Pamela Merritt
April 06, 2016
Wondering where to toss that bouquet?
Saranac Lake has some amazing places for that dream wedding. Gorgeous wilderness backdrops, charming churches, giant fireplaces, and soaring "Great Rooms," along with picturesque docks and boathouses and wildflower meadows.
We also have talented artisans to craft those wedding favors, letter those invitations, make those centerpieces, and help the happy couple be at their most stunning. Whether it's a simple sit-down or a dance-the-night-away reception, we can do that, too.
Here are some great places to consider having a marvelous Adirondack wedding.
the vows
We have the most gorgeous churches to choose from. Many of them are from early in the 20th century, built from local wood and stone. They range from the classic New England design to being influenced by Adrondack architecture, such as the surrounding Great Camps.
With the small size of our towns and the variety of our lodging places, it's pretty easy to arrange parking and transport if we dream of a church wedding and a reception somewhere else.
If we want the increasingly popular option of having the ceremony more free-style and at the same place as the reception, we have that angle covered beautifully, too.
The Visitor Interpretive Center has many breathtaking nature spots to choose from, while The Point is an exclusive resort perfect for a luxurious destination wedding.
We also marry people in our annual Ice Palace, during Winter Carnival. Talk about a winter wedding!
One of our local officiants, Dan Sullivan, has a sight-seeing pontoon boat, and can marry people "at sea." Well, actually, big lake, but for small ceremonies it is a lovely option.
bliss on a budget
Mount Pisgah is the site of great skiing and tubing during the winter. In the off-season the lodge is available as a wonderful place to plan a fun, relaxed, "hometown" kind of wedding. Even if Saranac Lake is not your hometown!
Plenty of room, plenty of windows, and plenty of lovely scenery just steps away.
There's a complete kitchen to make things easy for the caterers. I've attended a wedding where friends and relations all pitched in to create a lovely barbecue lunch (grills on the patio). There's a giant fireplace for indoor photos.
There are exterior stairs which climb two stories for a rustic, stepped, look to display the entire wedding party. Nearby patches of forest offer a charming, natural backdrop.
wrapped in nature
The Visitor Interpretive Center at Paul Smith's College is a wonderful place to wed, from an intimate ceremony to a grand reception where the entire facility is available. This is the ultimate in a natural look. And the decorating is done!
Walk up the aisle in a "cathedral of trees." This natural background flatters every style of wedding, from formal to free-form. Further event spaces and dining options are available at adjacent Paul Smith's College.
Winter wedding fans can enjoy the ultimate transport: a horse-drawn sleigh.
Be warned that everyone will sing "Jingle Bells." Because it's difficult not to.
luxury of yesteryear
White Pine Camp is a Great Camp that was once the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge. This classic style, in which each room is a separate building, will accommodate any kind of group, with both conviviality and privacy.
It is on the shores of gorgeous Osgood Pond, which offers beautiful backdrops and posing possibilities. It is also nestled in a natural forest, with hiking paths, a rock garden, timber stairs, a wooden walkway, a tea house, and two boathouses.
The Point is an exclusive luxury resort that was once a Rockefeller Great Camp. There are many stunning settings it can offer — lakeside or inside.
It offers luxury in any season, with dining, recreation, event handling, decoration, and anything else a couple might wish.
Our Great Camps are perfect for a destination wedding.
wonderful wherever we go
There are so many vantage points to pose in front of, so many delightful treats to choose from, so many ways to pamper our guests and ourselves.
We have so much Adirondack ambiance to offer.
Our long history of sharing and caring, our range of venues, our roster of artists, and our remarkable brand of hospitality all combine to make Saranac Lake an extraordinary destination...
For your own extraordinary wedding.
Explore our lodging for guests and honeymon purposes. Sample our dining and think about caterers. Visit our wedding page and dream!
Unless otherwise noted, photos by Mark Kurtz Photography and Kathleen Keck Photography.
Header photo Paul Hameline Photography. Interior of St. Gabriels Church by Brennan Stained Glass Studio. Horsedrawn Sleigh from Paul Smiths College. White Pine Camp wedding photos by Rob Spring Photography. Ice Palace wedding photo by Blackburn Portrait Design.