Step Out of the Ordinary

wedding venue with set of table and chairs to left and swings to the right

Generic catering halls be damned. Each of these gorgeous Hudson Valley venues offers unique features, arresting architecture, and a variety of stunning natural landscapes that combine to make extraordinary environments for your celebration. All they need is your imagination and the caterer of your choice. 

GATHER GREENE 

This 100-acre property in Coxsackie offers a pond, flowing fields, wooded glades, mountain views, and a timber-roofed, architectural screened pavilion that can accommodate up to 250 guests. Best of all, the pavilion’s arresting (36 feet wide/28 feet tall) accent wall is embedded with hooks that allow for soaring floral and lighting designs. 

THE BASILICA 

There is exactly nothing about this raw, 7,000-square-foot former forge and foundry in Hudson that’s expected in a wedding venue. The Hudson-side space features a clerestory, huge industrial windows, a vastly high ceiling, scarred brick walls, and both romantic nooks and grand spaces—all of which make for stunning photography.

HANDSOME HOLLOW 

These 93 acres of meadows, forests, and mountain views in Long Eddy hold a vast, beautifully restored Amish barn. The 18th century post-and-beam structure, which was painstakingly dismantled and moved from Albany, can seat 150 guests, while a pretty 19th century farmhouse on the property makes a great home base for wedding parties.

HUTTON BRICKYARDS 

With sweeping Hudson River views, this vast former brickmaking factory in Kingston offers a variety of spectacular wedding environments, both indoor and outdoor, all rich with the picturesque remnants of 19th century industry. It’s a photographer’s dream.

THE BARN AT CRESTED HEN FARMS 

Two words: barn porn. The intricate, hand-hewn timbers of this 3,000-square foot, nearly 200-year-old barn in High Falls offer an almost limitless canvas. It’s situated among 32 acres near the banks of Rondout Creek at the base of the Mohonk Mountains, and weekend wedding bookings include the use of the property’s guest house and guest cottage.

HAYFIELD

In Maplecrest, snug in the heart of Catskill State Park (and with glorious mountain views), Hayfield offers rambling fields, glorious sunsets, and space for large events in its two lofty barns. Dine and dance under the rafters or set trestle tables outside for long, dreamy mountain evenings. It’s the perfect setting for almost any wedding—for a peek of a Hayfield wedding, check out our profile of Terrence and Joel.

TACONIC RIDGE FARM

Near to both Great Barrington and Hudson, Taconic Ridge Farm in Hillsdale offers acres of rolling hills and farm pastures that feature a cottage and a pretty mid-19th-century farmhouse that can sleep five. For weddings, its vast, rustic barn can accommodate up to 150 guests.

MT. GULIAN

On 48 acres in Beacon overlooking the Hudson River, Mount Gulian is an 18th-century Knickerbocker homestead that operates as a museum. The pull is its glorious 1720s Dutch barn with original plank floors and hand-hewn beams, which can accommodate 135 under its vaulted roof.

SOUTHWOOD

Incredible Hudson and Catskill views make this 86-acre retreat in Germantown a wedding natural. It doesn’t hurt that it also holds a glorious, honest-to-god riverside mansion dating from the mid-19th century; there are also multiple buildings on the property that your guests can rent. 

Gather Greene | @gathergreene
The Basilica | @basilicahudson | @basilicaweddings
Handsome Hollow | @handsomehollow
Crested Hen Farms | @crestedhenfarms
Hayfield | @hayfieldcatskills
Taconic Ridge Farm | @taconicridgefarm
Mt. Gulian
Southwood Estate

Featured photo by Love Wolves & Co

This story was originally published in December of 2019.