Frequently Asked Questions

We accept cash, checks, debit, and credit card payments. Accepted card types include:

• MasterCard
• VISA
• Discover
• AMEX

Kindly note that a 3.5% Convenience Fee is applied to all card payments.

First – Schedule a tour to meet our team and experience the beauty of our historic property firsthand.

Second – Select your ideal event date and complete your Rental Agreement.

Third – Submit the 50% non-refundable retainer fee.

Finally – Celebrate your decision and enjoy the excitement of officially booking with Venues at Arsenal Hill.

Please note that event dates are not secured until both the completed Rental Agreement and retainer fee have been received.

Due to high demand, we are unable to offer courtesy holds. However, once you start the booking process, we will gladly place a 3-day date hold to give you time to complete your Rental Agreement and pay your retainer fee.

To book your date, we require a 50% non-refundable retainer fee. Your remaining balance and a $1,000.00 Damage Deposit check will be due 60 days prior to your event date.

Assuming no damage is found and no policies have been broken, the Damage Deposit check will be shredded.

If you’re interested in the Venues at Arsenal Hill we strongly encourage you schedule a tour as soon as possible. Tours are by appointment only and dates fill up quickly. You can book a Venue Viewing through our scheduling portal via our Tours page.

Lace House Inventory:

• (80) gold Chiavari chairs
• (7) 60” round tables
• (4) 48” round tables
• (6) 30” cocktail tables
• (2) 8’ banquet tables
• (2) 6’ banquet tables

Caldwell-Boylston House Inventory:

• (50) gold Chiavari chairs
• (5) 48” round tables
• (4) 30” cocktail tables
• (2) 6’ banquet tables

Carriage House Inventory:

• (50) gold Chiavari chairs
• (5) 48” round tables
• (4) 30” cocktail tables
• (2) 6’ banquet tables

We also have several faux-iron easels and shepherd hooks available to use throughout the venues or gardens.

Full Day: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Half Day: choice of 7 consecutive hours between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Set-up and tear-down must be completed during the rental period.

The Lace House has two spacious, well-furnished suites where even large wedding parties can get ready together. Each suite comes with a private restroom, dressing area and plenty of lounge seating.

The Caldwell-Boylston House also has two suites for getting ready, each with a private restroom, a game table and comfortable lounge seating.

Currently, the Carriage House does not have its own getting-ready spaces. However, if you rent the Carriage House for a full day, you can use the suites in the Caldwell-Boylston House.

We love our four-legged friends and are happy to provide a pet-friendly venue. We require a non-refundable $150 Pet Fee and a signed Pet Agreement for pets to be allowed on the property.

All three of our venues are ADA-compliant. Our gardens, apart from the Memorial Garden, are also ADA-accessible. 

Yes. Because planning a wedding involves countless details and moving pieces, all clients are required to hire a licensed and insured planner or coordinator—who is not attending as a guest—within 90 days of the event date.

Your planner will be responsible for attending the Final Walkthrough meeting, submitting a timeline and event layout at least two weeks prior to the event, and remaining onsite through the end of the rental period to help ensure everything runs smoothly.

If you need assistance finding the right planner, our team is always happy to provide recommendations.

Bands or DJs are welcome to set up inside the venues or anywhere within our gardens or Governor’s Green. All music must end by 10 p.m. to comply with our local noise ordinances and must not exceed 85 decibels at the sound source. 

All clients are required to purchase a day-of event insurance policy with a minimum $2 million aggregate and list Venues at Arsenal Hill as additionally insured. Events serving alcohol must also include liquor liability coverage within the policy.

Clients may conveniently purchase coverage through our Indemn or Vensura portals or choose to secure a policy independently through the provider of their choice.

Our venues are a clean slate, ready for you to decorate to your heart’s content. Due to the historic significance of our homes, we have a few decor restrictions.

Restricted items include:

• Confetti (including biodegradable confetti)
• Open flame candles (real candles must be fully contained in glass).
• Artificial flower petals (real flower petals may be used for your ceremony or send-off, but the cleanup is the client’s responsibility.)
• Command hooks, nails, tape, etc.
• Floating lanterns
• Glitter
• Birdseed & rice
• Fireworks

If you have a question about a specific decor item, just ask!

You may access the venue only during your rental hours. If you or your vendors would like to set up the day before, we encourage you to book a two-day package, allowing you additional time for set up. 

For a full day rental, all music must conclude and bars close by 10 pm.  This will help provide enough time to get everything cleaned up and out of the venue by the end of your rental period at 11 pm. Due to city noise ordinances, we cannot allow extended late-night rentals.

We’re happy to take care of setting up and breaking down all tables and chairs included with your venue rental, so you can focus on enjoying your celebration. If you choose to bring in any rented items (such as specialty tables, chairs, lounge furniture, or décor), you and your vendors will be responsible for their setup and breakdown.

Our venues are professionally cleaned before and after each event, so all you'll need to do at the end of the evening is remove any personal items, décor, rentals, and other belongings that you or your vendors brought in.

Yes, a Venue Host will be onsite for the duration of your event. The Venue Host will handle venue-related duties. This includes unlocking doors and gates, turning on lights and thermostats, ensuring restrooms are stocked and maintained during your reception, assisting vendors with venue-related questions, troubleshooting venue-related issues and more. Our Venue Host will work alongside your vendors to help ensure a smooth and seamless venue experience!

To protect the historical integrity of our homes and gardens, we do not allow smoking of any kind. This includes cigarettes, cigars, vaping, etc.

Yes, for events serving alcohol, a uniformed Bureau of Protected Services (BPS) officer will be onsite for the duration of any event (when guests are onsite) and this fee is already included in your rental rate. For events serving alcohol and with a guest count of more than 250 guests, an additional officer will be required at the client’s expense.

In addition to BPS being onsite, our officers also monitor security cameras throughout the complex.

We love children and are happy when they are part of the celebration. However, please be aware that children must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times. Children may not be alone in the gardens or venues at any time and may not be unsupervised when using any elevators. Any damage incurred by children will result in the loss of the client’s Damage Deposit.