House Mountain Inn

I had such a beautiful wedding weekend at HMI/IE. The team was absolutely 5 stars.

When my mom and I visited HMI for the first time, we both fell in love. As soon as I saw the view from IE Pavilion, I knew I wanted to get married there. It was raining, but it was still gorgeous. The shower came and went. The covered pavilion stayed dry and comfortable and I knew if it rained on my wedding day, I could still have my ceremony there and my guests would be comfortable.

The communication was on point, especially in the beginning. Jamie was quick at responding to ALL of my questions (and I had a ton). It was a bit slower closer to the wedding day as the fall season is BUSY with other weddings, but that was completely understandable. There wasn’t anything crucial that needed prompt replies. Jamie met up with me months in advance and we developed a schedule for the two day wedding. I had my traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony on Friday and my western ceremony on Saturday. She asked me questions I didn’t think about for wedding planning.

Pretty much everything I asked for was accommodated (and again- I asked for a lot). We used HMI for catering (for both the tea ceremony night and the western ceremony reception) as required, but they also allowed us to bring some of the Vietnamese traditional food (fruits and rice cakes).

We rented out all 15 rooms (10 at HMI and 5 at IE). Almost my entire extended family was able to stay (we also rented out a house at a nearby airbnb for overflow). It was like a big family reunion/sleepover. My family brought air mattresses and we all stuffed in all of the rooms. The rooms were large and comfortable enough to fit several queen sized air mattresses (we were able to cram 3 queen size air mattresses into the bridal suite and had 8 of us chilling in there). They also had rollaway beds that we could use. The rooms were all great. The ones with the fireplaces were incredibly cozy. I didn’t get a chance to use the jacuzzi tub or hot tub, but when I arrived late at night, the hot tub was HOT, even though it was chilly out. I had family use their hot tub and they didn’t have any issues.

I was able to rent out two of the HMI rooms the Thursday before my wedding. There was a wedding the Wednesday night before and the HMI staff cleaned the place up so quickly and quietly. I didn’t even notice. They were so kind to clean the bridal suite early on Thursday so we could move all of our stuff in before 3pm. My family arrived on Friday. We DIY’d a bunch of our decorations. We were able to start setting up at 11am. Check in is not until 3pm, but some of my family showed up early and the staff was SO QUICK with cleaning all of the rooms and letting them check in early if their room was already cleaned. They didn’t have to do that and I am grateful.

The tea ceremony went smoothly. We had a buffet dinner. We had pork tenderloin served with an apple cranberry chutney, beef tenderloin with a trio of sauces: Horseradish Cream, Roasted Red Pepper, and Chimichurri, and Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Portobello. They were ALL delicious. I had so many guests come up and tell me how scrumptious the food was.

We had a remembrance ceremony after dinner. We sent water lanterns out into the lake. It was so beautiful. We were able to use their battery operated speakers and had a Buddhist chant as well as some meaningful songs played. We were going to clean up the lanterns that night ourselves, but HMI said we could grab them in the morning. By the time we got up for yoga the next morning, the lanterns were already cleaned up!

My family brought some Vietnamese food to share. They stayed up late, using the crazy outdoor table fireplace, listening to music, drinking, and enjoying all of the Vietnamese food in their PJs. I was working on finishing making my wedding dress inside and could hear them outside, just having the time of their lives, laughing, and singing.

We had yoga in the HMI covered Pavilion the day of the western ceremony (Saturday) and the day after the western ceremony (Sunday). The staff made sure the Pavilion was completely cleared out for us. I brought some cool lavender towels to use for savasana during yoga and the staff was gracious enough to allow us to store them in their fridge until we used them.

My cousin and some kids brought their fishing gear and fished for some bass in their stocked lake. It was so nice to hear their laughs by the lake while we did yoga.

We ran behind schedule the day of the western ceremony (surprise surprise), but we were able to still get photography and first looks and bridal party photos with PLENTY of time before the western ceremony at 4pm (since golden hour was going to be a bit earlier in the mountains). And this includes time to do yoga that morning. Me and my bridesmaids had our hair and makeup done and missed brunch downstairs, but had brunch delivered to us in the room.

The ceremony was perfect. It was short and sweet. We had 4 ring bearers and 4 flower girls and even with all of that, it all went smoothly. Jamie helped us run through the rehearsal the day prior with the kids and it went well. We had so many laughs.

The reception area was spectacular. My family helped out a lot, but the staff also helped set up a lot of our DIY. We showed them our vision and it all came together. We did hire someone for lights. I wanted a fairy light tunnel effect and WOW did it come together beautifully. It was much brighter than I imagined. There was a lot of setup needed for my floral centerpieces (hanging glass orbs from the floral centerpieces) and HMI helped with all of that. They also lit all of the candles for us. The food was perfect. I had the filet of cod topped with sautéed shrimp, scallions, and lobster cream sauce. It was delicious. My husband had the roasted sirloin steak with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and served with a peppered bourbon sauce, which I didn’t get a chance to taste, but heard it was great. Our vegetarian option was eggplant Parmesan and I heard that was delicious as well from my guests. We even had some allergies that were totally accommodated for (e.g. no mushrooms for one guest who wanted the steak).

The weather at the beginning of November was amazing. It was warm enough for us to dance outside on the covered pavilion for our reception. The DJ just opened up the window and turned the speaker towards the pavilion and we just danced the night away.

We opted for late night snacks (pretzel bites, chicken tenders, and pigs in a blanket), which I think was fairly priced. The honey mustard sauce was HITTIN’. My family brought one of the TVs into the large living area and we all watched the World Series. The kids played card and board games late into the night.

Even though my family brought in most of the DIY stuff, the HMI staff helped with a lot of the breakdown. I can’t thank them enough. Apparently my backdrop was really unstable and sad looking and Jamie was able to bring in their green hedge and decorate it with the florals that I brought. It looked absolutely beautiful. There was no way I could’ve done that with what I had.

We obviously left a few things behind (we had a ton of stuff) and they were able to gather them all up after checkout and let me know that they still had them for me to pick up.

We are 2.5 weeks out from our wedding and I am still hearing about how wonderful my wedding weekend was from my guests. There was much love and fun. Everyone had a blast, myself included. Thank you so much HMI! Y’all are amazing.

We could not have had a more beautiful and smooth wedding than at Irvine Estate at House Mountain. Jamie and her staff did an excellent job so that I. the MOB, did not have to worry about any details on the day of the wedding! Our guests were blown away by how beautiful the venue was-the peak fall foliage was a bonus! Jamie addressed all of our concerns prior and calmed me over minor annoyances that were no fault of her or the staff on the day of. She and Tim also took good care of us during our stay at the estate over the wedding weekend-despite having two other weddings there that weekend. Would highly recommend!

Jamie Grue, Carrie Irvine, and the entire team at HMI and IE were nothing short of fantastic! My husband and I were amazed at how perfect everything was- there wasn't even a single hiccup. Jamie and the staff held themselves to a high standard and they were extremely professional.

From the moment, my husband and I got engaged we knew we wanted to get married at IE and we are so thankful to have the best memories from that day. I highly recommend this venue to everyone I talk to about our wedding. It was truly the best, stress-free weekend I could have asked for.

Jamie knows what she is talking about and is such an asset to have in the wedding planning process. She is extremely helpful and will help with whatever is needed to make your day special. The venue has so many options and choices that can fit any dreams you may have for your wedding day. My husband and I are constantly reminiscing on our wedding day and cannot thank the team at HMI and IE enough for everything!