Green Weddings: 4 Stunning Sustainable Hotel Wedding Venues in The Northeast

A few weeks ago we discussed different venues for your wedding that would be the most Eco-friendly. Obviously the number one way to have a the “greenest” wedding is to plan for an intimate affair with limited guests, hold it close to home, (and the homes your guests) and keep the ceremony and reception in one place to cut down on travel emissions.

If accomplishing that is not an option, how about holding your wedding at a sustainable hotel where you and all your guests can stay and celebrate, and be kind to the environment as well? If this sounds fab to you, you’re in luck! Starting today I will be profiling some of the finest sustainable hotel wedding venues for you, region by region. And we’re starting off with the Northeast.

With “Going Green” becoming more and more popular and the claim of green status showing up for just about everything, it’s often difficult to determine which are genuinely environmentally friendly. For hotels, LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a badge of authenticity, (and honor), handed out by the U.S. Green Building Council. While having a LEED Certification is something to look for, I must mention there are accommodations without certification whose Eco-friendly efforts are worth noting. Featuring programs that range from comprehensive recycling to water conservation to sustainable building practices, each property here is one of the best in sustainable hotel businesses and would make for one awesome venue for you, your guests and your wedding.

Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa is your perfect wedding escape. About 75 miles from New York City, once inside the stone gates, the historic elegance, modern luxury, country charm and sophisticated amenities this property offers will transport you into an oasis you’ve only dreamed of. This 75 acre self-contained retreat on the banks of the Hudson River serves local, organic foods grown on site and relies on geothermal and solar energy to warm its spa waters.

And weddings are a specialty for them. With 17 guest rooms and an entire organic, sustainable restaurant to cater for you…this would be the perfect place for a glorious, sustainable, and intimate wedding in New York!

Voted one of the World’s Best by Travel + Leisure Magazine in 2012, Inn by the Sea is Maine’s premier luxury beach destination. All 61 guest rooms, suites and cottages have been designed to pamper you with comfort in a sophisticated palette of deep red, cognac and charcoal with maple furnishings and locally commissioned artwork. Inn by the Sea defines coastal luxury.

Luxury comes naturally at Inn by the Sea with a unique approach to hospitality inspired by their natural coastal surroundings. They are committed to both outstanding hospitality and environmental preservation. They strive to blend luxury, service and an exceptional guest stay with sustainability, minimizing the impact of hotel operations with their Eco-friendly initiatives and an appreciation of all things local.

Solar panels, recycled sheet rock walls, recycled cork floors, recycled rubber floors, air to air heat exchangers, dual flush toilets, heating with bio fuels, preferred hybrid parking, sheet and towel reuse programs and purchasing renewable electricity are just a few of the green initiatives and design features which helped the Inn by the Sea achieve a SILVER LEED® and Maine’s Green Lodging certifications.

With all of this, if you’re looking to have a destination sustainable wedding in Maine, Inn by The Sea Weddings should be on your “must check-out” list.

In Maine as well, the Harraseeket Inn supports Maine’s local farmers and fishermen and is proud to be one of Maine’s Environmental Leaders, a member of the Green Hotel Association, and recipients of the following awards: Top 500 hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine 2010, Top 100 Hotels in the US Conde Nast Traveler, 2011, Top 45 Hotels in the Northeast, Conde Nast Traveler Readers Poll 2012.

The Harraseeket Inn is a luxury country Inn located two blocks north of L.L. Bean in the village of Freeport, Maine. Filled with antiques, 23 fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, and an indoor pool, their 84 rooms plus extended stay townhouses include all the amenities that would be perfect for your green wedding.

 

Stowe Mountain Lodge is, in my opinion, one perfect place to hold your sustainable wedding…especially if you’re a mountain lover. Nestled at the base of Mount Mansfield within the historic Stowe Mountain Resort, the year-round lodge was built in 2008 from locally quarried stone and resembles a classic ski retreat. It is the first mountain resort to win Audubon International’s Sustainable Community award. And along with efforts such as a trolley system to reduce carbon emissions, it also boasts beautiful guest rooms, excellent New England dining, a full spa and wellness center and an eighteen-hole golf course, which received its own approval from Audubon in the form of Signature Sanctuary certification. Some examples of the lodge’s environmental efforts include: Low flow shower heads and toilets, compact fluorescent light bulbs in all guest rooms, recycling bins available for guest use in rooms, use of Eco-friendly cleaning products by housekeeping staff, environmentally friendly micro-fiber bed linens, recycling program for all bath products and containers, motion detectors in back-of-house spaces to determine needs for heating, air conditioning, and lighting.

The property also works with the local artisans who have shown a commitment to environmentally-friendly practices to craft many of the furniture, pottery, and glass pieces used in it’s decor. If this weren’t enough, Stowe Mountain Lodge goes well beyond the expected, with its own environmental charter and a 110-million-gallon man-made Peregrine Lake, designed to help conserve water and maintain the health of local streams and rivers. For any mountain lover this would be one amazing sustainable venue to host your wedding!

Images: [Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa front entrance] Everett Potter’s Travel Report, [bride & bridesmaid] Tory Williams Photography via Style Me Pretty, [Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa back property] The Urban Clinic, [Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa ceremony] Tory Williams Photography via Style Me Pretty, [Inn by The Sea aerial shot] Project Wedding, [Inn by The Sea ceremony] Luxe Travel Magazine, [Golden Retriever on Adirondack chair] Mike Cohen Travels, [Harraseeket front & father walking bride] Harraseeket Inn, [Scottish wedding bride & groom] Geneve Hoffman Photography via Something Blue Maine , [Stowe Mountain Lodge front] Coo Boutique, [bride on bridge] Alanna Scully Photography, [hillside ski runs] Wedding Salon

While this is not an exhausted list of all sustainable hotels in the Northeast, these are just a few of my favorite notable ones.

As always, I hope the information provided has given you some inspiration for your green wedding. And if you haven’t seen the other “Green Wedding” posts, be sure to check them out here!

Thank you for stopping by!