Where It's All Going Down...
Immediately after we got back from our engagement trip we started the search for the venue. I always imagined getting married in my hometown of Ipswich, MA, but after seeing the venues in person we fell in love with a venue in Connecticut where we call home now. We couldn't be happier with our decision, it has everything we wanted and more...a beautiful castle that sits on the Connecticut River...with Pasta on the menu and Guiness on the tap it's a perfect combo of Italian and Irish!
Ceremony The Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, CT
The Church of the Holy Trinity. We are so excited about getting married here! After a lot of searching it was the perfect choice. Not far from the venue and down the street from the Inn where our guests will be staying. We totally clicked with Reverend Maggie as well and can't wait to get some pictures outside that big red door!
The Reception St. Clement's Castle, Portland, CT
Our dream venue. St. Clement's Castle. A couple years ago during the fall we actually were taking a drive to go see "Pumpkintown" and on our way we saw a sign for "Saint Clement's Castle" and decided to swing in. Immediately we thought "we could get married here..." It wasn't until 2 years later that we made that vision become a reality. We can't wait to celebrate with our friends and family! It also has a sentimental significance since my grandfather, who has passed away, name was Clement.
You can see the tent on the left that is set up for cocktail hour.
The Gallery - Backup cocktail hour
Cocktail hour - I want Fuchsia overlays to add some color to the tables. Below is the courtyard for cocktail hour
Reception - We are getting ivory overlays and pink napkins to add some color to the room. The napkins were ordered from linentablecloth.com and the overlays (both for cocktail hour and reception) were ordered from tableclothsfactory.com
Pink Napkins with Pink Napkin Band and Monogram (DIY) on the Ivory Crinkle OVerlay and our place settings
Places That Didn't Make The Cut...
We looked at quite a few places in MA, but nothing compared to St. Clements. Here are the runner-ups.
Crane's Castle, Ipswich, MA
This was my DREAM growing up. But when we went for our scheduled appointment I was so sad about the condition the inside of the Castle was in. And the guests would be broken up into a bunch of little rooms...we would eat in two and dance in another. It was hard to let go of this one...but I couldn't be happier with our final decision!
Willowdale Estate, Topsfield, MA
Willowdale Estate exceeded what I expected. The Estate was in AMAZING condition and we would have a tented reception which I loved the idea of. But when we priced it out against St. Clements they came in about the same...and St. Clements grounds with the view of the River blew this away.
Cruiseport, Gloucester, MA
Cruiseport also exceeded my expectations and was the STRONG runner up to St. Clements. You don't get more New England then the fishing grounds of Gloucester, MA. Cocktail hour would be overlooking the Harbor and the room was huge and beautiful. Cruiseport made our final decision VERY hard, but at the end of the day we kept going back to St. Clements (Cruiseport also didn't have our first date choice available which made the decision a little easier).
