The Harding Allen Estate

I had my wedding here at the end of August and it was just perfect. The outdoor area where the ceremony is held is full of colorful flowers and full green trees at the end of August. I loved the grand entrance that my bridal party and I were able to make with the long walk down the aisle up to the altar. I also liked that we stood up a few steps from the guests so everyone was able to see the ceremony.

Going into picking a venue, one of our main concerns was food. I'm not sure that I have ever left a wedding thinking the food was good, and I really wanted my guests to remember how great the food was at our wedding. I can tell you - the food here wasn't just good - it was AMAZING!! Tons of my guests said the same during and after the wedding. Everything was delicious starting from the appetizers (so many of them!) to the main meal (the baked haddock was amazing) to the Viennese dessert table (cakes, pies, cookies, and so much more). My guests couldn't say enough wonderful things about how delicious the food was. They loved the Viennese table, since it gave so many scrumptious options other than just the wedding cake The staff also brought appetizers and drinks out to the wedding party while pictures were being taken, so we didn't miss out on the yummy food.

There are so many great places to have photos taken before and after the ceremony. Even the room where the bride gets ready is a beautiful picture spot (I especially liked that I could watch the guests walking over to the ceremony site from that room). We even took pictures at night that came out amazing.

The staff at The Harding Allen are extremely detailed and helpful from the beginning and are there for you until the end of the night of your special day. They checked on me several times before the ceremony to make sure things were going smoothly. I am extremely grateful for all of their help making the entire process easier. I would highly recommend them.

I cannot say enough about the HAE, from the grounds, to the staff and the owners Carmine and Grace. I met with Grace back in January and fell in love with her passion for the venue.

My fiancé and I didn’t want a traditional wedding venue. The Estate is so unique. Nestled in the center of a small little town the outside is deceiving. You walk in the front door and the mansion goes on and on.

The indoor pavilion feels a like an outdoor tent but since it is enclosed the room stays at whatever temperature you would like. Plus they have added features such up fabric draped ceilings, chandeliers and columns which can be unlighted.
So many things exceeded our expectations: instead of a small tasting they invite all their couples to participant in a large tasting so you can try not only your menu options but also other foods in case you want to change things. Then they also held a table expo. The estate and their florist set up about 20 different tables in all different color and floral themes so you can see what your colors will look like or if you haven’t sent in an idea maybe what you would like to do.

The food is amazing, from the apps to the Viennese dessert table. I have never seen so many completed clean plates as I did for our wedding. They also made sure the bride and groom got to eat.

Any time of year the mansion and grounds are beautiful. The raised stone stage is perfect ceremony location because the bride and groom are raised so everyone can see.
Not only do Carmine and Grace provide an amazing venue but they try to make the bride and groom’s life a little easier. They provide lists of vendors for everything, which you can choose to use or not.

A bride normally does most of the planning but HAE has handouts and staff that is always readily available to make sure your special day is amazing.

I had the wedding of my dreams and much of that was due to how incredible everything came together.

They were wonderful to work with there. They worked with us on budget, finding vendors that best suited us, and made us feel like family. They helped make an indoor wedding due to rain even more beautiful than I could have imagined. Their in-house DJ is phenomenal. The staff were great and were there every step of the way. The whole process was great. We can't wait to go back for our anniversary.

The moment we toured the HAE last summer, we knew it was the right venue for us. My husband and I were trying to get away from the feel of a hotel and looking for a more personalized venue and this was it! We used their on site florist and on site bakery, both of which were amazing! The owners, Grace and Carmine, are very gracious, accommodating and experienced at what they do. The venue is unique, the gardens are breath taking and the food is amazing! The estate makes for an incredible back drop for pictures, while offering your guests a unique venue to appreciate and explore. Our wedding was everything we hoped it would be and I could not recommend them more!

Everything on our big day was great, but leading up to it we hit a few issues with them. Two main issues we had were with their in house florist. She didn't keep her word and we ended up choosing someone else for our flowers. The other issue was their business manager. He seems to run their day to day operations and answers our emails. He just didn't seem to understand any of our questions and took days to respond. The owners were great and got back to us right away and understood what we were going through, but you always get the business manager first.

