From beginning to end our experience with Stoweflake was simply wonderful. They took care of all the details we needed. The spa, Charlie B’s pub, the 9 hole golf course and pool was so wonderful to have day of. Look no further than Stoweflake.

In June 2018 my (now) husband Ryan and I drove up to Stowe from our New York home to find a wedding venue. We were looking for a holiday weekend wedding with about 150 guests, almost all of whom would be from out of town. We wanted a venue with hotel accommodations at a reasonable price, and with activities for our guests.

We toured elsewhere first and felt rushed and bothersome. We left discouraged and the next day we went to tour Stoweflake.

We met with Arienne (no longer there) and Scot, one of the owners. This was the OPPOSITE of the prior day’s experience. We were there for nearly two hours. We toured every possible ceremony and reception spot (there are a lot of options), we looked at EVERY hotel/suite and townhouse option. We saw the gym, the spa (AMAZING), the restaurant, and the pool. We knew then and there this was the spot for us, and booked our date (7/6/19). We mentioned in passing we wanted to come back that night and have dinner at Charlie B’s, which we did. To our surprise, Scot took care of our entire bill that night. This is a family owned business and you can tell they really care about their customer’s experience.

We did most of our planning through e-mail, as we live about 7 hours away. We started with Arienne who left a few months into our planning, and then Maria took over. This transition was seamless and I cannot say enough about Maria. She is kind, patient, organized, detail oriented, and quick to respond- which as an anxious bride was so appreciated.

We came up to Vermont a few times during the planning process- once to show my parents Stowe, once for a menu tasting, and once for a hair trial. Each time we were given the family rate and beautiful rooms.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding I spoke with Maria often and she thought of EVERYTHING. We reviewed all the little details and this was a huge help into making me feel relaxed going into the wedding. Maria seamlessly coordinated with our vendors- especially our tent company, our band who had some specific requirements, and our VW Photobooth Bus.

Our wedding was nearly a week long festivity- we arrived to the Stoweflake the Monday before. When we checked into our townhouse Maria had a card and bottle of wine for use. We met with Maria on Tuesday and went over all of our DIY décor which she graciously agreed to set up for us. We were able to keep all the DIY stuff in the conference room which was great so we didn’t have to have it taking up space in the townhouse and no one else saw it before the wedding.
We had 150 guests, 140 of which stayed at Stoweflake. Our guests enjoyed this resort so much- the gym, the squash courts, the 9 hole par 3 golf course, the spa, Charlie B’s, the tennis courts, the pool (and the pool bar!). We also got married the weekend of the Stoweflake Hot Air Balloon Festival- this was such a special experience for our guests and such a fun event to attend.

The day of the rehearsal dinner (Thursday) we got a mani/pedi in the Stoweflake Spa and I did my makeup trial- all of which came out excellent. We had our rehearsal dinner at Von Trapp and Maria helped us organize a shuttle bus company.

On Friday we hosted welcome drinks and snacks at our parent’s townhouse, right near the balloon field, before the sunset launch.

The day of the wedding my bridesmaids, mom and MIL, and I got ready in the spa. The spa was great- everyone’s hair and makeup came out great and we finished ahead of schedule.

We ordered lunch from the spa café, which they delivered to our wedding suite (where we were getting ready, and where I would stay that night).

Maria visited me in the spa to check in, and again in the suite to make the weather call. Right as Maria came into the suite the sky turned black and it started POURING. We decided to move the ceremony indoors to the atrium (it was going to be in the atrium court yard) and keep the reception outside as it was supposed to clear and we had the tent.

The weather cleared before the ceremony but we stuck with the atrium set up. I went outside to do some photos and it started raining again. Luckily I was right near the spa and I popped back in for a two minute hair and makeup touch up.

The atrium ceremony was beautiful. Due to the atrium being used to the ceremony we had to use the Stowe Room for our cocktail hour (which we had wanted to be in the atrium). We didn’t love this but it was fine. The food was excellent!

The sky completely cleared up and we were able to have our reception outside. The food was delicious. We did the Platinum Package and chose the salmon, the filet mignon, and we had a vegan option. Everyone raved about the food!
We had an after party at Charlie B’s which was a lot of fun!

The next morning we were back in our dress and tux and out on the balloon field at 6 am for a sunrise hot air balloon photo shoot and WOW were we happy we dragged ourselves out of bed for that. We got to hop in the Stoweflake balloon and have some amazing photos from that.

Later that morning we hosted a day-after breakfast. This was set up gorgeously in the atrium and on the atrium lawn. Maria had the genius idea to re-use our wedding center pieces for the breakfast. The food for this was excellent.

Overall, I cannot say enough about Stoweflake and Maria. We had the best day of our lives and look back on the experience with nothing but happy memories!

* all photos by Stowe based photographer Savannah Brown
*45X014 Sailcloth Tent from Abbott Tent (chairs rented there as well). You will need a walkway if you do a tent.

It all began the weekend before Labor Day in 2017 when Steve and I went to Vermont looking for a wedding venue for an August 2018 wedding.

Every place we visited just wasn’t checking off everything on our list. We really wanted a place where EVERYONE could stay for the entire weekend, and not have to get in their car. Also, we wanted the venue to have mountain views, beauty, and provide a reasonable wedding package.

We almost quit looking, so then went over to check out the Alchemist brewery. We then sat down to have lunch on the patio at Charlie B’s. We were feeling let down, and we started to think, that maybe we should just get married back home in MA/RI.


