Affordable wedding venues in CT

Water's Edge in Westbrook overlooks the sound.

Waterview in Monroe (overlooks a river-Housatonic I think? but pretty affordable. Not too far from Bridgeport/I-95/Port Jeff Ferry)

Westbrook Elks Lodge - if someone in your family is an Elk you can get a discount. Gorgeous venue - overlooks the sound.

Candlewood Inn in Brookfield - overlooks Candlewood Lake.

I don't know what your definition of affordable is, but mine is "not ridiculously more than other places". LI/NY venues will probably all cost more than CT.

I'd cross new York and long island off your list immediately. What is your price range per person?

Don't know what affordable means to you, and I don't think you realize Long Island can be quite expensive as well.

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Did you want to be on the NY side of CT or would you be willing to head towards the RI side? Our venue is what I consider "reasonable" but it could be unreasonable to the next person.

Bill Miller's Castle in Branford is one that we saw that we considered on the cheaper side with a lot of options for upgrades etc.

There's also Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook depending on your budget, we've had work functions there before and it is a gorgeous venue.

Branford House Mansion in Groton is on UConn Avery Point's campus and has gorgeous views but you'd have to bring in all of your vendors and do a lot more leg work.

Waters Edge is not worth a single penny.

I'm in LI.

There are a few places on LI that are in that price range, but unless you book in the next month or two, I think it might be difficult to secure a fall date.

I booked my LI venue in February 2017 for an April 2018 wedding, and we literally got the last day left in April.

LI is big, what area are you looking in?

There's also Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, Latitude 41 at the Mystic Seaport (our venue), and St Clements Castle in Portland. I think you can also rent space at Harkness Castle or park out that way in Branford maybe? For Harkness, Bradford House and Saltwater you have to bring in table/, chairs, catering etc. Latitdue and St Clements were all inclusive. Not sure what your budget is but Latitude will be about 21k all in for 100 guests, plated meal, open bar, and all the various upgrades we decided on. How about in RI? There's some great places up that way too, or even the beginning of the cape? In the fall time you may be able to get a better price.

I'd get calling though, these places book quickly here especially on Saturdays. I think all the places I called in August of last year after getting engaged only had a few Friday, Sunday or week day dates avail.

Bill Miller's castle has like a $150/per person with a 150 guest minimum on Saturdays... probably not considered affordable.

Anyways, OP, what is your budget? I recommend finding a place that lets you bring your own caterer.

Penfield Pavilion in Fairfield just reopened, extremely affordable to rent.. my Caterer caters there often and is really open to working with budgets. Our buffet that we chose is $60/pp with him. (Fitzgeralds Fine Catering in Bridgeport). The pavilion i mentioned is on the water.

Lighthouse point park in New haven.. I'm getting married there, but it's about $4k for just the venue not including the food.

Also try Villa Louisa in Bolton, Georginas in Bolton, La Mirage in North haven, I've heard all three are very affordable.

Definitely try Merlot on the Water in Broad Brook CT. We just got married there and it could not have been more perfect. Victoria works with you to match your budget. I can't say enough good stuff about her and her venue!

Thanks everyone! Does anyone have any recommendations for places near CT/RI border? Any recommendations for Long Island as well? Although I'm worried about that being too far , most of my family lives in CT. I know a lot of these places book so fast so I'm definitely trying to find a place asap! I was hoping for about $120-130 per person if possible.

@Nicole, are you willing to have a Friday/Sunday wedding? I know that Latitudes in Mystic that @JGCT Mentioned had no Saturday dates in September left when we looked in early May.

If you are willing to have a Friday/Sunday wedding your minimums are much lower. I know that @FutureMrsG mentioned that she didn't think Bill Miller's Castle was affordable because of their minimums but they do have packages starting at $105 roughly pp. I am not sure about their policy on minimums but at my venue, we have an $18,000 minimum because it is a Saturday while if we had picked a Friday/Sunday it would have only been a few thousand.

Check out aquaturf in CT (plantville maybe? It's in Hartford county - I saw $75pp for a Saturday night during peak season so pretty good for CT) or la Bella vista in Waterbury

Check out Anthonys ocean view in New Haven.

@private the $75pp doesn't include anything but the main course. We are getting married at the Farmington Club which is the sister facility. My mom was a chef at ATC for 30 years.

@JGCT's suggestions are all near RI. I wanted to suggest Harkness but couldn't think of the name of it!

There's a great winey in Clinton named Chamard Vineyard - I'm not sure how many people it can hold but the food is AMAZING and there's a pretty pond in the middle of the vineyard.

Anthony's Ocean View isn't that great in my opinion. I used to live near La Mirage and I don't think it's that nice.

Swan club in NY was the most affordable out of the venues we saw. It was not our style but it was about 1/3 of the cost of our actual venue and a lot cheaper than most in the area.

Ooh I forgot Stonington Yacht Club. That's right in the middle of Stonington borough and it wasn't ungodly expensive for the RD (same packages as a wedding but it was obviously fewer people). Also the Mystic Inn has a few options of wedding space and they were around the $120 mark. They also had some Saturday's left when I originally called last August. It's super cute there, not on th water, but sits up on the hill overlooking Mystic.

Foxwoods has some amazing spaces and prices weren't bad, again no water view. I'd also check into boat/yacht clubs in Old Lyme area.

Anthony's is okay, the remodel looks terrific, and the views are great, it was just the drive up to it that had me wishing for more.

La Bella Vista, is the Ponte Club in Waterbury (I grew up one town over). The remodel and the food are to freggin die for, however if you want water views, it's not your spot. Probably very budget friendly though. Aqua Turf, my parents got married there 32 years ago and the room they were married in, wagon room, hasn't been remodeled since then according to them. May be budget friendly, grounds are pretty, foods just okay (from proms and other weddings I've been to).

I'll add that my $200pp includes tax, tip, fees, and any rental charges (upgraded chairs and linens). At 120 base your looking more at 160+ with those fees and such. Latitudes and maybe coastal gourmet offer discounts for Friday and Sunday (or weekday) weddings. If I think of the others in RI I'll leave them here.

Maneeley's in South Windsor includes SO much that they are the most affordable in central CT as of my research a year ago... and the space is beautiful and the food is all amazing! For plated it's around $95 per person, and this includes a 3 course meal, a custom cake we designed at Modern Pastry italian bakery, linens, decor, bridal suite, the tasting, the works... their event director is also so helpful through the planning process!

Villa Louisa is about the same price, but they don't include very much and the space looks older inside.

Stay away from Georgina's. The space is beautiful and the price is fine, but the owner is awful and is truly a used car salesman. My family drove over an hour to get there, then after a 1 hour tour he told us our date was no longer available and in fact didn't have anything in that month! Also it's attached to a restaurant so the guests share a bathroom with the restaurant.