Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center on Cedar Lake

Banquets & Weddings

Find out why the Sturbridge Host is the ideal Massachusetts wedding location.

Click here for our Wedding Planning Guide

Thank you for considering the Sturbridge Host Hotel on Cedar Lake for your special celebration. As our reputation precedes us, we offer legendary service in the New England tradition. Assisting with all aspects of your planning, our experienced knowledgeable catering consultants will instill the confidence needed for you to relax and enjoy your very special day.

The Sturbridge Host offers a variety of wedding locations. Massachusetts makes a lovely setting to celebrate your event outdoors. Our lakeside tent and outdoor gazebo feature scenic beauty and romance for ceremonies and receptions. Our indoor garden is bright and airy, while our Grand Ballroom is elegant and stately. Warm and personal attention as well as our delectable cuisine will dazzle you.

Our showers and rehearsal Dinners offer the same attention to detail and devotion as we bestow on the bride's wedding day.

Sample Menus

The Sturbridge Host Hotel offers exceptional catering selections, including Themed Refreshment Breaks, Business Luncheons, and Lakeside Luaus. Please feel free to download any of our menus.

Breakfast Menu
Business Luncheon Menu
Dinner Buffet Menu
Plated Dinner Menu
Gourmet Specialty Menu
Luncheon Buffet Menu
Themed Refreshment Breaks Menu
Create Your Own Banquet Break Menu
Hors d'Oeuvres Menu
Plated Luncheon Buffet Menu

Wedding Planning Guide

Choosing a Photographer

Most people have not had any experience in selecting a photographer when they are first faced with the task. Brides are often surprised and distressed when they find the photographer of their choice is booked months in advance and must settle for an alternate choice. Here are some tips to choosing the right photographer to capture your day.

Most photographers are booked a year in advance. Planning early is very important.

Select a photographer who is a specialist in weddings. They will be familiar with procedures and timing.

Review as much work as possible. Is the individual style attractive and meet your needs?

Special Effects in photographs are popular today. These techniques include softening using special lenses and filters. Do you like these effects?

Good communication is the key. The photographer will be spending your wedding day working closely with you and mingling with your family and friends.

Finally, when choosing a photographer, ask yourself these basic questions. Does the bridal party looked relaxed in the sample pictures? Do the candid shots look like candid shots? Are the photographs good quality? Will you enjoy Working with this person in the excitement of your wedding?

Videotaping Your Wedding

Your wedding day is a very special day you will cherish and remember for the rest of your life. However, time has a way of fading the memories of even our most special events. Photography recaptures those events, but in a limited fashion.

Videotaping recalls the sights, sounds, music, laughter and all the other wonderful events as they actually occur.

A professional videographer is experienced with the day's sequence of events, the lighting requirements, sound qualities, dubbing, editing and copying capabilities, along with special effects to enhance the finished product you will enjoy for a life time.

As with a photographer, videographers are often booked up to a year in advance. You should view a demo, check out the equipment and review what is included in packages.

When your wedding day finally arrives, you will be able to relax and let the day's events naturally occur and never worry about missing an instant. This special day is just a television set away.

A Little Mood Music

More than anything else, finding the right musical accompaniment enhances the mood and sets the tone celebrating your wedding day. To make this day truly your own, you and your fiancé must decide together on the type of music you want both for the service and the reception.

The Service choices for music are not as broad as the party afterward. A formal, religious ritual lends itself to classical selections emphasizing the profound commitment being made. Arrange to hear them before committing to their use.

The Reception music can be just as challenging as the Service. Some questions you might ask yourself are: What type of atmosphere would you like to achieve? Low key, or more of a party atmosphere? Will your guests include older relatives, friends and teens? How many musicians can make up the band? How long do you want them to perform?

One of the best approaches is to set a budget and try to stick close to it. Discuss fees with musicians and agencies ahead of time. Costs are usually a direct relation to the experience involved.

