Max A. Sent on 11/10/2022

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The perfect venue for a DIY multi day wedding

We picked the CGC because 1) it’s a gorgeous venue that needed very little decorating, 2) we could have free reign over the whole weekend, and 3) they offer total flexibility with respect to vendors.

Their coordinator Kate was suuuuuper easy to work with and very responsive to our questions since we were planning remotely. She was really flexible (we extended our holiday weekend to Monday) and didn’t add stress to our planning process.

The venue is gorgeous and has a diverse set of spaces you can use for your event (a large dining area, game rooms, a cozier communal area, and a rustic barn). The cabins are super cute and each one is unique. The best part was all the outdoor space, from trails to the fire pit and sprawling fields. It was a perfect spot for a retreat-like wedding

Devan Sent on 05/20/2023

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Relaxed & Magical Vibe, Venue Designed for Community Building

We HIGHLY recommend Common Grounds Center for a couple who are seeking a weekend-long event to maximize social interaction and community building with your family and friends. The ecolodge hosted several of our close family members and the cabins are perfect for the more adventurous guests. Food truck kept the atmosphere relaxed, while we dressed up the dining hall to feel a bit more formal - pleasing all parties. The barn was used for a AM yoga class while the groomsmen went mountain biking on the local trails. Friday evening consisted of outdoor pizza oven, s’mores, and jam session around the bonfire. Many guests told us this was their favorite wedding venue ever!

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Caitlyn Sent on 10/12/2021

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Fun, unique and gorgeous venue

This venue was everything we wanted! We wanted a nontraditional wedding where all our guests could just let go and be kids. It was like a dream wedding and we still hear from our guests how much fun they had. The cabins were so cute and even those who were unsure about being in the great outdoors had a blast! We were able to book for a couple days after to enjoy the venue, clean up and just relax. What an unforgettable experience!

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Amanda M. Sent on 07/05/2021

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A beautiful and customizable space

Common Ground Center was everything we hoped for in a wedding venue. This beautiful landscape in Vermont allows you to really embrace nature and the camp atmosphere brings your friends and family together for an intimate and celebratory weekend. The Common Ground Center staff are simply wonderful to work with and they give you the reigns to bring to life the wedding you imagine. The camp ground has so many amenities that make it a comfortable and easy wedding like full kitchen, a number of available rentals, accessible bathrooms, so many activities like tennis, kickball, tetherball etc. On top of all this you get the added benefit of knowing that the money you are spending on your wedding it going to a good cause working toward the Common Ground Center mission.

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Hannah Sent on 11/07/2019

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Best place to marry my best friend

Booking Common Ground Center as our wedding weekend venue was among the easiest and best of our wedding-related decisions. Everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - exceeded our expectations, from the grounds/facilities to the staff communication to the surrounding location. I could wax poetic all day, but I particularly want to point out two things. First, CGC has it all. Over the weekend, we took full advantage of the available facilities and hosted: a campfire & hotdog roast; a square dance with a local caller; a family-led yoga session; hiking, kickball, tetherball; impromptu outdoor jam sessions; a wood-fired pizza session; and, oh yeah, an amazing wedding ceremony and reception. We completely lucked out with the weather and were able to hold our ceremony outside, but I can't tell you how much peace of mind it gave us that the hay barn would have made a stunning protected venue. Second important point: since we housed & fed nearly all of our guests on campus all weekend, we charged room/board, which made this venue financially achievable -- and, FAR less expensive than regular hotel/food for our guests! I mention this because if the price is a little above budget at first glance, it's worth considering this as a financial win-win for both you and your guests. I acknowledge that this type of venue isn't for everyone, but if it strikes a chord with you as it did for us, I can promise you your only wish at the end will be that you could stay longer.

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Kati Sent on 09/13/2019

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Beautiful, relaxed, community-oriented

My partner and I decided to have a camp wedding to have all of our friends and family in one place that allowed us to actually relax during the wedding weekend and have fun together - Common Ground was the perfect option for us. The staff was super responsive and accommodating, and the venue itself is just so incredibly beautiful and relaxing. It has a variation of facilities, activities, and options for entertaining guests and having weather back up plans, making it easy to not have to worry about planning out every minute of the time we spent there. We also loved that you're supporting the great work of a socially and environmentally-minded non-profit organization!

