Getting Married in Stonington Borough
If wedding plans are on your horizon, Stonington Borough is a fabulous place to say I do. Dreaming of a beach ceremony? How about a farm or a vineyard wedding? In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve put together a few resources to help make planning your special event a little easier.
Photo by Maggie Conley Photography
Ceremony and Reception Venues
For locations that evoke the history and rich maritime heritage of Stonington, consider The Captain Palmer House or the Old Lighthouse Museum. With exclusive use of the grounds including a private garden and waterside wild garden, a catering kitchen and the first floor of the 1850s Italianate villa, the Captain Palmer House hosts events for up to 120 people. Small non-tented weddings are welcome at the Old Lighthouse Museum — a stone lighthouse that has stood at the entrance to the harbor of Stonington for more than 170 years. There is also an expansive lawn on the grounds with spectacular views across Little Narragansett Bay toward Watch Hill and Napatree Point, Rhode Island.
Just a few steps from the Old Lighthouse Museum at the southernmost tip of Water Street at Stonington Point, duBois Beach has a magnificent view of Stonington Harbor, Fisher’s Island Sound and Little Narragansett Bay. With a gentle surf and a shaded gazebo, it’s a spectacular setting for a ceremony. Rentals are coordinated through the Stonington COMO.
La Grua Center is a nonprofit cultural center that hosts concerts, art exhibitions and lectures. It’s an intimate space flooded with natural light and vaulted ceilings and is available for wedding ceremonies.
Voted one of the top 50 most romantic wedding venues in the U.S. by Brides Magazine, Saltwater Farm Vineyard is a beautiful place to celebrate with family and friends. Set on more than 100 panoramic acres, bordered by tidal marshes and planted with six varieties of grapes, Saltwater Farm Vineyard can accommodate up to 250 guests. Events are hosted in a renovated WWII-era airplane hanger.
Stone Acres Farm is a working farm and farm stand market that supplies residents (and restaurants) with wood-fired bread, fresh produce, eggs and honey, artisanal cheeses and flowers and they also host wedding ceremonies and receptions for up to 250 people. There are historic formal boxwood gardens and rolling meadows set on 65 acres that offer many stunning and unique locations for your nuptials.
If your plan is to get married in a church, there are three places of worship in the Borough: Calvary Episcopal Church, St. Mary Catholic Church and United Church of Stonington.
Food and Cakes
There are a number of restaurants in the Borough that are fantastic venues for wedding festivities, rehearsal dinners and brunches. Water Street Café has a small, private lounge on the second floor that accommodates 25 with a beautiful, hand-carved mahogany bar and a game room. Also notable are Breakwater at Stonington Harbor, Noah’s Restaurant, Milagro Café and The Coq &CO. which has a beautiful backyard garden with long communal tables.
Dog Watch Catering offers offsite catering for weddings, rehearsal dinners, showers and parties. Their staff will setup, serve, bartend, clean up and cater to your every need. They’ll work with you to design a custom menu — from backyard BBQs to New England-style clam bakes. Dog Watch Mystic has an 800 sq. ft. event tent and is available for onsite events year-round.
Located on Stonington Road, Cove Ledge Beer, Wine and Spirits is a boutique wine shop filled with a unique selection of wines, spirits and crafts beers. They offer wine tasting and pairing classes, but they also do mobile bar set ups for events.
There’s a reason the cake is delegated to its own table and placed high above the other sweets — it’s the culmination of your style and taste — and the grand finale of the event. Zest Fresh Pastry in the Velvet Mill does an exquisite job of creating custom cakes and desserts with the highest quality, local and seasonal ingredients. They’re beautiful too.
Photo by Anna Sawin
Flowers
Norma Satizábal, the creative force behind Verdant Floral Studio offers a highly-personalized, customized experience. This family-owned company has been in the flower business for 25+ years and they handle all the details — from ceremony to getaway car, groom to ring-bearer.
Susan Adam’s GIRA! Events & Florals has worked locally in Connecticut and Rhode Island and nationally in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. She “loves to use flowers as her paint” and she offers a great list of 5 Things to Do Before Contacting a Florist on her blog.
Hair and Makeup
Elizabeth’s Hair Studio, owned and operated by Borough resident Elizabeth Beyer, just celebrated eleven years in her adorable space. She specializes in color and bridal and creates beautiful updos and flowing curls for the bride and her entire entourage.
Look at the bridal makeup credits on the loveliest wedding photos in Stonington and more than likely you’ll find Mercedes McCoy. She’s a licensed Aesthetician and Aesthetics instructor, doing facial treatments and shaping brows, but she’s also making a name for herself in makeup.
Stonington makeup artist Kate Clancy gets glowing reviews from her clients for getting them “camera-ready” on their big day.
Photographers
You’ve spent months finding the perfect venue, the perfect dress, deciding on flowers and laboring over every detail. Of course you want to capture every moment. Finding a talented photographer is key and we’ve got three — right here in Stonington!
Take one look at Maggie Conley and her team’s portfolio and it’s pretty clear that her work is technically perfect. But what’s also clear is her ability to make her clients feel utterly at ease, as if she’s an old friend witnessing a tender moment. We think she puts it best when she writes “I will wink at you, probably shed some tears at the beauty of it all and we will tell your story. Just as it is.”
Anna Sawin’s clients are pretty happy. Not just because they’re getting married (duh), but because she’s a dream to work with. “Anna is by far the best decision we made for our wedding!” “Our wedding pictures are light and whimsical and colorful and romantic and sweet.” “Anna could not have captured the day more perfectly.” She also has a great sense of humor…read “A few more things about me…”
Katie Manley of Katie O Photos absolutely LOVES her job! She believes that everyone is photogenic and that it’s your level of confidence and comfort that assures beautiful portraiture. She’s professional, creative, dedicated, easy to work with and makes the experience fun and stress-free.
Inns
There are two inns in the heart of Stonington Borough — The Inn at Stonington and Orchard Street Inn. With 18 superbly-appointed rooms, The Inn at Stonington offers fine linens, private balconies and views of the Village and Fishers Island Sound. Most rooms have gas fireplaces and spacious bathrooms with over-sized jacuzzi tubs. They serve a continental breakfast and a complimentary wine and cheese reception every evening overlooking the water.
The Orchard Street Inn is a complete, upscale bed and breakfast with private baths. Guest reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with high marks for generous, delicious breakfasts, attentive and gracious service and quiet, relaxing accommodations. Their website is currently under construction. For more information, call (860) 535-2681.