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Experience the Belfry!
Set like jewel, in the heart of historic Sandwich Village, The Belfry Inne beams its warming welcome. The Abbey (ca 1900), its former manse the Drew House (ca 1882) – three two architectural masterpieces. The transformation of the buildings is a testament to architectural re-use. Intended to create a renewing and relaxing atmosphere, a place where people could reconnect with them selves. Owner Christopher Wilson, Executive Chef Benjamin Gallant and all the staff welcome you to enjoy the experience at the Belfry!
Weddings at the belfry are as seductive and intimate. Offering only the finest cuisine and impeccable service our event coordinator, staff and Chef stand ready to exceed your expectations. The Belfry offers not just a four hour event but truly a destination wedding affair. Most of our receptions also include on site ceremonies. A weekend event surrounded by your family and friends to celebrate your nuptials is not complete unless it’s at the Belfry Inne.
All guest rooms are individually and distinctively decorated. Many rooms are accoutered with whirlpools or Jacuzzis, working fireplaces, glorious glass windows and private balconies. The Inne’s imaginative and colorful décor is a visual feast, tremendously augmenting the overall experience.
The intimate atmospheric fire placed restaurant, with a seasonal menu represents an international cuisine of the finest seasonal offerings. And, as you’d expect, desserts are, well, sinful. The Belfry Inne is the ultimate Cape Cod indulgence. The Belfry Bistro specializes in everything from intimate dinners for two to elegant affairs for 120. Sumptuous décor, imaginative architectural interiors and outstanding service have established the Inne as a landmark in Cape Cod hospitality. It is THE wedding venue.
An Intimate
Wedding Celebration
At The Belfry Inne
It isn’t every restaurant that has its dining room walls lined with original art, but that’s the way it is at The Belfry. Of course, it isn’t every restaurant that started out as an early 20th Century Catholic Church, either, but that’s the way it is at The Belfry. And then again, it isn’t every renovated church-turned-award-winning restaurant that also houses six spacious guest rooms featuring stained glass windows, oversized tubs, and individual balconies, but..
That’s the way it is at The Belfry.
Nestled into the tree-lined streets of Sandwich’s strictly regulated historic area, The Belfry Inne and Bistro – like its ancestor, the village’s parish church – blends comfortably with the surrounding homes and businesses. While appropriately large and stately, the building is situated so that it complements the period architecture of the smaller neighboring shops and houses, all of them maintaining a strong fidelity to their original New England character. In fact, visitors out for a leisurely stroll along the shade-dappled streets might underestimate The Belfry’s interior grandeur as they give themselves over to the suggestion they’ve stepped back in time to a place of unhurried commerce, friendly greetings, and small-town hospitality – which, come to think of it, they have.
But upon opening the hefty arched door and stepping into the cocooning welcome of the foyer, expectations immediately begin to soar. Just a step or two further, and those hopes are actualized by a gracious dining room of remarkable proportion and décor. Longer than it is wide, but even higher than it is long, this room occupies what was once the church’s main worship space, and it offers tasteful and authentic reminders of that role. Original stained glass windows still allow bolts of color to drape the air in mystery, and elongated pendant lamps descend from an arched, wood-lined ceiling that seems to rise to an appropriately heavenly height. But the tasteful décor keeps the space warm, and manages to establish intimacy and comfort amid the expansiveness. Both the walls and the floor are covered with a velvety shade of green that makes a stylish canvas for the well-chosen appointments throughout the room, which include a baby grand piano gleaming in the corner like new patent leather. A working fireplace anchors a grouping of linen-draped tables, each illuminated by a petite candle lamp and surrounded by slim, high-back chairs daringly upholstered in stylish black leather. With quiet subtlety, a custom-made bar occupies the space that was once the confessional, its substantial face echoing the original wood paneling that still lines the room’s upper walls.
The lower walls, however, are reserved for the artwork mentioned earlier, a collection remarkable not just for its artistic merit, but, like The Belfry itself, for its history. Painted by Owner Chris Wilson’s mother, the sampling of New England landscapes adds a particularly personal quality to the feeling of the room and also proves that Wilson’s artistry in creating The Belfry comes to him naturally.
And indeed, the artistry continues in the upstairs guestrooms, which pay tribute to the building’s previous life as a house of God. Inspired by the story of creation told in the book of Genesis, the guestroom décor is as symbolic as it is stylish. Wilson named the rooms after the six days of the week in which God, according to biblical story, created the world, and chose a theme for each room – the making of light, of separating sea from sky, of creating land, flora and foliage, living creatures, and finally, man and woman. Each room features hand-painted walls and carefully selected furnishings to coordinate with its existing architectural elements and thematic significance. For example, a number of rooms draw their color scheme from the original stained-glass panes preserved overhead, while in others, modern amenities have been positioned into nooks created by the building’s preservation. In the Monday Room, for instance, the bathtub occupies the former bell tower of the church. Three of the rooms offer fireplaces, while they all offer soaking tubs, balconies, and flat-screened televisions. In addition, a common sitting area rests at one end of the balcony, overlooking the dining room below and providing a space for quiet conversation or private relaxation.
It is obvious a great deal of thought, style, and talent have gone into renovating The Belfry, and so it should be no surprise that these same attributes are at work in every wedding hosted here. Guest capacity for receptions is 110 indoors, or 120 outdoors under a tent, but Wilson pointed out that some of his most successful weddings have had far smaller crowds, as few as 10 in some cases, but most typically between 60 and 80. Because The Belfry operates as an inn first and foremost, wedding parties are required to book all six guestrooms for a two-night weekend stay, a policy that ultimately benefits the couple by guaranteeing each bride individualized attention, a comfortable pace for preparing, and a generous span of time in which to enjoy her moment in the spotlight.
Under this arrangement the staff and guests “tend to get to know each other,” according to Wilson, which facilitates communication and smooth execution of the wedding and reception. Wilson, himself, is a hands-on owner, personally supervising each wedding and giving careful direction to what he refers to as his “caring and nurturing staff.” The food prepared by The Belfry’s kitchen is an indication of the staff’s professionalism and experience. Having won numerous awards, both locally and regionally, the restaurant serves international cuisine, and the same offerings that appear on the standard dinner menu are always successfully prepared for larger gatherings at receptions and rehearsal dinners. But Wilson and his staff are also open to the ideas and innovations of individual couples, which is why at one wedding this summer they will be wheeling in a photo booth and serving the bride’s favorite pizza.
Most of The Belfry’s weddings are destination weddings, with about 80% of them having both the ceremony and the reception on the property. Almost all of the bridal couples have some kind of connection to the Cape, but at the same time, they’re not looking for a “beachy” type of wedding venue. “What we have here is so different,” said Wilson. “There is nothing like it anywhere, or at least not in southeast Massachusetts,” he said as he ticked off on his fingers a list of The Belfry’s features: the building’s architectural significance, its distinctively elegant and upscale ambiance, its close proximity to Sandwich’s boardwalk and to numerous churches, and the character and charm of the village’s historic district. And while all this might suggest an atmosphere of tasteful reserve, it seems that “fun” just seems to happen here, as guests are inclined to let their hair down and enjoy the benefits of good food, good music, and great accommodations. Chris smiled recalling some of The Belfry’s more memorable weddings. “Things here are not necessarily sedate,” he said.
That’s just the way it is at The Belfry. For more information, contact Owner Chris Wilson at (508) 888-8550 or visit The Belfry Inne and Bistro at www.belfryinn.com.
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