Andy Sent on 12/12/2018

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Magical weekend

Not only did we have what we wanted (a classy but relaxed wedding venue), our friends and family (and their kids) loved the venue and the atmosphere it cultivated. Many folks later told us it was one of the most incredible wedding experiences they had, especially getting to stay on site for several days with family and friends.

Claire Sent on 09/19/2018

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The Common Ground Center was the perfect place for our wedding weekend. Our friends and family loved the cabins and ecolodge. Using the pizza oven and kitchen in the dining hall made for a delicious and easy-to-prep welcome dinner the night before our wedding. We loved the pond and open spaces for playing and gathering. The staff at CGC were always friendly, patient and helpful. They responded quickly to emails and were happy to support us with anything we needed. We couldn't have picked a better spot to celebrate our wedding - who doesn't love summer camp?!

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Lauren Sent on 06/01/2018

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Amazing place and amazing staff. We rented out the venue for the weekend: Friday- Sunday. The location is beautiful, and our guests fell in love with it as soon as they arrived (as did we!). It was very easy to transition activities between buildings and indoor/outdoor events. The different accommodation options work very well for different types of guests - everyone was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the cabins were. Our guests also appreciated the Wifi. Our wedding took place in the Haybarn because of rain, and we loved that we didn't have to worry about a rain location - the barn is really beautiful too. We loved having the campfire each night and trails for guests to explore. Our caterer loved the full-sized professional kitchen too. We couldn't have asked for a better experience with the staff either - they patiently answered all of our questions and were available throughout the weekend for last-minute emergencies. They also worked very well with our other vendors - they even met with our caterer before the event and walked them through the space.

Emily Sent on 11/13/2017

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We wanted a large, naturally striking venue where we could spend quality time with our guests outside the confines of the typical 4-5 hour wedding. So, in mid-October we rented out CGC from Friday at noon until Sunday at noon. Our ceremony was Saturday morning, followed by a leisurely afternoon of unstructured time (featuring lawn games!). The reception kicked off as it started getting dark outside, and the full effect of the 16 million twinkly lights that previous folks have left adorning the rafters in the dining hall struck: Pow! Really magical. Exclusive use of such an expansive and attractive setting was perfect for us. We had a lot of help from friends and family to buy and set up food, set up decorations, and move furniture: this was key. A beautiful memory of a wonderful space, staffed by very knowledgeable, helpful, and flexible staff. I'd shoot off an e-mail of 100 questions and receive a response before it even occurred to me that I should follow up.

Hannah Sent on 01/10/2018

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I can't recommend CCG enough for your wedding. You can truly make the camp, wedding, and your experience completely your own. We had over 85 people staying on site and another 30 or so staying in nearby hotels. We had pizza from the wood fired oven for the Rehearsal Dinner, Ceremony & Cocktail Hour on the field near the Eco Lodges, and the reception outside near the dining hall. Our friends and family truly got into the spirit of the camp, going on hikes, playing kickball, swimming, and even yoga classes.

Camp Common Ground is a wonderful value for your money and you can truly have a wedding weekend experience without spending $50,000. I mostly worked with Emily and she was invaluable! From everything from florist recommendations to logistics.

I do recommend hiring a day of coordinator - I used Andrea who the camp recommended. There are a lot logistics and it's helpful to have someone in charge!

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Leah Sent on 11/19/2017

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We could not be happier about our choice to get married at Common Ground. We loved every minute of it and absolutely very highly recommend it without an ounce of reservation! The staff is kind, wonderful, and easy to get in touch with, the grounds are beautifully kept, the facilities are welcoming and comfortable, and spending your money here helps this wonderful organization do all kinds of great work in the community. We love Common Ground!

