Wedding ceremony on the Winthrop Estate Lawn, early summer

We are thinking about the upcoming summer weddings as the snow is melting and flowers are beginning to emerge.  Some couples are making their final menu choices, signing off on the floral designs, getting their welcome gift items, and drafting their programs, etc.  I like to focus the planning of the wedding on what type of environment and experience the couple wants to create for their friends and family.   Though there are many decisions to make and people to seat, the couple will remember the time with their friends and their families, not what color their napkins were. Still, most of the design and details they put time and money into do show up in their pictures or  videos or keepsakes, but we focus on creating an ideal environment for the guests to celebrate this couple and for all to enjoy, with a beautiful backdrop for their wedding memories.  Weddings are very special occasions, and we are looking forward to this summer and the celebrations at the Winthrop Estate!  photo by Scott Barrow.

A Weekend with Friends, A Laugh, Some Music

Driving from NYC up to Winthrop Estate is a treat.  Once I leave the city traffic behind, I turn on the music and start to relax.  The journey becomes part of the destination. I drive alongside wide rivers, rushing streams, lush hillsides and farms. The trip itself is candy for the eyes. I revel in the journey.  The rewards of the weekend retreat with my friends are plentiful.  And Lenox, with all its history and luxuries, awaits me every time.  The Winthrop Estate rooms are exquisitely decorated and the public spaces are inviting. I treasure my retreat at the Winthrop Estate and look forward to next year’s.

Skiing in the Berkshires

Imagine the possibilities…after a day of skiing at one of the local ski resorts such as Butternut, Catamount or Jiminey Peak, you are mesmerized by the Berkshires beautiful mountain scenery.  You experience the excitement that comes with shushing down the mountainside with the snap of brisk air-  its a dream ski day.

After the invigorating day outdoors, there’s nothing more luxurious and inviting then returning to the Winthrop Estate where you options include slipping away into the sanctuary of a warm bath with candles softly glowing, a glass of your favorite wine and classical music in the background, a good book by the library fire and hot chocolate, a massage scheduled for eight o’clock to soothe your muscles– an hour of bliss.

A winter weekend at the Winthrop Estate, enjoying friends and family, is a magical, wonderful getaway… .you’ll remember it always.

Fun in the Snow, a winter family vacation smile

What fun kids can have in the snow!  Dress them up, and send them outside.  At the Winthrop Estate, they can step onto the back lawn and tumble, build, sled, chase eachother, throw snowballs, make snow angels and more.  An hour later, then will return, unwrap their wet layers, and collapse by the blazing fire with hot chocolate and cookies.  Ah… a family winter vacation in the Berkshires at the Winthrop Estate.

The Christmas Tree at the Winthrop Estate

The whole family, all 24 of them, gathered in Lenox at the Winthrop Estate a few days before Christmas.  They brought bags of gifts for the kids and home-made cookies to share.  They made the estate their home for the holiday.  They sang Christmas carols, they enjoyed meals (that they didn’t have to cook or clean up after, as the estate took care of that), they stayed up late talking after the little ones went to bed upstairs.  The kids went sledding on the great lawn, and got dizzy on the tree swing, then came in for hot chocolate.  Most everyone enjoyed an afternoon nap, whether it was in their beds or a leather chair by the fire in the library after reading a book.  The Winthrop Estate is a magical place for families to enjoy each other over the holidays.

Library at the Winthrop Estate

On every weekend the estate is used, whether it’s a destination wedding, a family vacation, a retreat or a concert, people find their way to the Library, which is just off the foyer, to play board games, read by the fire, or enjoy a conversation.  Sometimes they listen to the tube-amplified MacIntosh radio with AudioResearch amps on AudioPhysic speakers, sitting in the soft leather chairs and sometimes they just watch their child enjoy himself.  Photo by Konrad Brattke

The Three Muses, our fountain, in Autumn

This picture of the fountain of the Three Muses, made of marble from Baci, Italy, was taken in the fall when the Copper Beech Tree just to the east of the fountain was a rich burgundy. The trunk of the Copper Beech is probably more than four feet in diameter. The area under the branches is covered by a soft mossy green covering and the roots poke thorough in a few places and leaves can grow off them right near the ground. A few of the roots hold water after a rainstorm and I have seen birds bathing there.

The Winthrop Estate sure is perfect for that special wedding!