Topnotch at Stowe: Evening at Normas
A luxe site with magnificent mountain views
It took $15 million and almost a year, but Topnotch Resort & Spa, a small but legendary Vermont resort, has reinvented itself as a rustic-luxe New England wedding destination. With only 68 rooms (there are also houses available for rent), it’s just the right size for a wedding, and the iconic views of Mt. Mansfield are exactly why so many couples crave a Vermont venue.
There’s a swell new lobby, a new communal gathering space, and a fine array of wedding spots. You might start with a ceremony in a meadow, then move on to cocktails on a patio adjacent to the resort’s pavilion tent, a sumptuous silk-lined space where you can treat 200 guests to stunning mountain vistas. Or think about Meadowlark Lawn, a sylvan spot for your vows, after which you can walk a few feet to the Roost Restaurant (if you like the idea of an avian theme, you’ll love the room’s intricately carved birdhouses). And there are also a couple of ballrooms, smart choices for couples who’d prefer to keep nature on the other side of a floor-to-ceiling window (or for those who receive a less-than-fabulous weather forecast).
Helping you put it all together is Rachel LeClair, the onside planner who’s been organizing weddings for over seven years, and who can help pull together group activities like yoga classes, easy morning walks on the Stowe recreation path, challenging mountain hikes, a tennis or golf tournament, riding, biking–and in winter, snow shoeing, skiing, and sleigh rides. There’s a full spa on-site for the requisite mani/pedi/massage afternoon, and several pools for recovering from same.
A lot of New England resorts take their Yankee pedigree as an excuse to spare the luxuries, but a wedding at Topnotch can be as refined and beautifully executed as a party anywhere on the plaet. And with the setting sun igniting the pines of Mount Mansfield, you’ll pinch yourselves, realizing that life has definitely reached a peak.
Arrival by horse-drawn carriage at Topnotch at Stowe
