Lyman Estate Reviews
Reviews
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Awards
Weddingwire
97 reviews
Google
244 reviews
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![Stacey]()
Stacey Sent on 05/08/2025Sprout! A local farm's friendsraiser.
This year Waltham Fields Community Farm retuned and hosted our 5th celebration of a new growing season at the Lyman Estate. We have been so thankful to partner with Historic New England, the Lyman Estate and Nicole Skarbek for this special event. Our guests absolutely love this beautiful venue! Nicole is a professional who extends tremendous care for the Estate's guests and has been a pleasure to work with each year. We are additionally thrilled to host our event at this historic site, where we have farmed since 2004. Thank you Nicole, Historic New England and the entire team at the Lyman Estate! -
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![Julia]()
Julia Sent on 04/24/2025April 2025 Wedding
We had an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception with no tent for 90 guests on an 80 degree day in April. I cannot say enough great things about the Lyman Estate and Nicole, the onsite coordinator! The venue is beautiful and intimate, the staff is incredible, and the grounds are top notch including access to the greenhouse before 4pm. Nicole was so easy to work with! Very responsive and kind and was willing to be flexible to make a couple of our more outlandish ideas work such as setting up a claw machine for our guests to enjoy. There is so much that needs to come together on the actual day and the second you arrive to the venue as the bride, you're just whisked away for everything but setting things up. Somehow things got set up anyway and I am sure that is because of Nicole and her team!
I will add this venue was especially great for us because we wanted people to be able to walk around and enjoy different spaces and not have their only option for after dinner to be to sit in one room with music blasting so loud they can't even talk to each other. The Lyman more than fit that bill! All of our guests were able to have fun from the young adults to the elderly. -
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![Kathryn]()
Kathryn Sent on 04/24/2025Our organization had a gala fundraiser at Lyman Estates, which offers the warmth and ambiance of an elegant home.
We had excellent support from Nicole for both the planning of the event and the actual night of the event. She offered professional guidance in making choices about space, connected us with services, and worked closely with our caterers. She was responsive to email communications and special requests. A very positive experience and a successful event! -
![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 03/08/2025The best intimate venue
The Lyman Estate provided a stunning and picturesque setting for our wedding ceremony and reception. The venue perfectly suited our intimate gathering, with a guest count of just over 60, creating an ideal atmosphere for the occasion. Its classic and timeless ambiance truly enhanced the experience. Nicole and her team were exceptional in their service, offering unwavering support to my wife throughout the planning process and on the day of the event. Even in the midst of stressful moments, they responded with professionalism, care, and empathy. Leading up to the ceremony, Nicole was consistently responsive, effectively managing communications with all vendors and addressing any concerns. The venue and staff delivered everything we needed, ensuring that both our needs and those of our guests were met, resulting in a memorable and enjoyable event for everyone. -
![Andrew]()
Andrew Sent on 11/01/2024October 2024 Wedding
The Lyman Estate was the perfect place for our wedding! The estate and grounds are obviously beautiful and there's so much space to play with. We set up cornhole and croquet on the lawn. We were able to have our dog attend the ceremony and cocktail hour since it was outdoors. And even if the weather had been bad, I would have loved the indoor ceremony space too. The seating chart for dinner did take a little extra thought. For 50 guests, we ended up doing 3 tables in the ballroom and 3 tables in the adjoining room, then breaking down just one of the ballroom tables to make space for the dancefloor. This way we were able to minimize breaking down tables and kept everyone pretty close together.
Nicole and Melissa are really the shining stars though, they are so efficient and on top of everything. We didn't have our own wedding coordinator, so Nicole and Melissa helped with putting signs and centerpieces out, lining up the wedding party for the ceremony, guiding us on the timeline, and probably a dozen other things behind the scenes! They're both really great people to have around you during the wedding.
Absolutely recommend! -
![Julie]()
Julie Sent on 07/27/2024Amazing wedding venue!
