We had the wedding of our dreams and managed to stay within our budget! We originally thought we wouldn’t be able to afford to have our wedding here, but was so impressed with the venue and also found it to be the absolute best value out of all the places we looked at! I was beyond excited to have my dream venue and the actual day did not disappoint! We had just about 190 guests and we still receive rave reviews from all of them of our special day. The food was amazing and many guests said they couldn’t believe how good it was. Even our wedding tasting was a special event in itself! Tosh went above and beyond and we are so glad we had her on our team! She was detail oriented and often times checked on me during our reception- from helping me fix my hair, to grabbing me a drink, we love how supportive, loving, and pro-active she was. It is clear she loves her job and she is incredible at it! I made a lot of my decorations and not only was Essex Steam Train supportive of it, they helped accentuate the lanterns I made to make sure they were absolutely stunning. All of the staff were great and helpful! I loved that we could drop our decorations off a week early and pick them up days after the event to minimize stress as much as possible. Tosh and all of the event’s staff were wonderful at helping us feel well taken care of and in good hands. As swing dancers, we loved having a vintage wedding and the dance floor was absolutely perfect. Another cool factor was that our guests got to take an hour long train ride and it was super fun waving goodbye to them and taking our photos while they were whisked away down the line. Tosh worked her magic and made it so we could meet up with the train and surprise our guests by riding with them on the way back to the station. We hadi the most incredible day that was even better than I could have imagined. And we have such amazing and unique memories and photos to cherish for the rest of our lives. We also love the fact that we can celebrate our anniversary by doing the dinner train in years to come!

This is a wonderfully unique venue, with a wonderful staff! The even coordinator was responsive and helpful throughout the entire experience, and very accommodating to our off menu wishes. Our day went off without issue, and everyone had an amazing time. My favorite part of the day was the bridal suite - which is a full, completely transformed 1920s train car!

On top of the unique experience of a train ride for our wedding, there are several reasons we initially decided to book the Essex Steam Train and even more reasons to why I know it was the best choice for our wedding.
Initially, as soon as we walked onto the railyard, everyone was so friendly and joyful, and that was exactly how I wanted our wedding to feel for others! The reception space is large with the same beautiful, classic charm as the train. It was perfect for our 120 person wedding with plenty of space for each table without the space feeling empty. The dance floor space was huge and well separated from the tables- during the wedding there were so many people dancing and I feel that the layout really encouraged this! Meredith, the organizer, is very helpful and flexible to any suggestion and last minute changes. On the day, she made sure we stayed on schedule and were happy without interrupting. She is a calming force and very irreplaceable. She allowed us to decorate the reception hall the day before to our liking which made me so happy. The bridal train suite is stocked so thoughtfully and is beautiful, affording many unique pictures! We elected to have our wedding ceremony at Deep River Landing with a train ride to and from the space.
On the day of the wedding, the quality of the venue is unmatched due to the train, ceremony space, and reception hall. For the train, we reserved two train cars for our guest. It was beautiful; the train ride was so nice because it permitted me to relax, reflect on my emotions, and sink into the moment. Pictures at Deep River Landing and at the Steam Train were beautiful for our October Wedding! As I mentioned, the reception hall was perfect.
The value for all this is incredibly worthwhile! On top of being an all inclusive wedding venue (dinner & appetizers, open bar, an organizer, bridal suite, etc.), we got a fun and memorable train ride! Overall, People have told me it was the most fun wedding they’ve been to- in the words of my ring bearer, it was “the most fun I’ve had anywhere ever”!

We got married in August of 2023. We weren’t exactly sure what we wanted when we started looking at venues, but something just clicked when we discovered that the Essex Steam Train does weddings! We loved the idea so much that we abandoned our original ideal wedding date, since it wasn’t available. It was so worth it. I now can’t imagine having done this anywhere else. The food was incredible, the atmosphere was warm, welcoming, and fun. We went for the Deep River Landing option; for a relatively small extra fee, we put all of our guests on the train, got married at the Landing, and rode the train back to the venue for the reception. It was magical. Meredith Redway, the event coordinator, went above and beyond to make sure that everything was perfect… and it was. We can’t express our joy loudly enough! Most highly recommend!

Absolutely amazing. Everything about the Essex Steam Train was absolutely amazing. The food was phenomenal. The location had several beautiful spots for taking pictures. The staff was super friendly and very eager to assist in any and every way possible. Our guests loved the food, and they especially loved the train ride, they felt that it was more than just a wedding, it was an experience.

We worked with the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat for our ceremony location, transportation to our reception at The Lace Factory, and after party. It was simply wonderful! Meredith is a pleasure to work with, so accommating and sweet, and everything couldn't have been better! My bridesmaids and I got ready for the day in a train car converted into a bridal suite, which Meredith helped make so special, the ceremony was picture perfect, the train ride was beyond unforgettable, and the after party was wonderful. Only fantastic things to say, I wish we could do it all again! Thank you, Meredith and team :)

We loves our EST reception which was held in their large function hall. The staff were responsive leading up to the event (thank you Malana!) and on site that day were friendly as well. We held our cocktail hour in the space right outside the "ticket booth" and loved being surrounded by the trains and our guests had a field day exploring and enjoying the scenic trains. There was space for dancing, food, bar, and the venue was very accommodating with what we envisioned and also helped prompt us through things we had not yet thought of which we were grateful for. It is very affordable and I would recommend to anyone. Thank you!

My daughter and her Fiancé will be married here in September of this year. This venue was our last appointment on a VERY long weekend looking at venue options across Connecticut. Most of the venues we looked at were overpriced for the space available or had advertised themselves as being able to accommodate a lot more guests than they could comfortably fit. We looked at one option who said (prior to our visit) that they could seat 125 guests. When we arrived, the wedding coordinator explained that they based that on the fact that most of your guests would be "hanging outside". The Essex Steam Train River Valley Junction Hall and Oliver Jensen Gallery is the only venue that we visited that could COMFORTABLY accommodate my daughter's 125+ guest and still have room for a dance floor and
bar/hors d' oeuvres area. What really sold us on the Essex Steam Train facility was the Coordinator Pam Amodio. She is kind, welcoming and very professional. Her first question to my beautiful daughter wasn't "How much are you looking to spend?" but "What does your dream day look like?". That made all the difference to us and brought us to tears. She is the only one who asked that. Most of the venues we visited prior to meeting Pam, had told us that our clean up of the venue would begin immediately after the reception and we would have to have the venue returned to original condition before an early time the next morning. When I asked Pam the question "What do you expect from us as far as clean up?", she responded "Have a wonderful time, then take your personal belongings and go rest.". I hugged her after that answer. We are really excited to have a magical day with our 1st born daughter with the help of Pam Amodio!

We used the Essex Steam Train as transportation to our reception at The Lace Factory. Throughout the process they were very helpful, and on the way back from the venue, they very sweetly let my husband and I sit in the first class car on our own! It was the first time we got to have a moment to ourselves the entire day, and it was so appreciated. Our guests loved to be able to do something so different as part of our wedding. We'd highly recommend to anyone getting married at TLF!

We got married at the Lace Factory in Deep River and used the ‘Lace Factory Connection’ offered by the Essex Steam Train. Our guests were transported to and from our wedding via the train. This was a really unique feature of our wedding to be able to offer our guests and everyone seemed to really love it. The train to the wedding got people excited about our wedding and the train home allowed us to keep the fun going! We would highly recommend the Essex Steam Train, ‘Lace Factory Connection’ to any future bride and groom!

-Kara & Devon