Stonehurst - The Paine Estate

I had a great experience at the Paine Estate. It is such a beautiful place; my fiance and I fell in love with it right away. I thought I was going to have to travel an hour away to find a unique wedding venue, but then I found Stonehurst right in my backyard. We got many compliments on our venue, and our wedding there was just lovely.

I grew up in the area, and attended functions at the Paine Estate before, so I knew how beautiful it was. It was the only reception site I visited because I loved the space, indoors and outdoors. The Estate is on conservation land, so it is very quiet and you can hardly believe it's in Waltham. All my guests remarked at how beautiful the house and the grounds were. We had our ceremony outside on the lawn, and cocktail hour outside on the patio, which was a great option for a fall evening.

The only downside about the space is that the main dining room only accommodates 100 guests (10 tables of 10), so we had 2 tables of overflow guests into where the dance floor is. I put my bridal party out there though, and they certainly didn't mind being right in the action.

Otherwise, I was a bit disappointed with the event coordinator. Unless you reach out to her, she does not contact you for anything. I was told by my caterer (who catered at the Estate before) about the liquor license requirements. This was not mentioned by the event coordinator at all. The event coordinator is also very restrictive with what caterers she will work with, and how the space may be set up. I do understand these restrictions, as it is a historical site; however, the event coordinator does not communicate these things in a friendly manner. All in all, I tried to stay out of her way and play by her rules. In the end, we had a beautiful wedding, and I certainly would recommend the site to a friend.

The Paine Estate is an amazing location to host your wedding. The woman in-charge of the place is a little difficult to work with, it's her way or the highway. She was very responsive and the value of cost is great, especially if you are a Waltham resident (even cheaper!). Overall we were very happy with our selection as far as ceremony/reception location. There were a few bumps in the road as far as getting a liquor license (they decided to inform us of this the week before our wedding). BUT everything worked out, as it always does. We have some amazing pictures because this place is beautiful and very historic.

This historic estate is gorgeous. The house, the grounds, everything. The head of the estate, Marcia Goodwin, is fabulous. She has worked literally hundreds of weddings there and knows exactly what you need. She is tough, but so helpful.

Stonehurst was a great venue, my husband and I loved the rustic feel, the wood and stone work is amazing. The girls and I got dressed and touched-up upstairs which was really convenient. We had our ceremony outside, the tree was in bloom, and it was truly beautiful. The dance floor and dining areas were the perfect size. We really wanted a good movement, we didn't want our reception to be confined to one area.

The only tricky part of Stonehurst was that the girls and I could not do our hair there, so we had to find a salon. Also, there is no air conditioning, so you have to be thoughtful as to the time of year. Marsha, the event coordinator, was extremely helpful and honest.