Growing up around the greater Boston area, I knew I wanted our wedding guests to experience a piece of my hometown. However, I didn’t want to have our wedding in downtown Boston. When I discovered the Lyman Estate, I was amazed by its charm and affordability compared to similar venues. From the first phone call with Nicole, I knew we were in good hands and that this was the perfect place for our reception. Nicole is organized, responsive, professional, and personable.
The Lyman Estate offers incredible spaces. Even if it rains, you will never run out of photo opportunities, whether in the suites upstairs, the ballroom, outdoors, or the greenhouse. It has everything you could want for your wedding day. As we got closer to the big day, I was most impressed by the service. Nicole and our catering company conducted a full walkthrough of the event with us. On the wedding day, they coordinated everything seamlessly and even packed up our decor.
Nicole goes above and beyond to ensure your day is executed flawlessly. Our guests have not stopped talking about how fantastic the Lyman Estate is! -
![Sam]()
Sam H. Sent on 07/06/2024Lyman Reception June 2024
We had our wedding reception at the Lyman and it was a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautiful and full of places to take pictures and the house is such a nice place for a celebration. The staff, especially Nicole, were incredibly helpful with planning before the reception and with organizing everything on the day of the reception. We really appreciate everything Nicole did. Her support and prompt communication throughout the planning process and on the day of the reception made everything come together so well. We could not be happier with our choice to have our reception there! -
![Kelsey]()
Kelsey Sent on 08/05/2023Our dream venue
We had the summer garden wedding of our dreams at the Lyman Estate. It's hard to believe this incredible venue is located 25 minutes from downtown Boston. From getting ready upstairs with the fun wallpaper, to our ceremony in the beautiful garden, to guests exploring the historic mansion during cocktail hour, dinner outside in a big sailcloth tent, and ending with dancing in the ballroom - Lyman Estate has a perfect room for everything! Everywhere you look is a beautiful spot for photos, and the manageable size of the estate made it so each event flowed seamlessly into the next. Nicole and her team were great at prompt communication in the year leading up to our wedding, and executed everything flawlessly on the actual day. If Lyman Estate is available, book it now! -
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![O. D.]()
O. D. Sent on 06/17/2023Unforgettable wedding; absolutely beautiful venue, and all went so smoothly
The Lyman Estate is a beautiful venue for any size wedding. My husband and I had an intimate micro-wedding, with the ceremony in the ballroom. The inside of the mansion is decorated with period furniture (some as old as the estate itself), and the outside is so grand. It is next to the oldest greenhouse in the U.S. which is also gorgeous. During the time we had our wedding, there were blooming flowers and trees. It is a romantic and attractive mansion and grounds with so much potential and opportunities for amazing photography. All of our guests thought the venue was so cool. We loved that it was not only absolutely stunning inside and out, but that it contained so much beautiful history too. You step into the mansion and are completely transported. There are large, nicely decorated rooms dedicated to each the bride and groom on the second floor for getting ready before the ceremony if you need them. My husband and I will always remember our wedding fondly at the Lyman Estate. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful day.
Our point of contact was Nicole who was absolutely amazing and made everything run so smoothly. My husband and I highly recommend this venue to anyone. Your big day will be made special at the Lyman Estate and with the help of Nicole! -
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![Jordan]()
Jordan Sent on 05/30/2023Incredible location, INCREDIBLE team
The first moment I saw the Lyman Estate I fell in love with the location. It is perfect in every single way. It was the perfect place for our literary, Austenian wedding. But besides the immaculately preserved historical rooms and grounds, the staff is unreal. Nicole Skarbek is such a pro and put my mind completely at ease. I probably asked her about a million questions in the lead up to the event and she always answered them thoroughly and promptly. She and her team were incredible on the day of our wedding. I felt so taken care of and in such good hands. The Lyman Estate is an absolutely wonderful venue. I loved having my special day there and recommend the venue to anyone looking for a special and historic experience. -
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![Ana]()
Ana Y. Sent on 02/27/2023Lyman is an incredible venue!
