HKP, thanks for asking! The kids won't be getting to Cambridge until late August, each will be in different cities this summer. So, the actual planning will begin then. In the meantime, we are researching venues by web and narrowing it down to 5-10 places they will visit in the fall. They would like a summer 2015 wedding, so they realize they will need to act quickly.

Their taste seems to run to "fun" as opposed to "formal". They are on a pretty tight budget (about $1100 pp) and hope for 100-125 guests (they are making and narrowing down guest list now too).

Really appreciate everyone's help - they insist they want the wedding in or near Boston and I am in Ohio. It would be so much easier if it were in our hometown (I am also a project manager!). Bride will be wearing her grandmother's dress, so that's another detail out of the way. Lots of checklists and to-do tasks.

$1100 per person????????

Doesn't sound tight to me!! ;-)

Let us know what they seem to like or rule out.

BTW, we attended a reception at Stonehurst, also in Waltham, and it was magical. I suspect it's higher-end, but it would be everything, maybe, they want. I'll never forget the fireflies rising over the meadow after sunset!

Here's website: http://www.stonehurstwaltham.org/

They probably book a year ahead, as many places will, so they probably will lose some options if they arrive in August to book for June. But that would at least narrow the choices, so maybe that's a plus.

My daughter attended a wedding here and said it was lovely!

http://www.thetrustees.org/bradley-estate-functions/

Typo - $100 pp

My friends son was married at Bradley Estate and they do a lovely job, I second looking into that venue as well. Also the RiverMill at Dover Landing, NH leans toward the reasonable scale. Summer rates for hotels can be high, especially in Boston which she may want to consider for her guests; a quick look at what the rates are this year during that time frame will give her an idea. The Bradley Estate guests could stay easily 20-30 minutes outside the city and RiverMill has extremely reasonable hotels nearby and a shuttle to the venue. Sometimes going a bit out of the city, as these two places do, affords guests more reasonable lodging choices, still offer things to do and they can always add a city trip in if that is a guests wish. The NH venue is about an hour at most outside of Boston, and I believe Amtrak goes from there to Boston which could accommodate guests better for a day in Boston if they wished vs. Bradley Estate which I don't believe has any nearby pubic transportation.

Thanks for all the responses so far. The last conversation I had with the young couple was that they agreed to have the wedding in our hometown in Ohio. This will be a lot less stress on them during graduate school and a lot easier for the MOG and me, who live here. Thanks much!