We got married at the Cruiseport in Gloucester on 1/12/13. Most of Gloucester is seasonal so it was difficult finding a hotel for our guests afterwards. We looked at several hotels in the area and came across Emerson Inn By the Sea. It was beautiful and right on the water. It had a wonderful feel and great character. We had spoke with Melissa Hobbs and had asked her if the inn would be available for January for our wedding guests. She had said that they close a portion of the inn during the winter months, but would open it to guests as needed. It turned out that we ended up renting almost the whole hotel. Both the hotel and staff were GREAT! After the wedding they let us use the lobby for all of our guests to continue our amazing night. It was a great time for people to kick back and relax, chat, and have snacks. We all stayed down there until about 3am! We also had a brunch the next day for all of our guests in the main dining area. It had everthing from cereals to omelet stations. The food was delicious! We couldnt be happier for choosing Emerson Inn by the Sea. We would highly recommend it!
Nick and Laurie

It was a great experience to have the wedding and post wedding events here. The venue is beautiful and the food was fabulous. Service by all was fantastic. Melissa was a pleasure to work with.

Our major goal was to find a location for an oceanfront ceremony in New England with an appropriate alternative in case the sun didn't choose to shine on us. In the Emerson Inn, we found that and so, so much more! The grounds, the veranda, the parlor and the restaurant were exclusively ours from 12-5 and each flowed into the other to create a perfect atmosphere. I cannot say enough about every member of the staff, from Wonderwoman herself Melissa Hobbs to Carol and all of the staff we encountered at the Front Desk and all of the servers and the grounds crew who paid exquisite attention to every detail.

Oh my gosh, where to start! Having our wedding ceremony at the Emerson by the Sea was the best decision we ever made. We originally decided upon having our ceremony on the back lawn overlooking the water but, due to weather were forced to have the ceremony in the parlor, which turned out better than we could have ever imagined. The staff at the Emerson have hosted literally hundreds of wedding ceremonies and have things down to a science. The Emerson's event/wedding coordinator Melissa Hobbs was instrumental in making our day all the more special. Melissa thought of every little detail (even things we had not thought of), made suggestions along the way that we incorporated into the ceremony, helped keep the event flowing naturally, and just fit in with everyone like she was part of the family. We love you Melissa! All of our wedding guests cannot stop talking about how much fun they loved the Emerson and its history and the quaint little New England fishing town of Rockport. The town truly looks like a picture from a post card. Many of our guests are planning to return to Rockport for their own personal vacations . Overall we would highly recommend that any choose the Emerson by the Sea to host their wedding ceremony or special event, you will not regret it!

While we were planning my daughter's wedding my husband had health problems. Melissa Hobbs, the wedding coordinator, was absolutely essential to our plans. She helped us every step of the way, at a time when I was not totally functioning. Everything was absolutely perfect. The venue was beautiful. Leigh was married outdoors and we overlooked the ocean, had drinks on the porch, dinner in the dining room, and the band in the parlor. I can honestly say, there was not one glitch on that day. My husband and I will remember this day forever.

Melissa Hobbs and her staff provided a beautiful bridal tea for us. She worked with us on menus, pricing, setting etc. Coming to The Emerson, our guests were enthralled by the beauty of Rockport and after the personal touches of the event, they walked away with smiles on their faces.
Many thanks to Melissa. If you are in the area, you MUST visit.

Chris Dohoney, San Antonio, Texas

We envisioned a small, elegant and romantic wedding by the sea. The Emerson turned out to be the perfect venue for this. From our ceremony overlooking the ocean to the cocktail hour on the veranda and the following first-rate dinner, everything exceeded our expectations. The staff, particularly Melissa Hobbs, the Event Coordinator, did a wonderful job of looking after all the details for us. The entire event went off without a hitch so we and our guests could really enjoy the occasion. We have memories for a lifetime in part due to this fantastic location, the outstanding service, and the friendly and helpful people.

