Couples left scrambling for new wedding venue after storms leave Lighthouse Point Park damaged
Couples with upcoming weddings at Connecticut’s Lighthouse Point Park are scrambling to find alternate venues after Thursday morning’s storms leveled the popular Carousel House wedding venue.
The destruction comes during the height of wedding season, including just days before Steph Wilson’s Aug. 22 wedding. Wilson said the New Haven venue held special meaning for the couple.
“It was there on the water,” Wilson explained. “It had personal sentimental ties for my fiancé, who grew up going there and riding the carousel as a kid.”
Wilson learned about the damage and searched online for more information.
“I scroll, and I get to the photos of the carousel building, and I just gasped. I was in such shock,” Wilson explained.
With the wedding just a week away, Wilson has been making calls and searching for another option.
The couple is in Washington, D.C., making the last-minute planning a remote effort. Wilson said they have connected with the Eli Whitney Museum, one of several venues looking to help couples affected by the storm damage.
Ryan Paxton, director of the Eli Whitney Museum, said the situation is something no couple would expect.
“I can imagine where they are; this is tragic. Nobody would expect a wedding venue to be demolished overnight,” Paxton said.
Paxton said the museum wants to help couples salvage their celebrations.
Anthony’s Ocean View, just around the corner from Lighthouse Point Park, is also fielding calls from couples looking for alternate wedding venues.
Tara Amodio, with Anthony’s Ocean View, said the venue has been working with affected couples.
“We are devastated for them; we know what it takes to plan a wedding, all the dedication, time it takes to plan a wedding,” Amodio said.
It remains unclear how long Lighthouse Point Park will be out of commission, leaving couples with upcoming events searching for other options.
Wilson said the response from people willing to help has been a silver lining.
Despite losing the venue they had planned on, Wilson said the couple is keeping the situation in perspective.
“Whatever happens, we host them well and give them a good time while also having… if not our ideal wedding of our dreams, still a wedding that we are going to love and enjoy and look back on fondly, and be a good story,” Wilson said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal toured the damage Friday and said he will work to secure federal funding for repairs at the park.
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