The Overlook Mansion and A Fun Wedding

Last weekend (Labor Day), we went to upstate New York for our friends Jenn and Sean's wedding.  I've already told you about one of our day trips that weekend, to Cooperstown, which was about an hour from the wedding in Little Falls, NY.

We stayed at the most amazing bed & breakfast called the Overlook Mansion (not the same hotel as the Shining...similar name, different hotel...thank goodness...although it is supposedly haunted).  It fell into disrepair in the 80s, but was purchased by a fantastic guy named Jamie who did a beautiful job restoring it!  

In February, he opened Overlook Mansion as a 5 room B&B.  The inside (and outside) are stunning - intricate wood floors, paneled walls, and stained glass.  Even with all the grandeur, it's not stuffy - we felt completely comfortable staying there (roaming the house as we pleased) and can honestly say it was one of our favorite hotels we've ever stayed at.  To top it off, they serve a (free) breakfast in the formal dining room - eggs and bacon made to order, a fresh fruit salad, oatmeal, yogurt, bagels, donuts from a bakery downtown and more.  They were the best eggs I've ever had...and the inn keeper told me how he makes them!  I'll post his method in the blog soon.  :)  

Now...take a look for yourself...

The front doors - beautiful stained glass!

Downstairs hallway - beautiful fireplace with custom heating system patented by the original owner.

Pipes from fireplace that brought the heat to the rest of the house.

More beautiful stained glass heading upstairs.  The suit of armor freaked me out every time we went downstairs, haha.

Downstairs was where they entertained...

Formal dining room.

Our room, with Husband resting up.

The view from our room.

I'll be looking for an excuse to go back.  We LOVED it there.

 Now for the main event - the wedding!  The wedding was at one of Jenn's favorite places from her hometown area - Beardslee Castle.  Apparently it's also haunted, but we didn't happen upon any ghosts while we were there.  :)  The wedding was outside, in front of the castle by their pond - the sound of the water was so nice during the ceremony.

The Friday rehearsal was quick and efficient - 20 minutes and we were off to dinner inside!  Dinner was family style and so yummy.  Pork with apples and onions, potatoes, turkey with gravy, stuffing, rice, and pasta.  Mmmmmmm.  

Beardslee Castle

Jenn and I

I was the music for the wedding (flute) on Saturday, so we got there about an hour early to make sure everything was ready to go.  It had been raining most of the day, so we were worried the wedding wouldn't be able to happen outside.  While we were waiting, we hung out in the "dungeon" downstairs (their bar), which was really cool.  All the walls were stone, and there were lots of little hidden away areas to hang out or play pool.  It rained right up until the wedding (5:30), so everyone ended up down there for a while, which was quite crowded.  

Thankfully, the storm ended right at 5:30, so the staff went out, wiped down the chairs, and the wedding happened on the grounds as planned.  Just in the nick of time!

Ann really liked the bubbles.

Once the wedding was over, we headed up the steps to the second floor of the castle for the reception.  All the tables were named after Boston neighborhoods, which was really fun (we were Harvard Square).

And the food....oh the mountains of food.  There were endless passing hors d'oeuvres in addition to fruit, veggies, and the most cheese I've ever seen in one place (aside from a grocery store) to start the evening off.  Dinner itself started with an appetizer of summer veggies over a puff pastry.  Then there was a gazpacho soup.  Next up was a salad.  Then, finally, the main course came.  I had the bacon wrapped filet mignon (which was perfectly cooked), and Travis had the stuffed chicken breast.  Dessert was, of course, wedding cake.  So. Much. Food!

There was also lots of great music, dancing, super fun people...and a photo booth.  We mayyyyy have had too much fun with the photo booth.  I can't wait for the photographer to post the pictures - you're gonna love them!

I really liked the chicken on a stick...

Such a beautiful day for two great people...Congratulations Jenn and Sean!