We’ve shared our favorite venues for Spring, Summer, and Fall weddings but now it’s time to celebrate those winter wedding venues! Winter in Connecticut is as cold as it is beautiful! A quintessential winter wedding is cozy, warm (on the inside), and hopefully embraced by an enjoyable amount of snow. While winter weddings may not be the most popular inspiration you’re used to, there is so much to love about this time of year. Plus, there are plenty of venues throughout Connecticut to host your day!
Winter Wedding Venue Must-Haves and Considerations
- Indoor Options for All Wedding Moments: With the warmer weather, there’s more flexibility to host your ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception entirely outdoors. Winter in Connecticut encourages those moments to happen exclusively inside, so make sure your venue has a layout to create a distinctive area for all you’ll be including onsite.
- Guest Capacity: With having your event indoors, be sure that you’re assembling your guest list accordingly. Even if your venue says it can easily accommodate 200 guests, you may want to consider less if you’re hosting your ceremony and reception onsite!
- Ease of Guest Travel: As much as we hope and wish for snowfall to create the perfect setting for your winter wedding, it can easily damper travel plans. Consider nearby hotel accommodations or rooms onsite to ensure everyone can safely celebrate your nuptials!
- Off-Season Dates: Though most winter wedding venues offer dates all year round, some offer off-season pricing during the winter months.
Get cozy and read on to some of Connecticut’s greatest Winter wedding venues!
Jubilee’s Top 10 Winter Wedding Venues in Connecticut!
Branford House
One of our favorite Connecticut wedding venues is the Branford House in Groton. Though easily associated with the perfect summer wedding location, the inside of this mansion with its warm wooden walls is the perfect location to host a more intimate number of guests. The inside boasts three separate yet all ornately elegant rooms, so it’s easy to host your ceremony and reception with a more intimate guest count. Should you opt to celebrate with a few more loved ones (around 100), then one room is perfect for cocktail hour and dancing while the other two comfortably seat your guest tables!
If your budget allows, looking into a custom frame tent that will warm guests for dancing and cocktail hour. Imagine the sprawling lawn settled with snow around you!
photo: Alicia Ann Photographers // beauty: Larissa Lake and Co. // floral: Flowers by Justine // bride + confections: Sugar Therapy
The Goodwin Hotel
My favorite modern wedding venue, located right in the heart of downtown Hartford! This boutique hotel is equipped with a healthy list of hotel rooms ranging in all sizes and styles. It’s easy to want to stay cozy in any of these rooms, especially once you see the bathtubs some of them boast.
With its notable onsite restaurant and café, the hotel is known for its culinary team and head chef, so the food and beverage portion of your evening will be something everyone will rave about! Equipped to host up to 200 guests, there are separate spaces for your cocktail hour and reception with plenty of churches or unique venues (check out the Old State House here) to host your ceremony!
photo: Carla Ten Eyck Photography // Fashion: The White Dress by the Shore + Valentino Tailors // Beauty: Catie Bane
Eolia Mansion
This Waterford shoreline mansion embodies an old-world charm with multiple rooms to host your guests. This venue has four rooms within the mansion, suitable for hosting 85- 100 guests if you were to have your cocktail hour in the grand foyer. Though there are ceremony options outdoors, in the event of a normally brisk day, you’ll want something to warm your bones.
The inside walls are adorned in white with touches of gold for added elegance. These are two shades I find best to inspire a winter wedding design, but I say do what you love!
Gray Barns
The Gray Barns on the Silvermine River is a haven set in Fairfield County. Tucked back in the woods a bit, this venue sits beside – you guessed it – the Silvermine River, offering a tranquil escape from your day-to-day. There are multiple locations on the property to host your event, including the Inn, Tavern, and Barn, allowing your guests to immerse themselves in the experience you’ve created! This venue is especially perfect for the more intimate guest counts, ranging from 25 – 75, which we’ve all come to love this past year!
The Gray Barns is just as much known for their culinary components as they are for the thoughtfully curated accommodations they offer. Imagine getting ready for your wedding beside the fireplace while the snow falls down around you outside. *Chef’s kiss*
Lord Thompson Manor
If you haven’t gauged through this list by now, Connecticut offers some of the best estates and manors for your winter wedding venues! Lord Thompson Manor is no exception as it provides its couples with multiple locations for your ceremony, cocktail hour, and dancing as the evening wears on. It’s set in the northwest corner of the state, quiet and serene and so well manicured you will wish you actually lived here. Enjoy an intimate number of guests or up to 150+ for your celebration.
The elegant manor offers plenty of room for you and some of your loved ones to stay, directly at the manor and in their Cottage House, set back in its own world so this becomes your home away from home for your full wedding weekend!
The Loading Dock
One of the best industrial venues I’ve come across and it’s right here in our own state! The Loading Dock, with catering by the esteemed Abigail Kirsch, is the perfect setup for your modern winter wedding! There are several rooms including the Gallery, Ballroom, Sanctuary, and arcade, all with their own aesthetic to offer guests a distinctive, yet cohesive experience throughout your event.
This venue is located right downtown in Stamford, exceptionally close to hotels and other festivities to enjoy!
Jonathan Edwards Winery
Jonathan Edwards is best known for its lush vineyard overlooking the idyllic Sperry Tent. Did you know they also have a Barrel Room set in the lower level of the tasting room?
It’s the perfect location to carry your rustic, organic aesthetic design throughout. As normal you will enjoy cocktail hour in the tasting room, overlooking the dinner scene hugged by actual walls of real wine barrels. There’s nothing better on a cold day than that perfect glass of red wine, and Jonathan Edwards has plenty to boot! Set in North Stonington, it’s a short drive away to all of Mystic’s boutique hotels and Bed and Breakfasts, allowing you to make it a full weekend getaway!
Chamard Vineyard
Connecticut is home to a list of notable vineyards, and Chamard in Clinton is one of the best. This space is perfect for an intimate winter wedding celebration, offering space for 30 – 50 guests! Their barn, bistro, wine cellar, Red Barrel Room, Tank Room, and Crush Pad are all cozy locations for your gathering! So, you know the wine will never run out!
photo: Robert Norman Photography // lighting + draping: Ryan Designs
The Warehouse at FTC
Another industrial wedding venue favorite! The Warehouse at FTC is particularly hearty in size, granting the opportunity for gatherings large and small. This beauty is located in the heart of downtown Fairfield right across from the train station. We love a venue that’s easy to get to, and travel to and from this one is a cinch!
The Hangar at Danbury Airport
One of the coolest venues with the most unique personality by far is this one! On the Marc curates the incredible menu for your guests, whether it be 250 for a sit-down or up to 650 for a casual celebration. The beauty of such a large space, and one so unique, is that you can tailor it to your needs. Get creative with draping and decor to create distinctive spaces for your ceremony, cocktail hour, and the dance floor!
Winter may secretly be our favorite season for the perfect venue setting! Truth is, Connecticut has so much to offer in this department, that you can’t go wrong when finding a venue that fits your style and story best!