The Harding Allen Estate is the only wedding venue we looked at. It immediately took our breath away and we knew it was the place. Grace, Carmine, and Chris are the best! Grace, who is also the chef, helped calm all of my nerves and assured me everything would go perfect, and it did. Carmine handled all of the logistics, and Chris answered daily emails from me. The pricing was upfront and more than reasonable. I agree with the previous commenter, go with the full Viennese table along with the cake.

Our guests said it was the best wedding they have ever been to. The selection of appetizers and desserts is unbelievable and they are delicious. Everyone is still commenting on how excellent their meals were as well.

The grounds are gorgeous and the pictures are beautiful.

Harding Allen Estate was the perfect place to have our wedding!

Grace, Carmine and Chris are simply THE BEST! We chose Harding-Allen for our wedding and reception because it was like "one-stop shopping." Grace does a lot of the organizing and is the executive chef, Carmine does a lot with logistics and Chris was our "go-to" guy with many, many questions. Our day was beautiful and memorable, and Harding-Allen gets our appreciation for that. We heard many of our guests say how astonished they were with the quantity and quality of appetizers and desserts (definitely go with the dessert table along with cake) and everyone enjoyed their delicious meals. Grace explains the pricing levels and there are absolutely no surprises. They even have a house DJ, Bob Solano who was also excellent. He burned us CD's of a lot of our music as a gift to us, and he even plays sax along with some of the songs.

We can't thank you all enough and simply could not have been more pleased.

This was the second venue we saw and immediately my husband and I were in love with it. Grace, Carmine, and Chris are absolutely amazing. The first time we met them we absolutely felt like family and that continued throughout the wedding! The Estate is absolutely gorgeous--my guests kept asking me where I had ever found it because it was so lovely and perfect for us. And the food--absolutely the best food I have ever had at a wedding and I'm not biased because it was mine, all of my guests could not stop talking about it! Even now, months later, when I go to a family party people stop me to say how good the food here was.

Grace and crew kept us constantly informed leading up to the event and were very clear about what was included in the package (nearly everything!). The cost for what you get here is ridiculously cheap compared to places in Boston and even the North Shore.This was the only place that actually laid our prices and costs at the FIRST MEETING!!! Other places tried to get us to sign up and had these huge hidden costs but Grace is super upfront about all of that--and she's also the head chef! This is, hands down, the best place to have a wedding in New England. They have six rooms upstairs that can be rented and we rented out all of them for us and our wedding party, which allowed us to have an "after party" after the reception. It was an amazing way to wind down the night, curled up on couches in front of the fire with the people I loved.

I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking for an affordable wedding that people will think you spent twice as much on. It's romantic, lovely, and while it might be a drive, entirely...

My husband and I are so happy that we chose the Harding Allen Estate for our ceremony and wedding. Grace, Carmine and Chris were incredibly helpful and responsive whenever I had any questions about anything. They made the wedding planning beyond easy and were accommodating to our budget. Grace had many valuable tips on how to get the most for our money. I looked at many reception sites, and the HAE offered the best packages and menu of any of the places that I visited. All of our wedding guests raved about how beautiful the site was, how amazing the food was, and how comfortable they felt the entire evening. I have been told by almost all of my guests that this was the best wedding they have ever been to. So... if you would like to be a happy and less stressed out bride who has the wedding of her dreams, I honestly couldn't recommend a better wedding venue than the Harding Allen Estate.

