Elm Bank — Attraction in Dover

The photos really don’t do justice to how beautiful the gardens are. This was my first time visiting, and even just the drive there felt magical—you cross a little arched bridge that makes you feel like you’re entering a fairy tale. The property is so expansive that we were transported through the gardens by golf cart, which added to the charm.

Our wedding took place during peak tulip season, and we were initially offered the option to hold our cocktail hour in the tulip garden near the greenhouse. Unfortunately, due to severe rainstorm warnings during that time, we had to pivot. Thankfully, the venue was flexible and allowed us to still hold our ceremony outdoors, since there was only a 50% chance of rain. They do have a rain backup plan, but we decided to take the risk in hopes of capturing some stunning photos by the fountain—and we’re glad we did.

My only real complaint is related to communication on the day of the wedding. From the very beginning of planning, we had asked for the ceremony chairs to be set up facing away from the Manor House, with the fountain spout turned on behind us. When we arrived two hours early for pre-ceremony photos, the staff was setting up the chairs facing the Manor House instead. Thankfully, we were already in the area and were able to catch it in time and have it corrected. As for the fountain, it was off during our photos—I assumed it would be turned on during the ceremony, but unfortunately, it wasn’t. These were minor issues in the grand scheme of things, and overall, we had a truly wonderful experience with this venue. I only bring them up to help future couples: make sure to confirm the ceremony layout and specific details like the fountain on the day of, ideally with a point person from the venue or planner. That said, the beauty of the location and the flexibility of the staff still made our day feel magical.

Our photographer was “Chace Yang Photo + Video” or @chaceyang on Instagram in case anyone is wondering!...

we went to the tulip mania festival on 4/27. I spent $38 for two tickets and $10 for 10 tulips, pre cut. I fully support charitable initiatives and community programs but for what they had on display was not worth $38. not even close. they give you a map to walk you through the estate, incidentally not much else was in bloom so the showcase would have been the tulips but they had already cut almost all of the largest field of them. it's the last spot on the map and shows what looks to be a very large field of flowers. there was virtually nothing there, I'm not sure why they didn't advise people before having them walk all the way back there. if the tulips had been better the previous weekend I think they should have reduced the ticket prices for this weekend. there's a place on the side of Hudson road in Hudson that has a much larger field of tulips that people can see all in one view and cut what they want, and it's free. It is definitely a retail feel but would have saved me $38 on tickets. Also just a comment on safety I get the ground isn't going to be even in an agricultural setting, but I think some effort should be put into evening out the ground in the straight rows section in front of the school building. twisted ankles aren't fun.

Lastly they had cord guidelines to help funnel the traffic around things but much of it was laying on the ground, tripped a couple people and almost got my shoe

volunteer staff was all very pleasant but we won't be...

I visited Elm Bank for a wedding and I really liked it. The venue is absolutely beautiful. The trees and all the plants look great. They had their wedding ceremony in front of the big fountain with the fish spitting out water. The staff was very nice and attentive to all of our needs. I spoke to the manager to get the wifi password since the AT&T cell coverage was so poor. They had the reception afterwards at the Hunnewell building and had a bar and dancing behind the building in a big tent. This place is a great spot to have weddings, I would recommend it to anyone that lives in the area. My only complaint is that the tent where the dancing happened was a little too small and was kind of crowded. Other than that the venue was...