Carrie Sent on 11/13/2017

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The Common Ground Center was the PERFECT venue for our self-driven community supported wedding. We had 4 main goals for our wedding venue:
1. We could have our dogs on-site for the whole thing
2. Every guest would have a place to stay on-site if they wanted
3. there was a pond
4. there was a fire pit.
The Common Ground Center hit all of these out of the park! The whole CGC team was incredibly responsive, helpful, and flexible and went above and beyond to make our vision a reality. Anything within reason (and even a few really out-of-the-box ideas) was accommodated and encouraged. We really wanted to have a strong community feel for our wedding and the CGC site and staff really promoted that feeling in a very natural way. The location was beautiful and everyone from the very young to the elderly was comfortable and had a good time. Despite torrential downpours throughout the weekend, a good time was had by all. The common ground center was the perfect wedding venue for us and we are really excited that we were able to spend such a great weekend in such a great spot!

Christie Sent on 10/08/2016

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An absolutely perfect venue for our wedding! From the very first phone call, our communications with Connor, and later, Emily, were consistently helpful, professional, and thorough. They answered all of our questions promptly, and were always available when we wanted to come down for more tours of the site. The site itself is gorgeous, and so conducive for spending quality time with all of your guests. We made use of the wood-fired pizza oven and the fire pit for our Friday night welcome dinner; it was a fitting beginning for our casual and down to earth wedding weekend. My mom and aunt threw a shower for me the morning of the wedding in the common room of the eco-lodge- definitely try to make use of this beautiful space! Our wedding party loved the cozy rooms in the eco-lodge, and we had many guests stay in, and enjoy exploring, the cabins. Having most everyone stay on-site with us made for a close-knit feel all weekend. Emily was amazing when a (minor) crisis hit a few hours before the ceremony- all of the power in Starksboro had gone out! She came to the site and communicated with Green Mountain Power to get us back online as quickly as possible. We had dinner outdoors at long banquet tables, and then held our reception in the lovely, holiday light-strewn dining hall. We didn't have to put up many decorations, as the site is so beautiful on its own. We also held a farewell brunch in the dining hall the next morning. The Common Ground Center is perfect for anyone who wants a venue where they can hold multiple events, as well as one where their guests can stay and relax for the whole weekend. We were lucky in that the rain held off on our ceremony day, but we would have been happy to hold it in the beautiful hay barn, had we needed to. We cannot recommend the Common Ground Center highly enough! Don't hesitate, book it.

User1809138 Sent on 09/14/2014

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Couldn't have been a better choice for a location!

User1695464 Sent on 07/04/2014

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We had our wedding at the Common Ground Center this May and I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was! We were able to rent the entire camp, so the majority of our guests stayed in rustic cabins or camped on their beautiful property. It was so wonderful to have everyone spend the weekend together - swimming in the pond, playing lawn games, doing yoga in the hay barn, going on hikes, and just enjoying getting to be with one another. Many people say their wedding went by in a flash, but we felt so grateful to be able to spend quality enjoying our friends and family who traveled to celebrate with us.

The CGC grounds are gorgeous and the amenities available to you if you rent the camp include the commercial kitchen (we prepared many of our meals), hay barn (perfect if you need an indoor option on your wedding day), and the dining hall and ecolodge common room which are nice spaces for people to relax inside.

The CGC staff are some of the nicest people you will ever meet - extremely helpful, understanding and patient. Jean was our point-person during our wedding weekend and she is a sea of calm and kindness, which I was so grateful for. We felt good knowing our money was going to support a great organization and we could not have been happier with our wedding weekend.

Kelsey Sent on 12/15/2014

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CGC is a perfect location for a more casual wedding for people who love being outside. All the amenities you could want, including rustic to more hotel like accommodations in the Eco-lodge. Connor was everything you want from a coordinator; friendly, helpful, responsive and communicated clearly & honestly about the site expectations. A great person to deal with.

Everyone is still talking about what a great wedding we had. Having over multiple days was a great way for everyone to come together and soak in the atmosphere without feeling rushed. Even after we left, no one wanted to go home!

Great value considering you can house up to 150 people for a weekend getaway.

It can be a bit hard to find for people who don't know the area, so just make sure you give good directions and put a sign up on the main road.

Jaime Sent on 12/15/2011

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What a beautiful place! We had the BEST wedding day. The location is perfect and the lodge and cabins make it so everyone can feel settled in. The staff are really helpful and respond to you quickly. I would definitely choose to have my wedding on Common Ground again.

