Wedding Rates From the simplest ceremony to an elegant reception, the Estates can accommodate you to make sure your wedding is everything you dreamed it would be. This outdoor site rental is the historic Winter Estates of automobile maker Henry Ford and inventor Thomas Alva Edison. The recently restored homes are situated on a lush tropical property with a beautiful view of the Caloosahatchee River. Guests will be surrounded by Royal Palms, historic bamboo, orchids and other southwest Florida tropical plants that create the perfect ambiance for a wedding. Edison's Historic Pier and Mina Edison's Moonlight Garden are elegant locations for timeless photographs. more..

Corporate Rates Mature trees including a citrus grove, a natural aisle of Royal Palm trees and an assortment of bamboo, pine, oak and many others provide a beautiful Old Southwest Florida tropical paradise. Guests are welcome to walk the estate grounds and see where history was made! more..

Please remember the Edison & Ford Winter Estates exists for the benefit of the public, which may place constraints on the property and its availability. We appreciate your understanding of the extra care and occasional cost involved to insure our properties are available for public enjoyment.

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates Special Events Department is open Monday through Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM, Saturday and Sunday, by appointment ONLY.

The property used for rental is ONLY the Henry Ford Estate.

Staff members will be available to protect the Edison & Ford Winter Estate’s facilities and contents, answer questions, and help coordinate, but will not be available to carry equipment or be involved in preparation, set-up, or teardown of your event. Please arrange for adequate help with these tasks.

WEDDING REHEARSALS
Your rental fee includes access to the Ford property for a rehearsal, which generally takes place the day prior to the wedding between 5:00PM-6:00PM. However, you must schedule your rehearsal through the Special Events Department. You may be assigned a time other than 5:00PM-6:00PM depending upon bookings on the Ford property.

PARKING
Guests may park at the Edison & Ford Winter Estate’s parking lot. Guests will cross McGregor Boulevard at the stoplight and walk to the Ford Home.

There is absolutely NO PARKING on the Ford property. The only vehicles permitted at the Ford Home are vendor vehicles.

SECURITY
Security is provided for evening events at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. Standard security fees are included in the rental fee; however, some events may require additional security. Security costs will be charged to the client for events with special security requirements.

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates is not responsible for the protection or storage of items brought onto the grounds for an event.

INSURANCE
The Edison & Ford Winter Estates also requires proof of client coverage for liability insurance totaling $1,000,000. You may contact your homeowners, renters or business insurance for coverage. The Edison & Ford Winter Estates must be an additional insured party to your insurance plan for your event date. The Edison & Ford Winter Estates does sell insurance for your event, please contact the Special Events Department for more detailed information.

PAYMENT
Reservations will be processed when a signed contract and the appropriate reservation deposit of $1,500 is received and countersigned by the appropriate Edison & Ford Winter Estates staff member. The remaining payment must be made fourteen (14) days prior to the event. Verbal reservations will be held for a maximum period of ten days to allow a client to submit a check and contract. The Estates will not be held responsible should that date be contracted (written) by another party before the time of the verbal contract expires.
Any and all events must supply a credit card to guarantee payment and to hold the property.
Method of payment can either be cash, check, or credit card. The date will not be held, until a copy of the credit card receipt is obtained by the Special Events Department.

CANCELLATION
The Contracting Guest may cancel a reservation at any time. All cancellations must be in writing. If a Contracting Guest cancels a reservation more than sixty (60) days prior to the event, the entire reservation deposit, minus a $100.00 processing fee, will be refunded. The reservation deposit of a Contracting Guest, who cancels his/her event less than fourteen (14) days prior to the reserved date, shall not be refunded. If a cancellation falls between sixty (60) days and the fourteen (14) days the refund will be pro-rated. There are NO refunds for cancellations due to weather.

EXHIBITS
The Edison & Ford Winter Estates cannot be held responsible for any exhibits that are in place at the time of your event. The exhibits (which include furniture in the Ford Home) cannot be moved or covered for any reason.

TENTS
Set-ups are allowed the day before the event or the day of the event during the hours of 8:00AM-3:00PM. A $200 per hour charge is applied if set-ups are done before or after these times.

Tenting for events held on Saturday usually goes up on Friday afternoon and must be removed before 12:00PM Sunday; however, the rental department will specify the approved date and time of takedown.

DECORATIONS
Plans for decorations must be submitted one month prior to the event. The Special Events Department will communicate final approval to the client within five days of receipt.

Open flames are not permissible.

Decorations, signs, banners, etc. may not be taped, nailed, stapled, or otherwise fastened to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates property. No holes may be drilled, cored, or punched in any of the facility.

ALL decorations, equipment, and any other items must be down, packed away, and removed at the conclusion of the event.

MUSIC
Music on the Ford property must cease at 10:00PM.

An Edison & Ford Winter Estates representative will monitor the noise level and have final authority on the decision.

CATERING
Caterers must assure that all dirty dishes, linen, and flatware are removed at the conclusion of the event. All garbage must be bagged and placed by the Ford Cottage at the conclusion of the event. Caterers must bring their own supplies.

If one of the caterers on the approved Edison & Ford list does not meet your needs, the service of another caterer can be used as long as the caterer can provide a certificate of $3,000,000 in liability insurance. The use of another caterer outside of the approved list would also have to sign an agreement with the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.

Under no circumstances is any person under the age of 21 to be served alcoholic beverages.

MISCELLANOUS
NO SMOKING is permitted anywhere inside the Edison & Ford Winter Estates property.

No Food or Drink is allowed inside the Ford Home or on any of the porch areas of either the Ford Home or the Edison Home

Only bubbles may be thrown outside during wedding events. NO rice, birdseed, or confetti. NO EXCEPTIONS.

An event delivery schedule for vendor delivery and pick-up must be returned to the Edison & Ford Winter Estate’s Special Events Department office two weeks prior to the event. Deliveries will be refused admittance if the client does not provide such a list or if the arrival time differs from the time submitted in the original delivery agenda.

The Coordinator of Special Events must approve any and all special requests.

Thank you for your understanding of these guidelines. They are designed to preserve the Edison & Ford Winter Estates for the future.

For additional information, or to reserve the perfect site for your event, please call the Edison & Ford Winter Estate’s Special Events Department at (239) 334-7419.