New Hampshire rain plan guide
Updated
A rain plan is what happens to an outdoor ceremony if the weather turns: a room indoors, a covered space, or a tent. Plenty of venues with a lovely lawn never say which. In New Hampshire, 12 venues with an outdoor ceremony say what happens if it rains. Most move indoors (8); 3 put up a tent. Plans are most often stated in Southern New Hampshire & the Seacoast and Monadnock & Lake Sunapee.
We've gathered details on 28 New Hampshire venues. Pick a starting point and Sage will rank them for your day, with cost estimates wherever the venue publishes its prices.
We count a venue only when its own details describe a plan. Most of the rest never mention weather, which means you'll need to ask, not that there's no plan.
Read the rain plan carefully
8 New Hampshire venues
The simplest plan: the ceremony moves into a room the venue already has. Ask whether it holds everyone, and whether it's also the dinner room, since resetting it takes time.
In New Hampshire: Pembroke Pines Country Club, Bedford Village Inn and Birch Wood Vineyards, among others.
2 New Hampshire venues
A pavilion or covered terrace keeps the outdoor feel, but not the warmth. Ask whether it has sides that close, and whether there are heaters.
In New Hampshire: Wentworth by the Sea Country Club and Hyla Brook Estate.
3 New Hampshire venues
A tent can go where you planned the ceremony, but it is usually ordered days ahead and paid for separately. Ask who orders it, who pays, and how late you can decide.
In New Hampshire: The Exeter Inn, Dexter's Inn and Stone Garden.
Some venues offer more than one, so the counts overlap.
Venue by venue
Every outdoor-ceremony venue here that describes its plan, in a sentence: where the ceremony goes, and, where the venue says, when the call is made and what it costs. The most detailed first.
Bedford
If it rains: Outdoor cocktail hours in the Back Barn Gardens, Courtyard Gardens and on the Silo Side Patio are weather permitting. The interior of the Great Hall is available at no extra charge for both cocktail hour and reception, so an outdoor cocktail hour moves inside if the weather turns.
Up to 210 guests
New London
If it rains: Weather calls are made together with you, the Wedding Events Manager and the Banquet Service Manager by 10AM on the day of the event. If there is a 40% or greater chance of inclement weather at any point during a scheduled outdoor event, it moves to its indoor backup space.
Up to 300 guests
Exeter
If it rains: The Great Hall is the indoor ceremony and cocktail hour option if you would rather not be outside, and garden receptions in the courtyard are held under a traditional sailcloth tent.
Up to 100 guests
Pembroke
If it rains: An indoor ceremony area is available as an alternative to the outdoor garden ceremony in inclement weather, and the Markey Room can hold both the ceremony and the reception indoors.
Up to 275 guests
Derry
If it rains: Two covered ceremony areas — the covered porch and the farmhouse breezeway — are the ready Plan B in case of inclement weather, and the indoor event space is available as well.
Derry
If it rains: An outdoor ceremony in the vineyard moves indoors in front of the large cultured stone fireplace; the indoor setup needs only thirty minutes' notice to your coordinator.
Westmoreland
If it rains: The atrium tent is the rain plan. On a beautiful day it opens fully to the lawn; when the weather looks questionable it closes up for a watertight seal.
Up to 200 guests
Hampstead
If it rains: The ceremony fee covers either an alfresco or an indoor ceremony location, so the grand hall is available when the weather turns.
Up to 300 guests
Newport
If it rains: In case of inclement weather for a planned outdoor ceremony, the Grand Hall can house 104 guests for an indoor ceremony.
Up to 175 guests
If it rains: The Wentworth Pavilion is held as the rain location for tent-season seaside ceremonies.
Up to 250 guests
Sunapee
If it rains: If it rains, the ceremony moves into the reception tent.
Up to 225 guests
Waterville Valley
If it rains: Garden Terrace Tent packages include a back-up site.
Each sentence is from the venue's own published details. Plans and fees change, so confirm with the venue.
How these venues differ
The 12 New Hampshire outdoor-ceremony venues with a rain plan against the 13 outdoor-ceremony venues that don’t mention one, biggest difference first.
| Share that | These venues | Outdoor-ceremony venues that don’t mention one |
|---|---|---|
| Provide a coordinator | 92% | 38% |
| Price the space alone, before food | 33% | 77% |
| Offer their own catering | 67% | 23% |
| Give you the whole property | 42% | 69% |
| Have on-site lodging | 50% | 77% |
| Have four or more separate event spaces | 75% | 54% |
Each row counts only the venues that say; a venue that doesn't is left out of that row rather than counted as a no.
Where to look
The tick on each bar marks New Hampshire as a whole: 12 of 28 venues say what happens if it rains (43%). Regions with fewer than five venues that say are left out.
What it costs
$31k
Typical venue and food, 100 guests
Across the 7 of these New Hampshire venues that publish a full price.
$18k–$32k
Typical range
Most of them fall in this range.
$26k
Every New Hampshire venue
The typical figure across all 13 New Hampshire venues with a full price, for comparison.
In New Hampshire, outdoor-ceremony venues with a rain plan typically cost $31k for the venue and food for 100 guests, 18% more than the $26k typical across the state.
Places worth a closer look
Each has an outdoor ceremony space and says what happens if it rains, in a different way. Open a venue to see its spaces, pricing, and other planning details.
Bedford · Up to 210 guests
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you move indoors
$25–35k · Venue Fee + Catering
See pricing and policies
Derry
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you can move indoors or move under a covered space
$10–15k · Venue Fee Only
See pricing and policies
Sunapee · Up to 225 guests
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you put up a tent
$10–15k · Venue Fee Only
See pricing and policies
Hampstead · Up to 300 guests
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you move indoors
$15–25k · All Inclusive
See pricing and policies
Westmoreland · Up to 200 guests
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you put up a tent
$15–25k · Venue + Bar Est.
See pricing and policies
New London · Up to 300 guests
Outdoor ceremony. If it rains, you move indoors
$5–10k · Venue Fee Only
See pricing and policies
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.
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
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. A venue counts as having a rain plan only when its own published details describe one; the comparisons are among venues that offer an outdoor ceremony. If a venue doesn't say something, we treat it as a question to ask, not a no.