The Emerson Inn By the Sea was the perfect venue for my daughter's wedding and reception. The groom and his family had never experienced New England as they are from the west coast. Rockport was the perfect place to highlight how special NE is and the Emerson Inn By The Sea was the perfect location. From the time our daughter became engaged until the wedding date it was only eight short months. Melissa Hobbs, the Event Planner at the Emerson Inn, was the perfect person to help us through this process. She had wonderful suggestions and was always very responsive to any questions we put to her. The Clam Bake dinner we had for our guests was very well prepared and the staff was terrific. Only regret is that I only have one daughter and can't plan another wedding. Almost one year later those guests that attended the ceremony and reception are still talking about what a wonderful experience we all had. Everyone was amazed when the dozen or so sailboats sailed by just as the vows were completed. I don't know if Melissa was responsible for that perfect moment but I do know that she and the staff at the Inn were responsible for all the other perfect moments. I continue to recommend the Emerson Inn By The Sea in Rockport, MA as the place to have a wedding or any other special occasion. The entire experience was wonderful.

The Emerson Inn by the Sea was the perfect place for our wedding. Everyone at the Inn was extremely helpful and friendly. The wedding coordinator, Melissa, is wonderful to work with and very kind. The whole experience of planning our wedding was pretty stress free and a lot of fun. We chose the lobster/clam bake for our wedding meal. Our guests loved the food and everyone had a lot of fun. The location of the Inn is absolutely perfect, too. You can't ask for a more beautiful place!

The only thing the Emerson could not provide was perfect weather - we had a foggy, cold day in June - but the venue was gorgeous and full of character and the folks at the Emerson squeezed everyone inside with no fuss at all. (We had a few more guests than they usually accommodate, but we were able to forgo dancing to fit a few more people, which was fine since it was a lunchtime affair.) We were able to have the ceremony outside, and it was beautiful with the misty sea behind us. The food was delicious and all of our guests seemed to have a great time. I loved that everything we needed was right there, and there were no ridiculous fees. They even let me have a few friends stay in my room the night before, and cleaned it up for me and my husband to stay in after the wedding.

The Emerson Inn made our wedding day -- and the dinner for our out-of-town guests that we held there the evening prior -- absolutely perfect.

We worked very closely with Melissa Hobbes who is extremely skilled, has lots of experience, and didn't miss a beat. The food was perfect at the wedding and the dinner. At the wedding, we offered the lobster bake as an option for our guests and those that had it were thrilled!

We had the ceremony, cocktail reception and dancing in the living room, then moved to the adjacent restaurant for dinner. The # of guests was about 60 and the traffic flow was fine.

There was one snag with breakfast for our guests, but one quick call to Melissa and that was promptly rectified -- the owner cooked the food himself! How cool.

We went back for dinner to celebrate our first anniversary and plan to continue to do so again over the years.

The Emerson Inn was the perfect wedding location. Melissa, the coordinator, was fabulous. She was more than willing to help with all of the arrangements and was easy to contact via email as we were out of state. She helped a lot by telling me what details I needed to give her. She took time to sit down with us a month or so before and go over all of the details. Our ceremony was on the lawn overlooking the ocean. I had a room downstairs to change in and freshen us. It led right out to the lawn so I was hidden until the last minute. Melissa was a great director the day of keeping everyone calm and doing what they were supposed to be doing. We had a cocktail hour with delicious food before the dinner. Everyone was impressed with the food. Guests could mingle outside on the terrace or sit inside in the AC. The service was very professional and the venue was beautiful. Their website has some pictures if you are interested.

We had a great time. The staff was helpful and we always enjoyed our interactions with them.

We had a major challenge the day of the wedding (programs were printed wrong for 150 guests) and we only realized it once we were at the wedding site, and the wedding coordinator helped us even to work that major wrinkle out.

If you want great food, and a fantastic location and scenery (charming inn by the new england coast) you won't find any better value than this. Believe me, we looked!

Emerson Inn by the Sea is a lovely oceanfront hotel harkening back to another genteel era. The setting took my breath away and was exactly what I had imagined. The grounds are lovely with the Atlantic Ocean as your backdrop. The wedding planner and function staff are so helpful, calm and detailed. Additionally, they were a comfort in what turned out to be a difficult emotional time for me - my Dad passed away shortly before my wedding. The Inn's restaurant prepared the plated meal and the food was excellent. Almost a year later and family and friends are still mentioning the beautiful setting, the delicious food and the wonderful wedding.

We had our wonderful wedding day by the ocean as we always wanted, the anticipated thunderstorm didn't come until later in the day after we had our ceremony; all the staff there was very welcoming and warm, Melissa our wedding coordinator was there overseeing the whole event so everything went very smoothly. Stephan the Inn Manger was very helpful filling in early on in our wedding scheduling. We had a beautiful wedding day to remember for many years to come.

Great intimate setting with superb service.