yours for the day. Some include catering and some charge for the space only, so compare what each price covers.

8 of 20 venues here

Venue and food, typical
$37k (6 venues)
Find venues like these

By the ocean

Waterfront rooms in Gloucester, Nahant, Salem, and Salisbury, including a hotel where guests can stay. Ask where the ceremony moves if the wind or rain picks up, and whether the view is from every room.

3 of 20 venues here

Find venues like these

Museum or castle

Hammond Castle in Gloucester and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Smaller and more unusual. Ask about guest limits, caterers, and what you can bring into the galleries.

2 of 20 venues here

Find venues like these

What different types of venues cost in the North Shore

The same wedding costs different amounts at a barn and at a hotel — and so does the shape of the bill. Three ways 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.

  • Beach$4k (3)
  • Event Center$8.1k (4)
  • Estate / Mansion$10k (8)
  • Barn / Farm$11k (2)
  • Hotel$11k (2)

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 a wedding costs when the venue handles catering too

The whole bill — the room, the meal, and the fees on top.

  • Beach$19k (3)
  • Event Center$25k (4)
  • Hotel$31k (3)
  • Estate / Mansion$37k (6)

Venues behind each figure in brackets. A venue can be more than one kind of place, so it may appear in more than one row.

How much of the cost is for the space vs the catering

Every bar is one whole bill, so what changes across the list is the split. A beach earns it back on the menu; a hotel charges you for the space.

The roomFood and beverage
  • Beach27% (3)
  • Estate / Mansion31% (6)
  • Event Center34% (4)
  • Hotel36% (2)

Only the venues that price the room and the meal separately, with how many in brackets.

Before you tour

Three decisions to make early

Pick your date with the price in mind

Saturdays in the busiest months cost the most at these estates. If you can marry on a Friday, a Sunday, a weekday, or in a quieter month, ask each venue for that price before you fall for a Saturday.

Set your date and compare prices

Sort out rooms and rides

Most estates here don't have bedrooms. Choose a hotel early, and ask the venue how late guests can leave and whether a shuttle can use the driveway.

See venues with rooms on site

Ask who does the food

Very few venues here let you bring any caterer you like. Most offer their own catering or give you a short list to choose from. If you have a caterer in mind, ask on the first call.

See how each venue handles food
How the North Shore compares with Massachusetts
  • Let you bring your own caterer10% vs 6%

    of venues that say either way (20 here)

  • Have rooms for guests on site15% vs 34%

    at least, of all venues (20 here)

  • Give you the whole property50% vs 34%

    at least, of all venues (20 here)

  • State a rain plan65% vs 69%

    at least, of all venues (20 here)

  • Require something extra10% vs 21%

    a planner, insurance, security or similar, of all venues (20 here)

What affects the cost of your wedding

Your date can change the price a lot

Wedding venue pricing is seasonal. 16 of the 20 North Shore venues we track charge differently depending on the day, and 12 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 North Shore venue charges, comparing Saturdays all year (12 venues price a season)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

What part of the bill your date actually changes

Not every line on a quote moves. These are the ones that do, measured at the venues that move them.

The venue rental

What they charge for the space itself.

Weekday53% lessat 8
Fri or Sun21% lessat 12
Off-peak month59% lessat 11

Their food & beverage minimum

The floor you have to spend with their kitchen. Off-peak the floor itself comes down.

Weekday—
Fri or Sun15% lessat 5
Off-peak month25% lessat 4

The headcount they bill for

The min guest count they will charge you for, no matter what.

Weekday25% fewerat 3
Fri or Sun—
Off-peak month36% fewerat 3

A date prices the room, not the food

The per-guest menu price changes with the date at only 4 of the 13 North Shore venues that publish one alongside a date. A Tuesday wedding has a cheaper venue rental, not a cheaper dinner.

Off-peak, the f&b minimum moves too

Venues with a food and beverage minimum, the floor itself is lower off a peak Saturday. Ask what it is on your date before you compare it with anywhere else.

They may take a smaller wedding

Venues that bill a minimum headcount drop it off-peak, so a date can make a smaller guest list bookable at a venue that would otherwise charge you for people who aren’t coming.

Inviting fewer people saves you less than you’d think

13 of the 20 North Shore venues that can host 100 guests put a floor under what you spend — a minimum on food and drink, or a headcount they bill for. It is the one charge that feels worse the smaller your wedding is, and it is rarely made clear on other platforms that show venue pricing.

At100guests

8 of 13

would bill you above what your own 100 guests come to, by about $5.6k typically.

Bill above your count5 clear it

Most of them stop topping up from around 125 guests. Below that, inviting fewer people doesn’t lower the bill at these venues.

Cutting 20 guests takes $0 off the bill, even though they actually cost $2.9k — because of the minimum spend

The 12 floor-setting North Shore venues big enough to host every size on this chart, priced at each one. Where the lines part, you are paying for guests who aren’t coming.
What you’d be billedWhat your own guests cost
$0$25k$50kyour 1004075100125150175200 guests

What kind of floor, and how high

A venue can set more than one.

A minimum spend on food and drinkThe money you commit to their kitchen. Service charge and tax then stack on top of it.
$20ktypical
A minimum headcount they bill you forYou pay for this many plates whether or not that many people come. At 3 of them the floor is above 100.
100 gueststypical

What gets added at the end

Taxes and fees mark up a North Shore quote typically by 21%

Every pricing model carries them. At the 15 North Shore venues that publish their fees, the middle result is 21%, with most landing between 3% and 31%.

Food & drinkVenue rentalService chargeAdministrative feeGratuitySales 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

    12%

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

  • Administrative fee11 venues

    22%

    Charged instead of, or alongside, a service charge — and usually taxed as well.

  • Gratuity4 venues

    12%

    The tip that does reach the staff. Ask whether it replaces the service charge.

  • Sales tax12 venues

    7.0%

    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 North Shore venues to start with

These examples cover estates, a castle, a country club, and waterfront rooms, priced in different ways. 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 would the same wedding cost on a Friday, a Sunday, or a weekday, or in a quieter month?
  • Is the whole property ours, and how many hours do we have it, including setup?
  • If it rains, where does the ceremony go, and does that room fit all our guests?
See all 20 North Shore 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.