Host a Holiday Clambake on an Orchard

Are you in a holidaze from spiked cider galore and one too many servings of grandma's mashed potatoes? Well this fruit farm fête filled with pumpkins is chock full of holiday goodness that should take your mind off of your food coma and shopping craze. Seasons eatings! We can just smell the scents of pine needles and pumpkins wafting through these pics, which is appropriate because you can even pick out your own Christmas tree at this venue! Imagine throwing an event right before the holidays and allowing your guests to nab their trees at the same time. What a unique and unforgettable touch that would be!

 

 

The Scoop

When venue correspondent and photographer extraordinaire, Leila Brewster Photography  delivered the images of this rustic clambake we were, well, happy as clams. Leila reported - "This venue is SUPER cute, it's set in Middletown (near providence) Rhode Island. They offer, besides the space, apple picking - or other fruit picking - depending on the season, and there is a little market that is attached."

 

 

The Details

This particular event was a rehearsal dinner for about 30 guests. Sometimes a farm venue can feel too large for such an intimate occasion, but the flexible event spaces here are really ideal for events both large and small. The soon-to-be married couple decided to throw a clam bake amongst the pumpkins, fields and orchards organized by McGrath Clambakes.  The rustic appeal of the barn fuzed with the market and garden of earthly delights is oh' so charming, eclectic and holiday perfect. 

 

 

Ideal for Dinner Parties, Holiday Parties & Weddings

Sweet Berry Farm offers two different venue locations overlooking Aquidneck Island. You can host your sweet soiree in the Orchard Field, bordered by apple and peach trees with picturesque curly willows or inside of the Barn itself. Being that the temps are a bit cooler right now, this rehearsal dinner took place in the barn with an indoor fieldstone fireplace at the heart of the party. We can only imagine the streamers hung by the dessert table with care. The guests later gathered on the lawn for cocktail hour and the clambake. 

 

 

About Sweet Berry Farm

What was one of Leila Brewster Photography's favorite elements about the venue? "The surrounding area is beautiful as it is near Newport, Rhode Island, which has a colorful history".

Sweet Berry Farm is in fact a short distance from the beaches and downtown Newport. The venue provides the perfect natural setting to host your green wedding, workshop, holiday party, corporate event, or other festive gathering with your gaggle of gals and guys. The venue has a post-and-beam farm market sitting on 100 acres of preserved farmland and is filled with seasonal fresh fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers. The 'pick-your-own' season at the farm begins in mid-June when strawberries are ripe and ends in December with festive Christmas Trees!

 

 

The Venue

The Orchard Field venue space includes five hours of site rental time, power in the field, croquet and bocce. The Barn venue rental, where this rehearsal dinner party was hosted, includes the use of the rustic tables and chairs. You also get to play croquet, bocce and use the barn’s lawn for cocktails.

Whether your event is a private dinner party, a wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event or anything in between, the wide open Orchard Field can accommodate anywhere from 20 to 500 guests. The Barn venue is the ideal hotspot for intimate gatherings, and the apple orchard is a unique backdrop for wedding ceremonies.

So serve up those hot toddy's, dish out the figgy pudding and munch on gingerbread cookies while cozying up with your nearest.

 

 

 

Inside Tips

We have another secret for you.. Shhhh.... In addition to allowing your guests to pick-their-own-fruit or Christmas trees, there is a delightful ice cream shop at the venue. If you host a party here during the holiday season, guess what fun flavors you get to serve your guests? How about homemade Eggnog Ice Cream? The perfect holiday drink, but in a cone. Or serve up Chocolate Peppermint Stick Ice Cream - all that's missing is a sleigh ride and hot cocoa!

 

 

 

A Traditional Clambake 

We love the flexible indoor and outdoor venue spaces of Sweet Berry Farm that allowed for the fun and festive traditional clam bake at this rehearsal dinner. The couple hired, McGrath Clambakes, one of the few companies that still prepare a clambake using the traditional cooking process passed down from early New England Colonists. A bonfire is built at the event site with alternating layers of wood and rock. The fire heats the rocks to very high temperatures and is fun for guests to watch! The rustic venue setting of Sweet Berry Farm is the ideal place to incorporate such a fun and traditional style of cooking. 

 

Correspondents

Photography: Leila Brewster | Venue: Sweet Berry Farm | Clambake: Mc Grath Clambakes & Catering