Lyman Estate is an incredible wedding venue for anyone looking for an affordable spot with some old New England charm and a great staff. We worked primarily with Nicole and she was a total gem -- quick to respond, knowledgeable, and flexible all along the way. We were initially unsure about the multiple-room setup and the way that might affect the flow of our reception, but the format of the house ended up being really helpful for creating different spaces guests could mingle in while still retaining a unified feel due to the big central hallway. Because it's a house, we felt like we were able to welcome guests into a really hospitable and homey (while still elegant) space. The staff were skilled at managing the event in the context of the layout -- it was amazing how they flipped the ballroom from a dining room into a dance floor and were also SO helpful in set-up and teardown. (We had a few DIY decor elements we provided ourselves, and they were helpful in boxing everything up afterwards.) A bonus -- the Estate photographs beautifully from both the inside and outside; we were also able to take some shots in the Estate greenhouses to get some blooms and color even in the dead of Massachusetts winter!! All in all, I couldn't recommend Lyman Estate enough! -
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![Rachel]()
Rachel Sent on 01/03/2023Magical day at this amazing venue
Lyman Estate was the perfect venue for our wedding! We loved the charm and history of the estate, and Nicole Skarbek sold us with her event management chops! We worked with Nicole and Tastings Catering on the overall flow of the night. We wanted to maximize all of the great spaces: The ceremony was outdoors; cocktail hour at the bar inside and around the veranda; Korean ceremony on the veranda; dinner in the tent (PEAK Event Services); dancing & dessert inside. We also enjoyed taking photos in the greenhouse. We had a very tight schedule, and Nicole’s team handled it perfectly. We highly recommend hiring Nicole as the day-of coordinator (Modern Alice). She made everyone feel comfortable, and we appreciated her grace & humor! So grateful for our amazing experience at Lyman. -
![Clara]()
Clara Sent on 12/11/2022Beautiful venue
Our wedding was held indoors at the Lyman Estate on December 3, and we could not have been happier. Everything was beautiful, everyone we worked with at Lyman was helpful and responsive, and our guests are still talking about how beautiful the venue was! Highly recommend. -
![KaitlinAnne]()
Kaitlinanne Sent on 08/02/2022Beautiful Location, Lovely Staff
The Lyman Estate was absolutely gorgeous, the grounds, the house, everything! If you’re looking for a location that is beautiful, period, and very reasonable in cost, the Lyman Estate is perfect. I wanted an outdoor ceremony but the moment I saw the ballroom in person I completely changed my mind; it is so stately and elegant yet simple all at once. Plus you get to walk down the staircase to enter the ballroom for the ceremony which is so picturesque! The one thing i wish i had done was ask the photographers for pictures going down the staircase. The grounds have everything you would want for pictures, a little forested area for woodsy shots, open landscaping and a large porch for group photos, and the oldest working greenhouse in the US with richly colored plant life and a huge tree just outside it for super secluded, romantic shots. The bride and groom suites were also absolutely gorgeous for photos before the wedding. Finally Nicole was outstanding. She was so kind and welcoming and always had a smile which made me feel at home. She checked in all throughout the day and was good with keeping everything and everyone on schedule. I could tell she had everything under control so I could enjoy the day. Even when I was pushing her schedule a little late with photos and a last minute receiving line she was super nice and gentle with any pushes to get me moving along lol. Thank you so much to Nicole and her team! -
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![Hannah]()
Hannah Sent on 06/15/2022Incredible venue, incredible people!!!
