the larger number of brides who host their reception at the sow’s ear also rent the silverpick lodge for the entire weekend. the lodge sleeps up to 48 people in 13 rooms (and 100 more in the adjoining condominiums) and presents a unparallel opportunity to turn your wedding reception into a three day gathering of family and friends. sleeping and eating in the same great house eliminates the need for driving and means more time spent with those who have traveled from afar.

a “typical” weekend wedding celebration at the lodge might go something like this.

the bridal party or visiting families will arrive at the lodge on a friday night. either the sow’s ear or the family itself will cater a welcome/rehearsal dinner/bbq/reception downstairs in the columbine room. It might continue for hours while guests arrive from distant parts and extend late into the evening with conversations around the bonfire.

the lodge offers coffee and bagels to all guests, but some families offer a brunch to their guests in the morning down in the columbine room. the day is filled with last minute preparations, dressing and hairdos!

nuptials are celebrated at every conceivable hour, and they all have their advantages, but during the height of the simmer most brides choose to get married in the late afternoon. after the ceremony and while the wedding party takes pictures, the guests will come into the lobby or up to the lounge for a cocktail reception. when the newlyweds join the party they greet their guests and when ready lead them up to the dining room.

after the wedding feast there will be a dance in the lounge, sometimes to a dj, sometimes to a band and sometimes to an ipod. later that night after the old folks have gone to bed, those still standing adjourn back down to the columbine room and bonfire.

perhaps a brunch in the morning in the columbine room and you are ready to bid your guests adieu and go to that romantic wherever you’ve been dreaming of.