If you have not heard the group, ask to see where you can see them perform. See how they interact with the crowd and see if it fits into your wedding.

The choice of entertainment can make or break the success of your reception, so select the entertainment as soon as you've decided on a location. Be prepared to pay for quality, reliability, and versatility.

Planning with Both Families

The wedding day is exciting, romantic and special, but can be made complicated by the hopes and dreams of the bride by the groom's family. Usually, the bride's family parents pay for the wedding. This can be a costly expense, so you may want to sit down with everyone and discuss the costs and the best solution for everyone.

How involved the groom's family is on the wedding day often depends on the bride. As a rule, the families of the bride and groom and the maid of honor are your team to help you on this day. Remember, this is your day and some decisions you make will not be agreed by everyone.

Bridal Gowns

The bride's selection of a traditional gown is largely independent of fashion and season. Whether silk, tulle, satin or lace; these threads are at the heart of every brides romantic dream -her wedding dress.

The bridal gown may be short, long, elaborate, simple, formal, informal, white, colorful, or any combination. Learn about your dress fabric beforehand. Ask your salon owner or sales person what the material your dress is made out of, cleaning tips, and whether the dress and trim are cleanable.

After the wedding, the gown should be cleaned and protected for possible later use. You may be interested in having your gown packaged in a protective storage box. Many dry cleaners specialize in the service of bridal gowns. At home store the gown in a cool dry place.

Formal Wear

Grooms will not be traumatized by the overwhelming choices for ensembles. The decision falls into place when you consider: Is this a spring, summer, winter or fall wedding? At what time is the service held? Will it include a wedding party? How big? What kind of wedding is it going to be?

Formal weddings often occur during the day. Grooms wear a long jacket, cutaway style, in black or gray. White shirt, with winged collars and French cuffs, with studs, a vest, cummerbund, an ascot, dress shoes, and an overcoat with matching hats and gloves. Semiformal weddings have matching or contrasting jackets, trousers, shirts, cummerbunds, vests, and ties are standard semi-formal wedding fare.

Informal weddings are distinguished by two styles. The business suit for the conservative set, and the "anything goes" look for a more eccentric wedding.

Making the correct choice takes planning and persistence. Learn the differences between tuxedos, collars, cummerbunds and suspenders. Consider the father of the bridal couple.

When hunting for a formal wear shop, make sure it offers national labels. Visit several shops and try on different styles. Ask questions and gather information.

Beauty Countdown

In order to look and feel your best for the wedding, you should start a beauty and health routine six months ahead. The following list will help you plan:

Six Months Before
Try new hairstyles for your wedding day.

Make time for exercising, sleeping and proper diet.

Ask about a skin care program.

Three Months Before
Treat yourself to a professional manicure.

Start a nail-care program for you or discuss sculptured nails. Start working with makeup. Experiment with anew makeup look of you are ready for a change.

One Month Before
Suntan without sunburn. If you begin tanning less than a month, you may not be able to have that golden glow that we have come to identify as a healthy look.

Make a wedding day salon appointment for yourself and the wedding party, and shape unruly eyebrows so any bare spots can grow in and redness can fade.

Two Weeks Before-A Beauty Checkup
Condition Hair
Check those nails, now is the time
Makeup, any problems, last minute advice on wedding day makeup should be done now
Stock up on cosmetics for your honeymoon

On Your Wedding Day
Soak in a warm, scented bath
Powder and moisturize all over
Mist on fragrance
Arrive early for your salon appointment
Touch up your manicure
Apply makeup
Slip into your wedding dress, shoes, headpiece

Memorable Favors

A wedding is made up of traditions, rituals and symbols. It all begins with romance. One way to include these traditions is through wedding favors; objects that signify love, commitment, and hope for all the future. The choices are endless, from candies and chocolates, individual bottles of water and wine to poems.

Many shops and stores have a selection of items and ideas for you. With their ideas and your imagination, your wedding can become something to remember for years to come.

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