If you're looking for a stress free wedding, look no further. The entire time we were planning I don't think I could have felt stressed out if I had tried! From Grace and Carmine, to Chris and all Staff our day went on without a hitch. All in all it really felt like they were part of the family. Everyone is incredibly easy to talk to, we never felt that we were being taken for our money like we had found at other places prior to having the opportunity to book at the Harding, they seemed only concerned with making our day everything that we could have hoped for it to be. The venue is absolutely gorgeous, the food - delicious (everyone was so pleased with how wonderful the haddock was, absolutely perfectly cooked, juicy and flavorful like they had never tasted before, the chicken also, perfectly cooked, not dry but also flavorful and juicy)! I coulnd't find a single person in attendance that had anything but wondeful reviews of the whole event from start to finish! When the waitresses will take the time out to help the bride take the bobby pins out of her hair without even being asked, I call that service!! So the bottom line here is, if you're a couple looking for an absolutely gorgeous day that you'll never forget,and not a single bit of added stress, call Grace!! You'll be amazed at the one stop shopping for a price you won't be able to refuse! We are in debt to the whole estate for their services, it was over and above anything we could have dreamed of, and we've now got a home away from home and not a single regret for our choice! All our love and thanks, Mr & Mrs Clarkson, Jr.

The Harding Allen Estate is a beautiful venue. The owners Grace and Carmine Gugliotti are extremely kind and want to make their brides and grooms happy. Their assistant Chris is a huge help. Communication was a big concern for me throughout the planning process - they were very slow to respond to emails and they couldn't always be reached by phone. Aside from the communication, everything was wonderful. They're pretty strict on how/when things happen, but they are willing to be flexible to make their brides happy. Our wedding turned out perfectly, their food selections are tremendous, and you really get your money's worth!

The Harding Allen is a beautiful house set on manicured grounds in the heart of Barre Center. It was the perfect place for us and we fell in love when we saw it. The ceremony location under the pergola was amazingly beautiful and the reception hall was tastefully decorated and large enough to accommodate all our tables (15 total) comfortably. The food was great and the choices during cocktail hour were fantastic. The cake was amazing and I wish I could have had more. They are a little rigid when it comes to the sequence of events during the day and you need to have a strong opinion to change the "plan" they lay out during rehearsal. Their on-site florist was amazing and the flowers were very reasonably priced and came out beautiful! They are only able to answer emails certain days and they're phone is notoriously busy but we worked it all out in the end. Overall, great experience, highly recommended.

We loved the Harding Allen Estate, our day could not have been any more perfect. The garden and house are beautiful and Grace and Carmine were extremely helpful. After our wedding was over, we felt we could not have chosen a better place and would recommend it to anyone!

I knew just from the pictures I saw online that this was the place I wanted to get married at. We set up an appointment with Carmen and Grace and ended up booking our wedding almost two years out because they were so busy. Grace told me not to worry about a thing it would all be taken care of, she just wanted me to show up on the day and let them do all the worrying. That's exactly what I did and let me tell you our wedding day could not have been more perfect. The staff at The Harding Allen Estate did such an amazing job, the gardens looked beautiful and my reception room was set up just how I wanted it to. The food looked and tasted delicous. I have so many great memories of that night and I have Carmen and Grace to thank for that for making my night so special. You guys truly did a fantastic job and I would recommend you to anyone looking for a venue to host their wedding at. I can not thank you enough for all that you have done. So many of my family and friends have come up to me and have said what a beautiful wedding it was and I picked the perfect place and I could not agree more.

We were totally pleased with our daughter's special day at the Harding Allen. She was married on Columbus Day weekend and everything was spectacular. The staff did an exceptional job meeting everyone's needs and the food, horsdeuvres and dessert were cooked to perfection. Grace and Carmen were so accomodating and went above and beyond. We didn't have to worry about a thing! We highly, highly recommend the Harding Allen to anyone who is thinking about have there ceremony there. I can't find enough words to describe how perfect and wonderful our day was.

My wife and I got married at the Harding Allan Estate over this past Labor Day Weekend. We had a spectacular night!!! Grace and Carmen (the estate owners) did everything we needed from accommodating room in the venue and the schedule for the slideshow we made to ensuring we were fed during the busy cocktail/picture taking hour. Grace was especially helpful with our little ringbearer and flower girl - feeding them first and keeping the ring bearer patient as we waited to be announced.