I cannot recommend this venue enough!! The Lyman Estate, and specifically the event manager Nicole Skarbek, have been incredible throughout nearly 3 years of planning and 2 pandemic postponements. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous and classic, but you cannot find nicer and more helpful human beings. We planned our wedding from out of state and Nicole was so flexible and helpful throughout the process. I was so impressed by how organized and thorough she was - truly helped us think of everything. Our wedding day came together so beautifully, in large part due to the amazing team at this venue. Nicole and Melissa ran the whole day and kept everyone and everything on track. The mansion is beautiful inside and out, and the space is just perfect for both dancing and chatting. We had about 90 guests but I think it could have worked for much smaller or much larger groups as well. I am so happy I was able to celebrate my wedding at Lyman and am so glad I stuck with this venue throughout all the pandemic craziness. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect place to get married. -
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![Katelin]()
Katelin Sent on 11/09/2021Absolutely stunning
This venue is absolutely spectacular! So
Much history and gorgeous decorations in every room. You can get away with bringing nothing! I was even able to use the greenhouse on site for our first look which made unique backdrop for photos.
But what really made this venue amazing was the coordinator, Nicole S. She was extremely knowledgeable, accommodating and amazing to work with. She was quick to respond back
To emails and worked with me with postponing my wedding 2x. I did a lot of DIY and she understood my vision and made it come to life. Don’t hesitate to book this venue! -
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![Jim]()
Jim V. Sent on 11/08/2021Amazing venue for our fall wedding
The Lyman Estate was the perfect place for our wedding. The mansion is gorgeous and functional, the grounds are beautiful, and the venue's team was incredibly responsive and helpful at all steps of the process. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. -
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![Alison]()
Alison Sent on 10/31/2021Beautiful, unique venue & incredible planning team!
We had our wedding at the Lyman Estate in October 2021 and I can’t speak any more positively about about both the venue and Nicole!
First of all, the venue, and in particular Nicole Skarbek, were a true pleasure to work with. Nicole is incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, responsive, professional and accommodating. She made many recommendations to help us to nearly every single one of our incredible vendors (including our caterer, DJ, photographer, florist, shuttle service - and even where we had our rehearsal dinner). When we made the decision to move our wedding back by over a year due to the pandemic, she moved the date, no questions asked. I had a million questions throughout the planning process, and Nicole was responsive and gracious, and gave us very helpful tips and hints - from the detailed schedule / flow of the day, to ideas on party favors, to the best floor plan given our guest count. Planning a wedding is incredibly stressful in normal times, let alone during a pandemic, and Nicole made us feel comfortable and confident that our day would not only be fun but also safe for all of our guests and staff..
Second of all, the estate itself - wow! The mansion is full of history (and was even used for one of the scenes in the recent Little Woman movie!), elegant, and beautifully decorated. In fact, we had to do very minimal additional decorations other than flowers which really helped with our budget. We loved that we were able to have our ceremony outside by the dogwoods and then cocktail hour on the lawn and under the covered veranda. Although we were a bit uncertain initially about the layout - as our guests were spread across 3 rooms during dinner (rather than in one large ballroom) - in the end, we felt that the set-up actually enhanced the feel of our wedding. Many of our guests commented that they loved how intimate our event felt, and how there were different spaces to eat, catch-up, or dance. Also, the grounds are absolutely stunning, including the greenhouse where we took photos before the ceremony.
We are so grateful to Nicole, Melissa and to the Lyman Estate for making our big day so special, and can’t recommend them highly enough!
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![Amanda]()
Amanda Sent on 10/24/2021Greatest service and awesome atmosphere!
This venue is absolutely amazing and exactly what we were looking for in regards to historic charm and intimacy. The grounds are gorgeous and it photographs beautifully. Nicole Skarbek was a dream to work with (we hired her as our coordinator as well). She made sure everything ran smoothly and everyone was happy and excited. If you are looking for a venue that allows for great indoor outdoor settings and classy features then The Lyman Estate is perfect! Clean cozy and filled with aesthetically pleasing architecture (the main staircase is breathtaking). Nicole also has connections to fantastic vendors! Highly recommend Alexsandra Wicel for photography, Echo in Dreams for videography and Tastings Caterers for food! Don't look any further than The Lyman Estate for your eclectic wedding dreams! Thank you Nicole for making our wedding perfect and drama free! -
![Brian]()
Brian Sent on 07/19/2021Great Service & Great Venue
If you're looking for a venue that comes with an awesome venue coordinator, then this is your place! Of course, a venue which includes tables, chairs, indoor and outdoor options, and looks amazing all over makes it an easy choice, but Nicole really makes the coordination process seamless. I hope to attend someone else's wedding here at some point! -
![Angie]()
Angie Sent on 12/29/2020The best pandemic wedding we could have asked for!
