Old Field Club Wedding: A Photographer’s Guide

The Old Field Club is a small property, and nearly everything that is good or difficult about getting married there follows from that.

We have photographed both weddings and commercial work at the club. Some of what follows comes from standing in those rooms and some of it comes from the venue’s own material, and where that matters we say which.

The Old Field Club in East Setauket

The club is at 86 West Meadow Road in East Setauket, on the North Shore in Suffolk County, with the water right there. Port Jefferson is a few minutes up the road, which is where most couples end up putting their guests.

The building is older than most people expect. In February 2016 the National Register of Historic Places added it as Old Field Club and Farm, listing Richard Haviland Smythe as the architect, Colonial Revival as the style, and 1930, 1931 and 1936 as its significant years. You would be standing in the original clubhouse, and it photographs like the original clubhouse, which is a good part of the appeal.

The Ballroom and the Grounds

The ballroom does most of the work. Full length French windows, chandeliers, wood floors, and enough daylight that an afternoon ceremony in there does not need much help. The published descriptions of that room are accurate, which is not always the case.

Outside there is lawn and garden space. Ask the club for a current list of what is available to you and where cocktail hour happens, because directory listings go stale and the club does not.

Our own Long Island venues list puts capacity at up to 200. What the room actually seats depends on your floor plan, where you put the ceremony, and how much dance floor you want, so get the number from the club for your date.

What Small Actually Means

Two environments carry a wedding here. The ballroom and the grounds. Both are good, and neither one substitutes for the other.

At a venue with six rooms you can improvise. Here you cannot, so the portrait plan gets made in advance instead of discovered during cocktail hour. That is less of a burden than it sounds, but it does have to happen.

The grounds and the water are the best thing about the property, and they depend on the weather. On a clear day they will carry most of your portraits. On a wet one you have fewer indoor options than you would at a larger venue. That is not a reason to pass on the place. It is a reason to have a real rain plan rather than a vague one.

The bridal suite is small. Better to know that now than at nine in the morning with eight people and a makeup artist already in the room.

Getting Ready, and Danfords

Because of the suite, plenty of couples get ready somewhere else.

Morgan and Michael, whose wedding we photographed at the club, used Danfords Hotel and Marina in Port Jefferson. It is minutes away, the rooms have real windows and water views, and it solves where to put out of town guests at the same time. It worked well.

If you do use the suite, treat it as somewhere to finish rather than somewhere to spend the whole morning.

Old Field Point Lighthouse

The lighthouse is a short drive from the club. Portraits are allowed there and we have taken them.

It is not part of the venue, though, so going means putting people in cars, driving over, shooting, and driving back. Half an hour of your day at the very least, and more if you are moving a large bridal party.

It is usually a trade we would make. Those pictures look nothing like the rest of the wedding, and at a venue where the range is narrow, that difference does a lot of work. Put it on the timeline in advance instead of deciding during cocktail hour. And bring something for hair, because it is exposed out there and the wind is real.

Guest Flow

The club moves people better than venues three times its size.

At Morgan and Michael’s wedding nobody had to be herded. There was no stretch of the evening where half the guests were in a far room wondering where everyone went. When everything sits close to everything, people drift as one group instead of in a long thin line.

Reviews of the club come back to the food and the staff over and over, and that matched what we saw.

What We Learned Shooting There

Commercial work has no wedding timeline on it, which leaves time to look at a room properly. A few things we took away.

The ballroom photographs bigger than it is. French windows and real daylight do that, and it does not feel boxed in the way small rooms usually do.

The grounds are the strongest thing on the property. In decent weather, most of the images people remember come from out there.

Repetition is the risk, not exhaustion. With two environments, the variety has to come from how you frame rather than from where you walk, and that is a decision made beforehand.

What to Ask the Club

Anything operational changes, so the club is the only reliable source. These are the questions to settle first.

The rain plan, specifically. Not whether they have one, but what happens to the portraits if the grounds are unusable, how much of the schedule moves, and whether the lighthouse trip survives it.

