Transforming a historic Portsmouth venue into a must-book wedding destination through thoughtful branding and digital strategy

Building an “I do”-worthy website

Our team designed a sleek website that highlights The Hawthorn’s character, pairing architectural imagery with a clean, sophisticated layout that mirrors the venue’s timeless appeal. Behind the scenes, we tackled everything from technical site fixes to core keyword and geo-targeting, weaving in optimized on-page content and internal linking to strengthen visibility. We also introduced new pages to capture secondary services and locations while building domain authority through backlinks and citations. The result? A seamless online experience that took The Hawthorn from unranked to the #1 search result for “wedding venue Portsmouth NH” and other key search terms.

A seamless match between style and strategy

Great events are just as much about the details as the logistics. The same is true for marketing. While website performance was a top priority, The Hawthorn also needed an identity that captured its warmth and sophistication. We designed a logo, brand mark, color palette, and additional brand assets with artistic flourishes and organic undertones that echo the venue’s historic architecture and refined finishes.

A perfect pair: inspirational blog content and scroll-stopping social posts

We launched The Hawthorn’s blog as both a source of event-planning inspiration and a driver of search visibility. From local guides to the best ceremony locations to real wedding galleries, each post was optimized with targeted keywords to attract engaged couples and event planners.

Our team brought the same blend of strategy and storytelling to life through paid and organic social media. The Hawthorn earned over one million impressions across both platforms and reached more than 110,000 unique accounts on Instagram within their first year of being active, building long-term awareness and recognition as one of Portsmouth’s most desirable venues.

Increasing awareness and bookings through paid social

To complement The Hawthorn’s organic social presence, we launched paid social ads on Facebook and Instagram designed to turn curiosity into venue tours and booked events. Our goal was simple: drive qualified traffic to the contact page on The Hawthorn’s website and fill the venue’s inbox with real inquiries. By targeting newly engaged couples and parents helping to plan celebrations across key New England markets, our monthly campaigns delivered a steady stream of high-intent leads — at an average cost-per-click of just $0.23, well below the hospitality industry average of $0.63 — and built a stronger presence among those most likely to say “I do” at The Hawthorn.