I fell in love with the Lyman Estate's beautiful mansion and greenhouse as soon as I set foot. Though we had many twists and turns along the way, including rescheduling our wedding once pre-pandemic, then again after COVID hit, then rearranging our plans once more when government restrictions required us to downsize our wedding (we ended up opting for the Lyman's micro-ceremony package), Nicole (who was also our day-of coordinator) was extremely responsive, professional, and accommodating (not to mention such a calming presence) the whole way through. -
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![Ching-Shin]()
Ching-Shin Sent on 12/23/2020A perfect wedding venue during the COVID-19 pandemic
My fiancee and I had great experience getting married in Lyman Estate. Although they only allow 10 people being in the building because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we really enjoyed our intimate micro-wedding. The venue is gorgeous and the staff, Nicole and Maura, were very nice and responsive to accommodate what we needed! -
![Julia]()
Julia Sent on 01/10/2020Dream wedding venue
The Lyman Estate was the first venue we visited, and we immediately knew it was the perfect place for our wedding reception. We were looking for an old New England house, and the Lyman Estate felt elegant and authentic while still being spacious, warm and inviting, which is a difficult combination that we couldn't quite find at other comparable venues in the area. Each detail of our plan was perfectly executed (the only snag was that the greenhouse was locked, which set our photo session back about five minutes, so make sure you they prepare all your photo locations beforehand).
We did reception only (no ceremony), with a tent for dinner/dancing, while our cocktail hour/open bar for the night was in the ballroom. I highly recommend this layout for larger weddings. The Lyman estate has a list of vendors which you are required to use, but the options are fantastic and affordable, and everything runs more smoothly because they are familiar with the venue. We used La Bonne Maison catering for food and beverages and they were wonderful.
Thank you so much to everyone at the Lyman Estate!
(Photos: Douglas Levy Photography) -
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![Lauren]()
Lauren Sent on 10/06/2019The Absolute Best
I truly can't imagine a better venue for a wedding. My husband and I booked the Lyman the day we toured it. Partially because of the stunning estate and grounds, and partially because of the incomparable Nicole (Lyman's coordinator).
The estate transports you back in time. Original components are there, but it's been very well-loved and taken care of over the years. None of that dark wooded, Gothic look. The Lyman is light and dreamy. Guests enjoy multiple rooms and it feels like relaxing in a lovely home. We mainly used the indoors, but we danced and had toasts on the veranda outside which was special. We also took photos in the greenhouse and around the beautiful grounds.
Nicole and her crew are something else. They instill the highest level of confidence in their clients. They make it clear that there is no request or issue that they can't solve or work out for you in a way that is acceptable. E-mails are answered both promptly and thoroughly. As I busied myself worrying about details for my big day, I NEVER thought about the Lyman. I knew they were prepared to make it perfect and didn't need anything from me to do that. We had a Friday evening wedding and I still can't believe the price we got this space for!!
I'm not local to the area, but as I told people over 18 months that this is where I would be getting married, person after person commented that they had attended a wedding there at some point and that it was a memorable one. I am so proud to have gotten married at this historic home! -
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![Jen]()
Jen Sent on 07/09/2019GORGEOUS and affordable estate venue!
If I could get married again at the Lyman Estate I would do it in a heart beat! The inside and outside are absolutely beautiful and there's no better team to help run your event than Nicole Skarbek and her team! She was so responsive and helpful (even with the smallest and unimportant questions!) and I wish we could get married again because our day was PERFECT! If you are considering this venue you should do it! There is so much flexibility with the different rooms and set up. I promise it will be the best day ever!
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