Wedding FAQs

HollyHedge Estate and The Inn at HollyHedge are two separate yet coexisting entities that come together to make your experience at HollyHedge even more special. Our amazing event coordinators and innkeepers are well-experienced in their respective areas, and are happy to answer any questions you may have.

The following are FAQs related specifically to events. For Inn-related questions, please visit our Inn FAQs.

Can we hold our wedding ceremony at the Estate?

Yes! We have several different options for both indoor and outdoor ceremonies. Additional fees are associated with the ceremony on a per guest basis. Prices vary depending on where and what the ceremony will be. Our event coordinators will gladly talk you through the different options and the associated costs.

Of course! If you’d like to get married at the Estate, we will do everything we can to accommodate your rehearsal. Rehearsals are subject to availability, and we must ensure there are no conflicts with other events. Typically, we try to schedule the rehearsal during the day(s) before your wedding based on the availability of the ceremony space. However, we can not guarantee that your preferred time for the rehearsal will be available due to other events taking place on the property throughout the year. Therefore, please schedule your rehearsal time with us before you notify your guests or finalize any rehearsal dinner plans.

The Inn at HollyHedge has 15 rooms that we typically set aside exclusively for wedding guests. We offer every wedding couple the opportunity to place a room block at the Inn for their guests on the night of their wedding. In addition, we have a sister inn – The Lumberville 1740 House – which has another 24 riverfront rooms just four miles from HollyHedge.

Unfortunately, we do not provide discounts on rooms for groups. Instead, if your wedding party books all the rooms at the Inn at HollyHedge, we give the Honeymoon Suite free for the couple on their wedding night – a $350 value! HollyHedge and the 1740 House will also provide a complimentary shuttle between the two properties on the night of your wedding if you book ten or more rooms at the 1740 House.

To block rooms, contact Innkeeping directly by phone or email at: (215) 862-3136 ext. 1 or at innkeeper@hollyhedge.com. HollyHedge cannot guarantee any or all rooms will be available at the 1740 House for your guests. Rooms are booked on a first-come, first-served basis.

We have an incredible team of coordinators and event planners that will work with you every step of the way, from the moment you walk in to tour the Estate to the time you depart for your honeymoon. We typically have a team of 3-4 coordinators and managers who work with you throughout the planning process and a team of 2 who work with you on the actual day of your wedding. This process ensures all the intricate details are taken care of so that you may enjoy your wedding without stress.

We are happy to have external event stylists or event planners help you in addition to our team. However, they must be open to communicating with our team, must attend the necessary planning meetings with our staff, provide us with their proof of liability insurance, and sign our external vendor agreement before working at the Estate.

HollyHedge prides itself on its incredibly accomplished chefs and our restaurant quality approach to all of our food. We do all of our catering on the premises and do not allow any external caterers on site. We will work with every couple to design a unique, personalized menu that satisfies the most discerning gourmand. We may be able to make some exceptions for dietary, cultural, or religious requirements. Please let our event coordinators know at the time of your first consultation if this is something we need to discuss.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide tastings before booking your wedding. After you have reserved your wedding date, though, we typically schedule all of the tastings for the year during our slower months between November and April. In addition, we do group tastings based on the season in which you’re getting married. Our chefs craft an exciting, seasonally-inspired menu that allows you to try a selection of appetizers, entrees, and samples of different wedding cakes. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to try everything that you’d like, as the menu is Chef’s Choice. We are also unable to offer private tastings.

We promise that the group tastings are a fantastic party, featuring different vendors from our Featured Vendors List, music, seasonal decorations, and amazing food! You will receive a “Save the Date” email at least three months before your tasting and a follow up email invitation to the tasting with all the details you may need. If you have particular dietary restrictions, please let us know, and our chefs will accommodate any allergies or needs you may have.

After the tasting, our office will schedule a Menu Meeting with you. Here, you will sit with our event coordinators to plan the perfect menu for your celebration. We can answer questions about seasonal options, allergies, and other dietary needs and ensure that you’re happy with the food at the party.

Yes, if you are doing a sit-down dinner. This will help our chef know what to prepare and how much of each entree we will need to order. If you’d like to bypass the entree selections on your response cards, there is an additional charge of $10 per guest to order table-side on the night of the wedding.

HollyHedge Estate does have a liquor license and typically provides a 5-hour open bar as part of its signature wedding package. We can work with you on customizing your signature drinks or bringing specialty liquor, wine, or beer that we do not typically carry in stock. Some additional costs may be associated with any specialty liquor we do not typically carry as part of our standard bar.

Of course! We’re partial to the traditional Pittsburgh cookie table but gladly welcome any sweet treats you’d like at your wedding. However, for it to work smoothly, we have two options we recommend.

Option One: Have your guests bring the cookies on the display pieces on which they will be served on the table. This method is the easiest and fastest way to make sure our staff can set the cookie table up after dinner.

Option Two: Assign someone in your family, wedding party, or group to collect and arrange the cookie table display. This is usually best done during the day before the wedding ceremony. With this option, the cookie table will be on display as soon as your guests arrive for dinner service after the cocktail table.

If you need our staff to plate and arrange the display, it may incur extra costs as we may need to bring on additional staff or pay for additional staff hours to create the display. We also can not guarantee storage for your cookies ahead of time – please confirm with our team about using refrigeration or freezer space for storage with the event coordinators at your final meeting. Most likely, guests will have to bring cookies on the day of the event.