Where the morning happens. On site, at Danfords, or somewhere else. Ask the club what they usually recommend given the size of the suite, because they have watched more couples solve this than anyone.

Whether the lighthouse is in or out. Either answer is fine. Decide it early so it lands on the timeline instead of eating the cocktail hour.

What your guest count actually fits with the floor plan you want.

What the ceremony options are on your date, who makes the weather call, and when they make it.

How long you have the property, and when vendors can start loading in.

What the quoted price covers. Catering, bar, staffing and planning support are all worth going through line by line rather than assuming.

Who the Old Field Club Suits

This is a venue for a couple who wants a waterfront wedding that feels personal rather than big. If your list is modest and you would rather have everyone in one room than spread across a property, the building was made for exactly that. Couples who plan to be outside get the most out of it, as long as they plan around the weather instead of hoping.

It is a harder fit if your guest list is long, or if you want six different looking rooms over the course of an evening. This is not that building.

If your guest list runs well past that, a North Shore waterfront property at a different scale such as the Swan Club is the closer comparison, and our guide to choosing a Long Island wedding venue goes through how to size that decision.

If you are still touring, the Old Field Club sits alongside the rest of our list of Long Island wedding venues we have photographed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Old Field Club?

86 West Meadow Road in East Setauket, on the North Shore of Long Island, right on the water. Port Jefferson is a few minutes away. The club and the farm next to it went on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

How many guests does the Old Field Club hold?

Our Long Island venues list puts it at up to 200. Treat any number you find online as a ceiling rather than a plan, because what the room seats depends on your floor plan, your ceremony, and how much dance floor you want. Get the real figure from the club for your date.

Is the Old Field Club good for wedding photos?

Yes, with one condition. The grounds and the waterfront are excellent, and the ballroom photographs better than its footprint suggests because of the French windows and the daylight. But there are two environments rather than ten, so good coverage here comes from planning rather than from wandering. In decent weather it is a strong venue to photograph.

Can you take portraits at Old Field Point Lighthouse?

Yes. Portraits are allowed, we have taken them there, and it is a short drive from the club. Because it is off the property, build the trip into the timeline rather than deciding on the day. It is exposed, so expect wind. What you get back is a set of pictures that look nothing like the rest of the wedding.

Where should you get ready for an Old Field Club wedding?

The suite on site is small, so getting ready elsewhere is a real option. Morgan and Michael used Danfords Hotel and Marina in Port Jefferson, minutes away, with good light, water views and rooms for guests. If you do use the suite, plan on finishing there rather than spending the whole morning in it.

What happens at the Old Field Club if it rains?

The outdoor space is the best thing about the property, so rain hits the portraits harder here than at a venue with covered exterior space, and there are fewer indoor fallbacks. Ask the club exactly what their rain plan looks like for the ceremony and for the pictures, and ask early.

About the Photographer

Stephen Mayo is the founder and lead photographer of Heritage House, a boutique wedding photography studio. We serve Long Island, New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, and the East End. Stephen is a member of Fearless Photographers, and his work has been featured in Sophisticated Weddings and hamptonBRIDE.

We plan the photography around the shape of a wedding well before the day arrives. At a venue this size, that planning matters more rather than less.

A Real Wedding at the Old Field Club

Morgan and Michael got ready at Danfords, married at Infant Jesus Church, stopped at Old Field Point Lighthouse for portraits, and celebrated at the club.

Read the full feature: Old Field Club Wedding | Morgan and Michael.

Planning an Old Field Club Wedding?

A small waterfront club that moves guests well, photographs better than its size suggests, and asks you to plan around the weather. For the right wedding, it is hard to beat.

Most of the decisions that matter here get made months out, and we are glad to help you think them through.

Tell us what you are planning. Contact Heritage House to start the conversation.

Venue Contact

The Old Field Club
86 West Meadow Road, East Setauket, NY
oldfieldclub.com