We had such a great time and our guests keep telling us they did too, despite the rain we got outside on the beautiful grounds for picture taking. Grace and Carmen made the room beautiful inside for our ceremony and the staff were all very professional and warm, whisking away dishes and making the night flow effortlessly. If you want a beautiful and fun wedding - follow Grace's suggestions for vendors and you'll have a great day, whether it rains or not!

The Harding Allen Estate was a perfect medium for a place to hold our wedding. While my fiance (now husband), my parents, and I fought relentlessly over holding our wedding in a castle, a country inn, or a garden, my husband and I need not to worry, when we came across the Harding Allen, all the fighting stopped. This was a beautiful 1920's mansion with a garden to have the ceremony in. While we at first enjoyed working with both Grace and Carmine, my parents had quite a few disagreements with them over aspects such as the size of the band to whether or not we did a fauz cake or real cake. They verbally promised us things that they later made us pay extra for - from the cake being included in our wedding package to floor length linens - I was disheartened and out of money by the time the wedding came around despite the fact that they were supposed to be within our budget. I was especially disappointed with their day of coordinator, Leslie, by the time the rehearsal rolled around because she couldn't remember details we'd gone over numerous times, she forgot to put out the specially made Swavorski crystal monogram cake topper, and had an incident in the middle of our rehearsal. We arrived on time to our rehearsal and they had a water tank in the middle of the parking lot so there was no parking for our bridal party. Then in the middle of our rehearsal (after telling us that we were crunched for time because they had another bride's rehearsal immediately following when ours ended) Leslie disappeared. After waiting for 5-10 minutes, I had to call her and she said she had a wardrobe malfunction and didn't think we'd notice if she slipped home (she lives around the corner) and then came back. On the day of she also neglected lots of other minor details. While she was very friendly and approachable, she aggravated me by a lot of the minor things. Overall, we still enjoyed the Harding Allen Estate, however, I would give them a "B" if I were grading them because there were a lot of minor things that aggravated us throughout the process and we didn't always feel they were accomodating.

I was recently married in August at the Harding Allen Estate. I wanted a Newport wedding but found out it was way out of my price range. A friend of mine recommend the Harding Allen Estate and it wasn't until I walked threw the mansion and the grounds to see I had all the amenities of an estate wedding right here in Massachusetts.

I was so pleased with the service that was provided to me and my wedding party. Grace and Leslie made my planning stress free.
I was delighted to know that everything could be done under one roof.


The grounds were simply magnificent, and the lighting at night in the Lilly pond was so romantic.

Inside the Estate was a dream come true, the ambiance was incredible, the floral arraignments were beautifully arranged in the Foyer and the grand staircase. I have to question the 2008 bride that didn't like them. I brought along my own design specialist and he said that they were simply done elegantly with care and love, and at no expense to me. MY only cost of floral arraignments was just for the flowers on the tables which allowed me more money to spend elsewhere.

My guests are still complementing us on the 5 star appetizer package. In all my days attending weddings I have never seen a more abundant display of appetizers and have never heard guests rave about the appetizers as mine have done

As far as the main dishes, the Prime Rib melted in your mouth the Chicken Lillian was so delicious I begged Grace to let me have the recipe. And the Viennese Tables had every sweet concoction you could ask for.

The ceremony was at the grounds and it was something out of a fairytale. It had drizzled a little that morning and Grace and Carmine assured me that everything would be dried off and ready for my ceremony. That is why they decided to use plastic white chairs so they could dry them off before each ceremony, knowing that wooden chairs would stay damp for hours.

I would recommend this fabulous estate for a wedding to remember.

I recently had my wedding at the Harding Allen Estate. I know it looks like I scored them very low, but I was disappointed with certain areas I thought would be taken care of. When meeting for the original sit down at the venue, myself and two family members met with one of the owners. We were thrilled to have the wedding there, Grace (the owner) was great! But, after several months of planning and several emails going back and forth we met for the second time to go over the details. At this meeting they pulled the switch on us. We met with another woman who didn't know much about our contract we had signed, didn't know what we had planned, and made the meeting alot about her personal life rather than about our big day! They sent us information, we did things the way we wanted them, and at this meeting she bashed everything we had planned saying they didn't allow it... I wish some one had told us before hand. I was very happy with the harding allen estate and the owners but they need to get rid of their coordinator.