It was a Sunday, so we didn’t expect to meet with anyone, but Susi, the concierge called Katherine, the events coordinator, right over to show us around. We visited the Spa, the Atrium, both ballrooms, the courtyard, the covered bridge, the pools, the pool café, and the balloon field. We were overwhelmed with happiness that we had found our wedding venue. I sent the down payment as soon as possible and locked the 8/4/18 date.

We went back in February for the tasting. Stoweflake gave us the family rate for a beautiful room with a fireplace.

For the meals, we chose the silver package; an open bar for 5 hours, with Prime Rib and Salmon. OH, DID THEY FEED US! We tried all three appetizers they were going to pass around at cocktail hour, (maple bacon wrapped scallops were amazing). They then provided us with three whole meals of the prime, salmon and vegetarian choice. We couldn’t even walk after!

Arienne and Manny took us in the van to show us all the townhouses. We had our heart set on 662/660, which was right by the balloon field. Arienne reserved if for us right away.

Between February and the wedding, I had emailed Arienne over 300 times, and she always followed up very promptly and professionally.

There was some initial confusion about how the room block worked, so please be specific when blocking rooms (different types of room range significantly in price). The standard rooms went SO fast. Also, they needed some of the main building rooms on Sunday so they had to upgrade people (no charge) to the townhouses for one night of their stays. Most people were happy, but at first, they seemed worried/unsure since they had to move for just one night.

A few hiccups arrived in July when we learned that the dancefloor had been ruined in an electrical fire. We also learned that we needed a 60-foot walkway to our sailcloth tent that would be placed in the courtyard (we used Vermont Tent Company – and they were great). Coordination between Stoweflake and VT tent resolved these issues, but there was a bit of increase of cost. However, I totally understand why we needed the walkway, in case it rained.

We rented townhouse 660, Thursday thru Monday. It was extremely clean, HUGE, and had the best views of the open field. We played lawn games outside and having the porch was so nice. One random noticeable thing; there seemed to never be any bugs. I don’t know if they sprayed, but that made us very happy!

We had all the Costco flowers delivered to Stoweflake and they accepted them on our behalf. Having the townhouse was the best since we needed the space to put our arrangements together.

Friday, the girls and I did our nails at “Salon Salon” down the street and the guys played on the Par 3 golf course. We had rehearsal at 3:30 and we practiced in the field and inside the atrium (the rain back up). Maria was our coordinator for the weekend. Right off the bat, she had the friendliest and most calming attitude, and we got along right away! She is truly an asset to Stoweflake!

We had our rehearsal dinner across the street from Stoweflake at one of our favorite restaurants in the area, Piecasso. George was great! He blocked off an entire room for about 30 of us and the food was amazing!

We had a welcome fire pit, Friday night from 7- until it burnt out, and we were SO glad we decided to do it. It was a great way for the majority of the guests to get together and mingle the night before the ceremony and reception. Stoweflake had set up the fire and a bar by the field near the pool and tennis courts. The bar was set up beautifully and the bartender was very friendly. We brought our own tiki torches, just to create a little more light.

Saturday, the girls and I went to the Stoweflake spa for our hair and makeup. Danielle and Julianna were very easy to work with. Danielle had two helpers that day, and they all did a great job. I typically don’t wear makeup all that often, but I LOVED mine that day. All of the girls’ hair looked amazing and they had finished everything by noon. We had lunch waiting for us in the Spa café, and I am happy to say I had two great meals on the day of my wedding.

Peter (from maintenance?) helped us put our arbor up; providing tools and other support. Will? helped deliver rocks from the river to the townhouse which would also help with holding down the arbor in the balloon field. It was nice having the extra help!

Unfortunately, the weather did not hold for our ceremony. It was a beautiful day up until 3 pm. And then, BLACK clouds came our way, and we didn’t decide to use the rain backup until after 4 (ceremony was scheduled for 430) I was so upset (sad bride) and I asked Maria if someone could at least bring our arbor from the field to the atrium and Scot B (the owner) was there right away with his pick up truck!

This might seem like an unbelievable story, but just before the ceremony, one of our guests LEANED on the fire alarm, causing an evacuation into the lobby. Our photographer came back to where my dad, mom and I were hiding to show me the pics of the firemen/firetrucks. I FREAKED OUT! Maria – thank you SO MUCH for keeping it together! I think this went on for about 30 minutes. Once everything settled, and everyone was sitting back in the atrium, we had a beautiful ceremony, and of course, the sun came out. The main reason as to why we wanted to share this story, was to express how impressed we were with how the entire staff at Stoweflake was able to handle extreme curve balls.

We had to take care of the photos during cocktail hour, so we hoped people enjoyed the apps and drinks! We had to extend the reception a little later because of the fire alarm, but with open bar for 5 hours, we kept the dance floor packed the entire wedding.

The courtyard is so full of color and made for so many great pics.

We loved the food. There were a few people who didn’t eat until later, which is unfortunate, but we didn’t hear one bad thing about the food. We ordered a prime rib and salmon and shared at our sweetheart table.

On Sunday, we ran into several people either relaxing at the pool or walking around and enjoying the grounds. We loved hearing stories of what everyone did Saturday before the wedding or their experiences overall. To our delight, we heard nothing but positive feedback. Many people told us that it was one of the best weddings that they could remember in a long time. The entire experience for us was all so memorable.

To tie it all together and sum it up, Steve and I are SOOOO glad that we went to Charlie B’s a year ago because there is NOWHERE else in Stowe that we would have wanted to get married. We had the time of our lives.

Maria can be reached at Conferenceplanning@stoweflake.com (she's super sweet and down to earth!)