For a fairy-tale wedding, start with a castle.
There’s a reason Kevin Jonas, Megyn Kelly, Joey Fatone, and Brian McKnight all chose Oheka Castle on Long Island to tie the knot.
No doubt the privacy, surrounded by leafy grounds in Huntington, just south of Oyster Bay, is one reason.
But the main draw is the utter gorgeousness of financier Otto Kahn’s beautiful French-style château with Olmsted Brothers- designed formal gardens, where wedding couples usually have their ceremony.
It’s so very, very Gatsby.
Only one wedding at a time is hosted at Oheka. The minimum guest count is 150; on Saturdays, 200.
Weddings start at around $120,000, which includes an overnight suite, bride’s attendant, groom’s attendant, a bespoke $2,000 wedding cake, food and beverage catering and staff.
Even if you aren’t getting hitched, Oheka makes a fun fall getaway just 35 miles from the city. Room rates start at $250.
Another golden fall retreat is Winvian Farms, located in a lovely old farmhouse in Connecticut’s blissful Litchfield Hills.
As a member of the top-notch Relais & Châteaux club, it offers first-rate food and service, with luxurious lodgings in individually designed and themed cottages. Where else could you spend your wedding night in a cottage with a Sikorsky helicopter cabin incorporated as a sitting room?
Surrounded by 113 acres of farmland, including a spa set in a beautiful meadow, the original 1775 farmhouse includes a relaxing solarium overlooking the terraced garden and a games room with a vintage pool table.
Weddings go down in the romantic barn-like Gordon Brown House, where a minimum rate for a weekend with 100 people or less is around $120,000, including food, alcohol and accommodation. Room rates start at $799.
For more medieval romance, the towering stone turrets of the Castle Hotel & Spa in Tarrytown overlooking the historic Hudson River in Westchester County beckons.
General Howard Carroll, journalist, playwright and businessman, styled this extravagant turn-of-the-19th-century home after the Norman castles of 11th-century Britain.
Whatever the style, overnight wedding guests can enjoy the secluded (seasonal) outdoor swimming pool, Four Diamond-ranked food and the sumptuous Sankara Spa. Weddings are charged at an hourly rate — from $700 to $1,000, depending on the season.
Room rates start at $378; the bridal suite is $250 for a three-hour rental. Smaller wedding parties are welcome: An intimate wedding package (20 people) starts at $1,600 for Fridays and Sundays; $1,900 for Saturdays.
For “Bridgerton”-style wedding romance, head to the Wilburton Inn, a 30-acre Gilded Age estate in picturesque Manchester lying in the southwest corner of Vermont. The country manor-turned-inn even held “Bridgerton” weekend getaways this past summer, complete with period dancing.
Whether it’s a themed wedding or not, the wondrous surrounding Taconic and Green mountain ranges — with Mount Equinox, the highest peak of the Taconic range, towering above the hotel — redefine awesome views.
The new, Vermont marble-lined, tented Marble Pavilion is where most wedding celebrations take place, spilling over into the 1902-built mansion, which is outfitted with period furnishings and has 11 spacious guest rooms with cozy original fireplaces.
Wedding buyouts are encouraged, and for larger parties there are six more on-site buildings surrounding an outdoor pool, tennis courts, volleyball and croquet lawns. The holdings include an additional neighboring mansion, too.
Wilburton takes care of every detail with a dedicated coordinator. A wedding for 100 guests including catering for cocktail hour, reception, a full open bar for six hours and additional fees runs at about $25,000. Room rates start at $250 per night.
