The Spaces
Five rooms.
Each with a hundred years of practice.
Most weddings move through three of them across an evening. The other two wait for the smaller moments.
The Ballroom
Seated 180 · Standing 220
2,400 sq ft
The original 1908 ballroom anchors the south wing. Two stories of leaded-glass windows pull west light across red oak floors that were milled from the property's own oaks during construction. A pair of bronze chandeliers, sourced in Chicago in 1912, hang where they always have. The room was last refinished in 2008 and is on no current renovation schedule — its character is its character.
- —Original red oak floors, 1908
- —Two-story leaded glass, west-facing
- —Two bronze chandeliers, c. 1912
- —Climate controlled · Spring & fall ideal
The South Lawn
Ceremony 220 · Aisle 90 ft
Approx. 1.2 acres
The lawn slopes gently south, framed by the original 1908 oak alley on the west and the 1934 pavilion on the east. Most ceremonies happen here — there's room for a 90-foot aisle without feeling sparse, and the canopy of trees gives the photography enough shade to be forgiving in late afternoon. Open-air or tented; we keep two tent structures on retainer for inclement weather.
- —South-facing slope, full sun in summer
- —Mature oak canopy, 1908
- —Tent retainer included on full-day events
- —Generator and power tie-ins on the perimeter
The Library
Seated 40 · Cocktail 75
780 sq ft
Walnut shelves to the ceiling. The original 1910s wood-burning fireplace, still working. The library is the quietest room on the property, and it has earned a particular reputation for the rehearsal-dinner toasts and the smaller before-the-ceremony moments — the room where one set of parents meet the other, the room where the bouquet gets steamed.
- —Walnut shelving, original 1910s
- —Working fireplace, October–April
- —Sound-isolated from the ballroom
- —Best for intimate gatherings
The West Terrace
Cocktail 120
1,100 sq ft
Stone pavers laid in 1934, replaced piece-by-piece as needed. The terrace bridges the house and the garden, and it is almost universally where cocktail hour happens — guests drift out from the ballroom for the early evening light, then drift back when dinner is called. A built-in bar (1934, original) sits at the north end. We do not allow smoking on the terrace; we do allow champagne.
- —Stone pavers, 1934 original
- —Garden view, west-facing
- —Built-in bar (original)
- —Heaters available October–April
The Pavilion
Seated 100 · Standing 150
900 sq ft
Built in 1934 as Caroline Hartwell's commission to her sons-in-law. Open-sided cedar with a pitched copper roof now dulled to a pale green. The pavilion handles smaller ceremonies and rehearsal dinners that want their own structure separate from the house. It is the most-photographed corner of the property — the copper roof catches every kind of evening light, including some that don't make sense.
- —Open-sided cedar, 1934
- —Aged copper roof
- —Best evening light on the property
- —Lit by string lights from the rafters
Walk Through
Photographs only do so much.
Couples are welcome to walk the grounds with a member of the Hartwell family. We block out time for it.
Schedule a walkthrough