Summer Stars

There’s no one perfect location for a Connecticut wedding—but there is the perfect Connecticut wedding location for you. For some brides it’s all about being as close to the water as they can possibly get (sand in the shoes be damned), others dream of saying “I do” beneath a heady bower of roses, while for still others nothing less than a gilded mansion will do. The good news is that all these splendiferous options and more exist right here at home—and we’re here to help you find them. What follows are some of our favorite spots for a spring or summer wedding. Take a look, go check them out and then decide which is the perfect fit for y-o-u. After all, that’s who this day of days is all about. Blue skies ahead. . . .

Meadowside

A big draw of a wedding at Meadowlands (203/353-8000, marciaselden.com), the two-story Regency-style mansion that’s home to the Darien Community Association, lies outside its white-clapboard walls: its formal gardens. Designed in 1939 and meticulously maintained by the association’s garden club, the gardens have a fountain at their heart, wisteria trees in each corner, a greenhouse, a bird sanctuary and a kissing garden, and are seasonally colored by blooms from dainty pink snapdragons to fiery orange daylilies. In a nod to their splendor, Meadowlands is designed so that all ground-floor rooms have French doors opening onto the gardens. Period rooms like the McKitterick Room, with a fireplace at each end, and the cozy library are often used for cocktail hours. Grand receptions for up to 200 seated guests are held in the Garden Ballroom. And, yes, this room, too, has French doors leading to those gardens.

Bridging the gap

When it comes to a reception spot that’s unlike any you’ve seen before, Worthington Pond Farm & Gardens (860/763-3538, worthingtonpondfarm.com) in Somers has you covered—quite literally, in fact. At Worthington Pond you can hold your event on a charming covered bridge. The “town truss” bridge was constructed entirely from lumber harvested locally and milled on-site. It also happens to be the only covered bridge in North America with dormers that allow the sun to shine in, has a clear span of 62 feet and can seat up to 120 for an “outdoor” reception—now how cool is that? Better yet, rental of the bridge entitles you and your guests to full use of Worthington Pond Farm & Gardens for the day—and there’s plenty of property to explore. The 80 acres of manicured farmland and forest include everything from lush perennial gardens to dally in to rustic wooded trails to wander, a vast 16-acre beaver pond, a bird-watching amphitheater, a maple sugaring house, wagon rides and even a model railroad in the garden.

To the point

There’s been a hotel on the point of land where the Saybrook Point Inn & Spa (860/395-2000, saybrook.com) now sits since 1870. And why not? The 82-room luxury inn is exactly where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound—talk about water views! Weddings start on the Garden Terrace just a step above the inn’s marina. Ceremonies, as well as cocktail hours, can take place here. Afterward, guests move into the adjoining Soundview Ballroom, which seats up to 200. Here, all eyes that aren’t on the bride and groom are trained on the blue views beyond the bay windows that span the length of the ballroom. Head out to the dock for photos and you can capture the moment with nothing but the Sound behind you.

Castles in the air

Built in 1902 as a private home, Saint Clements Castle in Portland (860/342-0593, saintclementscastle.com) recalls the grand 16th-century castles of Europe. Its long balcony overlooking the Connecticut River was, in fact, modeled after the Inn of William the Conqueror in France. There are also two Norman towers, one of which reaches five stories and is wreathed in ivy. Ceremony sites include the Art Gallery, which features a granite fireplace and opulent stained glass, elegant sunken gardens that retain their original granite walls and the sweeping back lawn overlooking the river. As for receptions, the Waterford Room has seating for 230, while the regal Prince Edward Ballroom, adjacent to the original carriage house, can seat 280. The recently revamped marina is an ideal spot for photo ops directly on the water.  

One if by land, two if by sea

It’s the best of both worlds: A journey aboard the MV Becky Thatcher, the grand ol’ Mississippi-style riverboat operated by the Essex Steam Train (860/767-0103, essexsteamtrain.com), actually begins on land—at Essex Station, where guests climb aboard vintage train cars for a 15-minute trip to Deep River Landing, where the riverboat awaits. The 70-foot-long good ship Thatcher was built in 1961 and has three decks for guests (150 for cocktail-style receptions and 60 for seated receptions) to drink in 360-degree views of the Connecticut River Valley. Time, tide, traffic and weather determine exactly where the boat will go, but her route generally covers the Connecticut River from the Goodspeed Bridge in East Haddam to the Baldwin Bridge in Old Saybrook. Favorite sites along the way include the Goodspeed Opera House and Gillette Castle.

Grand plans

Ah, to be to the mansion born. At Eolia, the centerpiece of Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford (860/443-5725, ct.gov/dep), you can pretend—if only for your wedding day. This 42-room Italian-style villa, once the summer home of philanthropist Edward Harkness, is, in a word, spectacular. Rental for 150 guests includes use of the first floor of the mansion, highlights of which include the Music Room, boasting a marble fireplace, ceilings that rise 16 feet above a gleaming hardwood floor and French doors opening onto the Loggia and West Garden, and the ornate “living hall” with grand Palladian windows that deliver knockout views of Long Island Sound. A tent in the courtyard is used for dancing, and ceremonies can be held in an open-air amphitheater overlooking the dunes or amidst the wildly romantic wisteria that drips from a pergola by the Italian garden. 