Yes, you and your vendor are welcome to bring in whatever you deem necessary to make your dream wedding a reality. However, we do have a few conditions:

  • You may drop off any non-perishable supplies the day before your wedding only. Food products that need refrigeration or special storage may only be dropped off on your wedding day.
  • HollyHedge will not assume responsibility for safely storing personal items or wedding-related materials.
  • Florists and decorators who plan on working at the Estate must sign our External Vendor Disclosure Form, which lays out some basic policies and requirements for folks working here.
  • Typically, you can begin decorating on the morning of your event, after 10 a.m. However, all materials must be removed from the property the day after your wedding no later than 10 a.m., or they may be thrown out or disposed of by our team.

Yes! We have some great local vendors we’ve been fortunate to work with for years. Contact our events team for recommendations that fit your style and budget. (Full disclosure: our partnered vendors do not pay us to get listed, they are simply folks who we recommend, work well with, and who we think provide professional and valuable services to their clients.)

If your vendor has not worked at the Estate or is not part of our partnered list, that is not a problem. All vendors who have not worked at HollyHedge in the last 12 months, or are not part of our partnered vendor list, must send us a copy of their certificate of insurance (COI) at least two weeks before they work at the Estate. Before working on the property, they must also sign and return our External Vendor Disclosure Form.

HollyHedge reserves the right to bar uninsured external vendors from working on the property (as noted in every wedding contract). If you have a family member or friend who will provide services like photography or floral arrangements on the day of your wedding, and they do not have proper insurance, they must fill out a Waiver of Liability Form (available upon request from the Events Office).

You are more than welcome to come to the property with your vendor(s), subject to availability and scheduling. We ask that you inform us in advance of what day/time you plan on coming. This is so we can ensure there is no other event taking place at your desired time. If you wish to tour the property without an appointment, we may ask you to return at another time to ensure the privacy of other parties happening at that time.

We are thrilled to work with external vendors. They must do all their work on property on the wedding day. They can arrive as early as 10 a.m. to begin their work, and we ask that they finish everything at least 2 hours before the start of the ceremony or reception. Vendors are wholly responsible for cleaning up after themselves, removing trash items from the property, and returning to collect any items they hope to keep before 10 a.m. the morning after your reception.

We have made a great effort to become a leader in environmentally-friendly wedding services. This means that we don’t introduce anything into the water stream or environment that is not natural. For example, we do not allow things like confetti cannons or other items that will litter the property or cause downstream problems after they are used.

We do not allow fireworks on-site due to local zoning and sound ordinances. We will confiscate any fireworks that we see, and the local police may arrest or prosecute anyone found to be in violation of particular ordinances.

We also do not allow Chinese lantern releases on-site. We know they look beautiful, but we are located in dense forests that are not conducive to the open space needed to prevent potential fires.

Don’t worry, though! We have plenty of fun and amazing ways to create memorable photos that won’t pollute the environment and property, such as sparkler send-offs. Ask our event coordinators for more information on ways to beautify your event.

We have a minimum number of required guests for weekend events at the Estate, depending on the time of year and the day of the week. Our event coordinators will be happy to discuss the different options and review guest minimums during your tour and first consultation at the Estate.

Children are welcome at the Estate, and we love having them, but we require them to be supervised by an adult at all times. The Estate is gorgeous, but has many potentially hazardous areas for children. There are ponds, fountains, a natural creek running through the property, no shortage of wildlife, and plenty of woods around the estate. If children are coming to the wedding or staying at the Estate, they must be with a parent, guardian, or adult attendant at all times.

Children and young adults (those under 21) may also receive a discounted price for the wedding. Our chefs can also work with you on child-friendly menu options if children will be staying through the reception.

We love animals; we even have a menagerie of farm animals on the property as part of our efforts to go green. Unfortunately, we do not allow pets to stay at the Inn or enter any of our properties where food is prepared or served. We are so sorry – we know how important pets are. We can arrange for pets to be part of photos in some of our outdoor spaces, but that must be discussed and approved by our events team well in advance. Of course, registered service animals are permitted everywhere they are required by law.

Our team will schedule a final meeting with you at least two weeks before your wedding date. Then, we will email you a month before your ceremony date to schedule the final meeting. The email will also have a list of questions we’ll ask you to finalize before you come in for the appointment.

The final meeting is our last chance to review and go over all the details and special touches for your wedding. Our team will ask you for the final guest count, including their preferred entree selection. In addition, we will finalize details related to the ceremony, transportation, flowers, decorations, lodging, entertainment, etc. Essentially, we’ll review the plan for the entire wedding weekend to ensure we’re best suited in making your celebration go exactly as planned!

We only accept credit cards for the initial deposit on your wedding. All other payments related to the wedding must be made using cash or check. Any final payments less than two weeks before your wedding date must be made using a certified check. Any Inn rooms may be paid through a credit card, cash, or check.

Our event coordinators are an amazing team. One team member is typically in the office every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We also try to reply to all emails, phone calls, and questions within 12 hours. If you have questions for a specific person in the events office, they will get back to you as soon as possible. Generally, any event coordinator can answer any event-related questions you may have. For Inn-related questions, please visit our Inn FAQs.

Still have questions? We’re happy to help!

You may also contact our event coordinators directly at
(215) 862-3136 ext. 2 or at events@hollyhedge.com.