Congratulations on selecting the Commandant’s House for your upcoming event. We look forward to working with you. Below are rules and policies that must be followed when hosting an event in this historic property.
General
- As you know, the Commandant’s house is a historic property – it is not a full-service hotel or event space.
- The role of the Commandant’s House staff (facility manager) is to protect the house and its contents, coordinate with the security gate regarding arrival and departure of vendors and guests, answer questions, and enforce house rules.
- Professional event planning, programming, bridal consulting, specialty services, and audio-visual are available at an additional charge.
- Hosts of events (those renting the facility) are responsible for the conduct of their guests and may be financially liable for any damage or loss to the Commandant’s House. This includes, but is not limited to any object in the house as well as the premises and grounds. This why we enforce procuring an insurance policy, as stated in the Special Events Rental Guide.
- The Commandant’s House is a smoke-free building, smoking is not permitted anywhere in the facility.
Set up
- Decorative candles and elements with open flames cannot be used. Sterno and compressed gas containers for cooking stations are not permitted in the house, but can be used on the lawn and pier. Infusion and electric cooking aids are recommended for cooking stations in the house. Electric powered and battery operated options exist to replace decorative candles. Your facility manager can offer approved alternatives and assist in locating suppliers to meet your event needs.
- We allow vendors to set up at the property three hours prior to the event.
Clean Up
- We have always enforced a 1-hour, post- event clean up time, and will continue to do so.
- A professional janitorial service cleans the building after every event. In order for them to do this, décor, flowers, candles and linens must be removed from the rental space during this 1-hour post-event time.
- If any rental equipment cannot be removed during this time, it may be stored in a designated area and picked up no later than noon the following day.
Vendors
- Please be sure that your caterer and other vendors have a copy of Vendor Agreement Guidelines and Fee Schedule. Your caterer will need to send us a copy their signed Vendor Agreement and of their insurance certificate (if not already on file) along with the appropriate fee at least 10 days PRIOR to your event.
- To schedule a site visit with your vendors, please contact us to arrange a time.
- We do require a professional, licensed caterer for your event, and STRONGLY encourage a professional florist and/or décor company when hosting an event.
Wedding Planning
- Weddings are joyous occasions, but can also be stressful and confusing.
- We are now REQUIRING that every wedding we host have a Wedding Planner.
- The Planner must be available to meet vendors, insure your proper set up, be on site for the entire event, orchestrate the rehearsal and ceremony and be the point person for clean up after the event. As with all of our vendors, your planner must not partake in alcoholic beverages during the event.
- New England Occasions can provide these services for you based on the attached fee schedule, or refer you to other companies who provide these services. You may select anyone you would like as your wedding planner as long as they can perform these services.
Other
- A National Park Service Ranger will be present during your event to insure the security of both your guests and the Commandant’s House.
- No sparklers, fireworks or firearms are allowed on our property.
The Commandant’s House is truly a landmark property and we feel it is a privilege to have this magnificent property available to the community. These policies were developed to help protect this valuable resource for generations to come. Please remember that all fees paid to the Commandant’s House contribute to its ongoing preservation and maintenance.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 617.263-6490. We thank you for selecting our property, and hope to help you craft a beautiful event.