Country roads

Joyce and Ken Wood of Wood Acres Farm in Terryville (860/583-8670, woodacresfarm.com) know all about weddings. After all, they established their horse-drawn carriage company in 1972 and have offered use of their carriages to blushing brides ever since. Wood Acres itself, set on 25 acres of wooded trails, tranquil ponds and meandering country lanes, has been in the family for over 150 years. What was once the carriage barn has been converted into a rustic reception barn for up to 150 seated guests. Think wide-plank floors, antiques and country accents, and plenty of windows to let in the light. There are also two sets of French doors leading to a vast wraparound porch where cocktails are often enjoyed, and to a garden and gazebo where ceremonies are held.

A shore thing

There is an air of Gatsby about Westport’s Inn at Longshore (203/226-3316, innatlongshore.com). In fact, the stately white clapboard Victorian with Long Island Sound in its back yard was once an exclusive country club that entertained Rockefellers and Roosevelts, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. For ceremonies and cocktail hours with the Sound as backdrop, cocktail tables with crisp white linens brushing the green, green grass are scattered across the lawn, and billowing white tents house bar and hors d’oeuvre setups. For receptions, the inn offers the formal Grand Ballroom, with floor-to-ceiling windows on the water. The sunken ballroom can seat up to 210, while 80 more can be seated on an L-shaped promenade overlooking the ballroom.

Rosy tomorrows

Remember that bower of roses we spoke of? Hartford’s Elizabeth Park Rose Garden (860/757-9970, elizabethpark.com) is where to find ’em. What began as an initial planting of 100 rose bushes back in 1904 has grown into a two-and-a-half-acre garden of some 15,000 bushes that’s the centerpiece of 102-acre Elizabeth Park and, come peak bloom in early to mid-June, one of the state’s most intoxicating places to host a small wedding ceremony (up to 75 guests). Alas, receptions are not allowed among the crimson ramblers themselves, but for that there’s the Pond House Café and Banquet Facility (860/231-8823, pondhousecafe.com), whose bright and beautiful Garden Room boasts floor-to-ceiling cathedral windows on the park and can host up to 200.

On the rocks

Construction of the Pavilion at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic (860/739-5471, ct.gov/dep) began in 1934 and was completed in ’37—all work accomplished by WPA workers and 90 percent of materials sourced from state-owned lands. (Cool factoid: Tree trunks used as support pillars were taken from every state park in the system at the time.) The slight curve of the rustic cobblestone pavilion sitting atop a rocky bluff was designed to complement the crescent-shaped beach for which the 710-acre park is known. Got a lot of guests? The entire second floor of the sprawling 40- by-220-foot pavilion (capped at each end by a massive fieldstone fireplace) is yours. You can fit up to 300 up here—and, yes, just beyond those windows is Long Island Sound.

Overnight success

Wedding weekends are the specialty of the house at the Interlaken Inn, a 30-acre resort and conference center in the foothills of the Berkshires in Lakeville. Interlaken (860/435-9878, interlakeninn.com) is nestled between two pristine lakes: Wononscopomuc and  Wonopakook (say those three times fast!), and canoes, kayaks and paddleboats are all available for guests, as are a heated outdoor pool, badminton, croquet, volleyball and tennis. (Bonus: The resort hosts just one wedding per weekend so there’s lots of room for customized activities.) Lodging options range from a B&B to townhouses to traditional room rentals. Ceremonies are held lakeside; afterward, guests head to a tented pavilion and glassed-in atrium for dinner and dancing.

The house on the hill

Pioneering female architect Theodate Pope Riddle designed what is today Hill-Stead Museum (860/677-4787, hillstead.org) in 1901 to showcase the Impressionist masterpieces amassed by her father, Cleveland iron industrialist Alfred A. Pope. Monet, Degas, Manet, Whistler, Cassatt . . . all are still present and accounted for in this Colonial Revival house-turned-museum set on 152 hilltop acres in Farmington. A centerpiece one-acre sunken garden designed by Beatrix Farrand circa 1920 is a stunning draw for ceremonies for up to 200, while the Grass Court (once the tennis court) across the entry drive from the garden can be tented for receptions. Additional options include tenting the West Lawn adjacent to the Mount Vernon-style verandah at the West Façade and the Arts and Crafts-style Makeshift Theater for more intimate affairs.

And around we go

A reception at the Lighthouse Point Park Carousel (203/946-8327, cityofnewhaven.com/parks/parksinformation/lighthousepoint.asp) in New Haven is as close to living a fairy tale as you’re likely to come. The carousel had its heyday in the 1920s and ’30s, as the center of a vibrant seaside amusement park. The 69 prancing ponies, two dragon chariots and one camel on the whirling, twirling beauty were created in 1916, and today, Wind Song, Lollipop, Marigold and friends live happily ever after in a fantastic turn-of-the-century beachfront pavilion surrounded by vast expanses of windows. During daylight receptions there are unparalleled views of Long Island Sound; at night, the walls are outlined with twinkling white lights that reflect the glow of the carousel.

Beachy keen

Westbrook’s storied Water’s Edge Resort & Spa (860/399-5901, watersedgeresortandspa.com), directly on Long Island Sound, is the only resort in Connecticut with its own private beachfront. Ceremonies are held on the 20-acre resort’s sweeping lower lawn at water’s edge, and when it’s time for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and, later, dining and dancing, you still won’t need to move far from the beach: There are two flagstone terraces surrounded by greenery and gardens where guests can mingle, as well as two elegant ballrooms (one seating 150, the other 250) with walls of windows overlooking the Sound. Gorgeous.

Summer Stars

Reader Comments

comments powered by Disqus