Tony Sent on 12/14/2011

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From start to finish it was truly a pleasure to work with the staff at The Common Ground Center! The place is beautiful and there is plenty of room for people to stay overnight. Some of our guests did not realize that the cabins were pretty rustic and despite our communication, people did not bring enough sheets/blankets/flashlights etc for staying overnight (people were cold). The Eco Lodge is AMAZING and worth the extra $$, especially for people who are not down with the rustic nature of the cabins.
It's an amazing venue in the heart of VT, and I want to do it all over again!

Sara Sent on 12/15/2014

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After our engagement, we were determined to find a venue that fit our values, style, and budget, and we were fortunate enough to find all of those things in Common Ground Center. We had the flexibility and support in designing a weekend unique to us as a couple, and many guests still mention how memorable the venue was and wish to return for another weekend!

Common Ground offers several buildings and outdoor settings so you can create a configuration that works for both sunny days and rainy ones. The variety of lodging options was also ideal for our families and friends as we could accommodate both those who enjoy their creature comforts in the hotel-like Eco-Lodge and those who want to savor a true experience in nature by pitching a tent. The venue contains several options for activities, including tennis, kickball, yard games, pizza making, yoga, and hiking, and even has spaces for down time should one feel like resting, reading, or reflecting.

The staff of Common Ground were very responsive and helpful, and found ways to make our special weekend meet our needs, expectations, and hopes. Aside from a small hiccup and misunderstanding in arranging dates, which was quickly addressed and resolved, written and verbal communication were clear and consistent and staff went above and beyond what we expected from a wedding venue. The contract was presented in plain language and outlined each step of the process in a way that set the agreement up for success rather than loop holes and complications.

We highly recommend Common Ground to others, particularly if they are searching for an affordable, environmentally conscious, personalizable, DIY- and family-friendly setting to hold their wedding. It was a weekend we will never forget and we can’t thank the staff of Common Ground enough for their assistance in making it happen.

Pete Sent on 12/15/2011

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Beautiful setting with multiple indoor and outdoor options for the ceremony and/or reception location. The CGC center staff was helpful and responsive before, during and after the event with any questions and concerns we had. They were very flexible with what we wanted to do on the property to make the day our own. They provide multiple different pricing options so you can mix and match what you need.

Kateri Sent on 12/17/2011

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We could NOT have been happier with choosing The Common Ground Center as our wedding sight. The staff was so wonderful and the grounds were a fantastic place for family and friends of all ages to get the chance to visit together. Such a perfect spot for a Vermont wedding.

Reese Sent on 08/10/2019

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Perfect Vermont Camp Wedding!

We knew we wanted to have a "wedding weekend", inviting family and friends to spend more than just the day with us. Common Ground provided the perfect location and setting for us to spend Friday-Sunday celebrating. Rentals manager, Nate, was extremely helpful leading up to the wedding and giving us our orientation of the property. It is clear Common Ground has experience hosting weddings and had the answers to all our questions. The eco-lodge was wonderful for our parents, grandparents and others who weren't quite ready for no electricity to stay in all weekend. The bridal party also got wedding ready in the eco-lodge on the day of and it had plenty of space for us to spread out. Our guests loved the rustic cabins and spending time together in a laid back, Vermont camp! We had a lovely campfire Friday night with those who chose to come up early. The grounds provided many options of locations for our outdoor ceremony, and we chose the middle of the field, to provide for a mountain backdrop. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better location for our wedding!

Todd Sent on 11/17/2017

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Common Ground was a fantastic spot. Emily was flexible to our specific needs which allowed our wedding to be exactly the experience we envisioned. My only real critique would be that it would have been nice if the cabins had lighting. We ended up buying a bunch of lanterns online but it made it a harder sell for some of our guests who decided to go with BNBs instead of the cabins. I would also recommend hiring a few people to help with cleanup. Our families pitched in but it was a lot more work than we expected. I would heartily recommend this spot to anyone as it has a fantastic setup for a weekend wedding.

James Sent on 07/24/2017

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We have a great wedding at the Common Ground center. It's an amazing site and all our guests appreciated being there. Jim was very accommodating. We used the wood-fired pizza oven to serve about 85 people, which was a lot of fun.

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