The Story of Bittersweet Farm, Massachusetts Wedding Venue

Bittersweet Farm: Not Your Typical Massachusetts Coastal Wedding Venue

Thinking about having a wedding at Bittersweet Farm Restaurant & Tavern? This spacious, gorgeous place is one of the most popular barn wedding venues in Massachusetts. Located less than 10 minutes from the sandy shores of Westport, it’s near the border of Rhode Island, exactly 1 hour from Boston. I live in Northeastern Connecticut (Woodstock, CT), and for me it was 1 hour and 20 minutes. Click here to view my Rustic Wedding Venue Map.

Once I hit Providence, Rhode Island, Bittersweet Farm was like a short hop over into a world of soft meadows and the sea breeze rocking the shady trees. If you love the country life and want an outdoorsy wedding, and yet you love the beach, you can get married at Bittersweet and still do some fun photos on the sandy shore down the road.

From Farm to Fork (Literally!): The Wedding Venue’s Bittersweet Story

Bittersweet Farm has a real barn, and is truly farm-to-fork in its life story. Unlike many other venues where they have recently built beautiful barn-like buildings for rustic ambiance, Bittersweet Farm is a land with history, toil and sweat, as it served as a small dairy farm for decades. For centuries, dairy farmers have struggled to stay alive with the pressures of growing cities, population growth, land development, and the list goes on. The fate of Bittersweet Farm is no exception.

Once upon a time, a man named Alexander Tripp had a heart of a pioneer, and started his family on the land and barn in the 1920’s, on which hundreds of brides and grooms now embark on in their journey of marriage. After decades of the Tripp family maintaining the farm, the construction of Route 88 in the 1950’s divided the farm, and they were forced to end the farmstead. It was bought out by two sisters and their husbands.

Luckily, the two families partnered with their culinary-skilled brother, Chef David Sweet, to open Bittersweet Farm as a restaurant. Now owned by the Lafrance family, Bittersweet Farm continues to thrive as a top-notch restaurant. It’s a gathering spot for fun-loving locals and tourists alike who want to enjoy some musical entertainment with their drinks and scrumptious food plates. Once a functioning farm, now serving brunches, lunches, and dinners, and weddings up to 175 guests.

Weddings with Authentic Rustic Charm

Even though the cows are long gone and the rooster stopped crowing long ago, the post-and-beam barn and its features still remain. It’s evidence of the labor of love that endures to this day. The cow paths still look worn, ready for the steps of lovers on an evening walk. The stone walls around the meadows are still holding their form just as they were when the Tripp family farmed.

If hopes and dreams for life could live in wood, I would say that passion is engrained in the wood of this barn. When you’re at a wedding here, you can’t help but marvel at its internals, and gaze over at the vintage framed photographs on the barn walls. You’ll see your wedding guests smile with delight when they feel the rustic charm in this place.

The strung lights around the room are abundant and add a soft, happy ambiance. You don’t need to decorate much for a wedding here. Truly, any color would look good, and simple centerpieces are sufficient! To be honest, humongous and elaborate centerpieces or displays would seem almost out of place. The staff at Bittersweet Farm typically will set up and also take down any wedding decorations, as most of the weddings here aren’t elaborate to require a wedding decorating team. This place is beautiful inside and out!

Details about Having a Bittersweet Farm Wedding

Call the office at 508-636-0085 to make an appointment for a tour. At some point after booking, you’ll get another meeting or two to work with the floor plan, and make final plans. If you’re engaged now, you better run quick to the phone, as Bittersweet Farm is booked out 1 1/2 to 2 years out. Unlike many barn venues, Bittersweet Farm can also accommodate a morning and afternoon weddings, and winter weddings as well, which enables brides and grooms to have cozy, warm, rustic weddings during off-season. In one year, there can be as many as 100 to 130 marriages that begin on the grassy ground and barnwood floors…in one year!

You can visit the Lafrance Hospitality Company’s website about Bittersweet Farm at http://www.eventsbylhc.com/venues/bittersweet-farm/. Hopefully this article was helpful to you…don’t forget to share with anyone searching for a wedding venue!