I don't even know where to start with Blithewold Mansion. If you are considering getting married here, DO IT! First of all, the grounds are absolutely stunning. We got married in September and the greenery was so lush with flowers in bloom. It was a dry day so we were able to enjoy our ceremony in the North Garden (I know they are well-versed in the backup plan to move the ceremony inside or accommodate for a drizzle outside too!). The cocktail hour on the terrace and Great Lawn with views of the Bay were so special. Walking into a beautifully set up and warm tent with all of our family and friends cheering us on was a memory I will never forget. My vision for our wedding day was classic and elegant, and it was just perfect.

Our experience with Blithewold Mansion & Blackstone Caterers, specifically Erica and Melissa, was top-notch. We are from CT but live in CA, and chose to do our wedding in RI. Despite living cross-country, the process from start to finish was so much easier thanks to Erica and Melissa. I cannot imagine what it would have been like anywhere else. They are responsive by phone or email, are both very friendly and extremely helpful. Choosing to get married here was worth every penny for the professionalism, quality, and beauty. I am so so happy we chose Blithewold - it was the wedding of our dreams.

It was a dream to get married at Blithewold. We had a noon time ceremony in September and it was absolutely beautiful. One of the best parts about getting married at Blithewold is that you don’t have to worry about decor for the ceremony because the garden and property are stunning.
Hannah and Allan were easy to work with. They were accommodating, professional and supportive throughout the whole process.
Blithewold has always been a special place for me. I am so glad we were able to have our wedding there.

We are so happy to have gone with Blithewold for our special day! Erica and Melissa were wonderful to work with from when we first came onsite to see the venue/property to the days leading up to the wedding to the day itself! Their energy, responsiveness, and professionalism remained top notch throughout the process. We lucked out with our wedding day being rain free and were able to have our ceremony on the North Garden (although there were back-up indoor options if needed). The team at Blithewold were able to work with any/all changes as needed, which was much appreciated! The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all went well and our guests loved the beautiful property and event! Erica, Melissa, Matthew, and other staffs' customer service, along with manor, gardens, arboretum, sprawling lawn and view of the bay. all played a role in making our day so special. Thank you!

The Staff is amazing, the food is amazing, the backdrop is amazing! Literally can not say one bad thing about this venue. The wedding was my dream come true and they made it all happen. The tent comes with the booking and it is fully floored so you don’t need to pay extra for any of that. The tent also includes twinkle lights and a dance floor. We also had a terrible experience with our photographer and needed to retake some portraits with a different one and Blithewold was so accommodating and let us come back to take photos in the fall on the grounds.

Beautiful venue for our small wedding, and great service! Matthew and Allan were kind, flexible and helpful, from the early planning stages, right through to our special day. We and our guests thoroughly enjoyed our time. The mansion and the extensive waterfront grounds are a perfect setting for a wedding.

I actually use Blithewold twice during my wedding planning process. My bridal shower at the Blithewold was amazing. The staff went above and beyond and had a great time doing it. The venue is actually my favorite place in Rhode Island. The grounds are gorgeous and well-kept. If a wedding at the Blithewold’s not in your cards I would still suggest them for other events!

We couldn’t have imagined a better setting than Blithewold for our August 2021 wedding. The mansion, ceremony garden, sprawling grounds on the water, and reception tent are all uniquely stunning and together result in a truly one-of-a-kind venue. Throughout the planning process, which ended up being a year longer than anticipated due to the pandemic, there wasn’t a moment that we didn’t feel so lucky that we would be able to have our day with this stunning backdrop.

Additionally, Blackstone (and Karen in particular) made the entire planning process flawless and fun. Karen was so accommodating and understanding when we had to postpone due to the pandemic, and was communicative throughout the next year hopping on calls and emails whenever needed to answer the many questions we sent her way. On the day of, Karen, Melissa, and the Blithewold team made sure everything was running flawlessly, and we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day (with unparalleled cuisine by Blackstone). Blithewold will always hold a special place in our hearts and we want to give one last special thank you to Blackstone and all the people who helped create our day. We can’t recommend them enough!

Blithewold was the absolute most beautiful place for our wedding. From the beginning, the staff there were so accomodating, answered all our questions, and were extremely flexible when we had to reschedule our initial wedding date due to the pandemic. Almost every guest in our 180 person wedding said that Blithewold was the most beautiful wedding venue they had ever been to. I was so worried about things going wrong on my wedding day, but thanks to the Blithewold staff that were assisting with my wedding, absolutely nothing went wrong and everything transitioned so seamlessly. Melissa, Karen, and the rest of their team were so quick to respond to my questions (and there were MANY questions) and made me feel absolutely comfortable leaving the biggest day of my life in their hands. They were so professional and even had many suggestions on how to make our wedding day more fun (i.e., extending the cocktail hour as the sunset was so beautiful). You get to have your ceremony essentially in a botanical garden with the ocean on one side and a beautiful historic mansion on the other. The tent is there year round and was so beautiful and even when it started raining and there were strong wind gusts, none of our guests noticed. I would recommend this venue to ANYONE, and I am so happy I chose to have my wedding at Blithewold.

If you don't want to read the whole post, my advice is to call and schedule a meeting, talk thru how you envision your wedding and walk the grounds. If the day you want is available, the $'s make sense for your budget, and you love the venue, then book. Our wedding day was perfect and the staff at Blithewold were simply fantastic. We couldn't have done it without them and I highly recommend. On to our story:

Our engagement was very short (9 months) and we planned our wedding ourselves... as Rhode Island began to open back up our plans and guest list changed along the way. During that time Matthew and Allan were responsive to all our requests, spoke to all our vendors (Florals, Baker, DJ) to ensure scheduling was on track, provided timelines for us to follow and if they had questions they would call us to hash out (Tasting dates, finalize head counts, cocktail selections, rehearsal dates, etc). The day before our wedding we dropped off our table decor and left the rest to them. On our wedding day we had a first look and photos in the mansion. Matthew made sure the bride was tucked away into the bridal suite with plenty of time to bustle and powder before guests arrived. Blithewold provided both sunshine and rain plans ahead of time (it rained) and the staff just kept the whole day moving smoothly. Little details matter and the staff were on top of it. Everyone flowed from the ceremony to cocktail hour for passed apps/drinks. Umbrellas were provided by the venue as guests transitioned from cocktail hour to the reception tent and the party just kept going til the dj told us our shuttle would be arriving in 20min. It's been two weeks since our wedding; my wife and I are still smiling about how perfect our day was.

Let's talk $'s. We researched 15 venues and getting upfront pricing was tough for many. Blithewold was upfront with all costs: venue, cocktail hr, passed hors d'oeuvres, gratuity, taxes, per-guest reception costs, etc. I was provided an invoice on Day 1 and the total at the bottom was the price we paid (deposit to reserve, balance due 30 days before wedding). Zero surprises and no fine print that padded on extra for "admin fees, gratuities, taxes, etc". Our only outside costs were to provide signage, floral arrangements, wedding cake, music and centerpieces for tables. We dropped off our decor the day before the wedding. Again, the staff set everything up perfectly and our reception looked fantastic.

Blackstone Catering and Blithewold Mansion made our day perfect. Our guests loved exploring the grounds and the tent was gorgeous. It was such a special day and we were so happy that we got the beautiful views we dreamed of, on a budget. If you're considering Blithewold vs. somewhere else, pick Blithewold everytime!