The day of the wedding, she had not followed through with some of the special plans we had made, she dropped the ball on several things, as I waited up in the room before the ceremony I felt lost. No one really filled me in as to what I should be doing. The coordinator gave off a nervous-hyper vibe that set my husband into an even more nervous mess. During our reception she came up to myself and my husband several times (I think it was 4 times) and wanted to gab/gossip and kept apologizing to us for all of the mistakes she kept making (at that point, we don't care). We would usually be in the middle of a conversation with family, taking a picture or having what little alone time you actually get on your big day. We made sure to be on time for everything yet dinner was served 25 minutes late. The food was cold by the time WE got it, so I'm sure everyone else's food was as well. Then at the end of the night, we were trying to pick everything up to leave (we had chartered busses to bring guests, family, and limos for us so time was short). The champagne flutes we had purchased were full of champagne and hadn't even been emptied out. In my beautiful gown, I was on the hunt for the big bin I had brought that had all of the stuff to package our champagne flutes and other details. Finally after a search of the mansion I found it and had to carry this big heavy bin myself. The coordinator was NO WHERE to be found! Come to find out afterwards she was sitting behind the bar counting money. You have 3 people there BESIDES the bartenders (owners included) able to help count money. When the lights came on, you couldn't find ANYONE who worked there! You were on your own! What happened to customer service? The two most important people you should want to make happy are the ones paying you, but I guess by then she had received the final payment and just didn't care anymore! I would highly recommend the harding ellen estate, the grounds are beautiful, everything will go off without a hitch as long as Leslie isn't helping you on your big day! I'd suggest bringing your own wedding planner!

I am a full time student and also work two jobs, which means that communication and simplicity are huge for me. The Harding Allen Estate, besides being a gorgeous venue with a wonderful staff, made everything so easy. I had to write them three checks, and they handled EVERYTHING - linens, chairs, tables, dance floor, set up, take down, delicious food (and a ton of it!), the wedding cake, the venue for both ceremony and reception, space for the bridal party to get dressed, bar, parking attendants....everything! They were great to work with and the staff all clearly love working at the Estate. Every single weird request I made of them was handled with grace and aplomb, and if I drove them crazy (likely) I never heard a single word of it. The wedding coordinator, Leslie, is a wonderful, warm, enthusiastic woman, and owners Grace and Carmine clearly want nothing more than to make perfect wedding days their standard. Leslie was assisted by Chris, who was a great conduit between Leslie and I; obviously, Leslie would sometimes be handling other weddings, so Chris would answer the questions he could resolve himself, freeing up Leslie to focus on just what she was supposed to. It's clearly a great working relationship. They can handle as much or as little as you ask of them, and between the quality of services provided and the scope of their offerings, the cost is frankly a STEAL. Their ability to combine services on-site and work with established vendors allows them to offer terrific prices, in a variety of packages to fit your ideas. They are flexible and willing - I had a Quaker ceremony, which is unusual, and they jumped right in on understanding how it would work and how they could best serve us, and then Carmine and Chris were able to arrange an impromptu after party outside in the walled garden for about 10-15 of our friends. On top of everything, the Estate is so beautiful you hardly need to decorate. We only brought flower arrangements, some small table decorations, our favors, and pictures of family that were set out around the Estate to make it more personal. What a great place! I can't recommend them enough.

My winter wedding day was awesome, i have to admit i was nervous having a winter wedding but it turned out beautiful. I took advantage of the Harding Allens off seasons prices and the value was unbelievable. The Manson was warm and romantic all the fireplaces were lit. We were even able to get some outside shots at their Greek style pergola. The food was fantastic especially the chicken Lillian. Grace the owner-chef really knows her stuff and made planning a cinch. Leslie the floor supervisor is so sweet she made the day so easy and lovely, my family and friends are still raving about the huge selection Hors'd'oeuvres that come with cocktail hour and my dessert table and how beautiful the new fountain view ballroom was. We whole heartily would tell any bride and groom if they want to have a great wedding, feel like royalty with no stress, then you should visit the the Harding Allen Estate. p.s. Their in house DJ Bob was great!

I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the the staff of the Harding_Allen Estate.
Not only was it planned and catered to perfection. I have recommended this facility to many of my friends that are to be wed in the next 2 years. Two have booked as I write this.

My wedding was in December. I was a little leary planning a wedding around Christmas, but when i saw the Harding Allen Estate the year before in December and how beautiful it was decorated for Christmas my decision was made.

The compliments are still being heard by me and my family as to how well everything went. The prices for the meals are by far the most affordable around and you get so much for your money. The staff could not have been any more accommodating then they were. They know its hectic planning weddings around holidays and they made it so easy to plan both wedding and Christmas for me and my husband and family.
My thanks again to Grace and Carmen for their undivided attention in making my wedding day the most beautiful it could have been

my wedding was amazing! they have such a friendly environment and the staff was awesome! i highly recommend this place!

The Harding-Allen Estate is resonably priced for the beatiful grounds are unique setting. I thought the gardens were beatiful, the ceremony location was beautiful and building itself was beautiful. Certain areas of the site could use renovation such as the building itself needs to be painted. For the ceremony they have switched the seating to plastic chairs which I was not a fan of, it felt it looked casual (like a cookout) and cheap. Also a very common complaint is the fake flowers inside the estate they are bright colors and an eye soar. I requested they be taken done (off the railing, centerpiece, and door) and they would only accomediate my request partial and they made me pay them to take them down.

I can't say enough about the venue and the staff at the Harding Allen Estate. Not only are the grounds breathtakingly beautiful, but the owners and staff embody a sense of elegance and professionalism. They are masters at their craft. The owners, Grace and Carmine Gugliotti, take pride in the appearance and quality of the venue. From the time you walk in the front door, you can sense that their care of the Estate is a labor of love. We received so many compliments from our guests about how smoothly the wedding went and how attentive the staff was. Working with them made planning my wedding so much easier and less stressful.

One cannot comment about the Harding Allen Estate without mentioning the food. It is delicious. The Estate distinguishes their wedding services with the Ease and Elegance package that they offer which includes an amazing cocktail hour. Our guests certainly did not go hungry with the options of soup, passed hors 'd oeuvres and stationary appetizer trays during the cocktail hour. Dinner was equally noteworthy with generous portions and tasty choices. To top it all off, the dessert table was the only thing capable of luring our guests briefly away from the dance floor.

We found the Estate staff to be very knowledgeable and accommodating. They were more than attentive to the special needs of our guests ranging from kids meals to immediately providing seating for my husband's grandmother while she was waiting for photos and before the ceremony. They were also sensitive to religious and cultural differences within our group. Since we had guests who do not drink, they allowed us to bring in tumblers so that no beer bottles were circulating at the ceremony and were very polite and discrete when serving both champagne and non-alcoholic sparkling cider for the toast. When they found out that the Texans who traveled for our wedding enjoy iced tea with dinner, they immediately prepared iced tea!

Thank you to the Harding Allen Estate for making our wedding such a beautiful event!

This place was absolutely horrible.
I am an event coordinator at a hotel and I cannot believe how bad this place was.
They are completely irresponsible and their lack of attention to detail amazed me.
had it not been for my best friend fixing the whole set up, it wouldn't have been done.
I wrote a complaint letter to them, and still have not heard back. I will be taking it to the better business bureau.
What a HORRIBLE place to get married
If you booked there already- be aware. They will take you for every penny.
I highly suggest not using this venue.

Had to book about a year in advance because the dates fill up fast. The location was just beautiful and the staff were just wonderful and extermely helpfull. The food was excellent I highly recoment the apple cranberry stuffed chicken!