Connecticut is a stunning place to get married, whether you are picking a local venue or looking for a destination escape to a new state. One of my favorite places for just this is the Lord Thompson Manor wedding venue.
Not only is the venue itself such a beautiful place to tie the knot, but their INCREDIBLE team works to make your wedding so much more than just a single day. Their full weekend experience makes this venue stand out and creates memories that you and your partner will cherish forever.
So, if you are looking for a venue that checks all of the boxes at once, let’s take a look at how you can make that happen with a Lord Thompson Manor wedding.
About Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor is a beautiful estate that spans about 40 acres, giving you total privacy while still being easy to access and centrally located. The Manor is within two and a half hours of New York City and within 90 minutes of Providence, Hartford, and Boston, making it the perfect place for a New England wedding.
Your wedding here encompasses the entire weekend, and the property and team at the manor make this an incredible experience. Between the manor itself and the Cottage House, there are 13 guest rooms, a renowned in-house chef catering for all of your events, stunning indoor and outdoor ceremony locations, and breathtaking spaces around every corner. This wedding venue layout encourages guests to explore the grounds and experience everything the Manor has to offer!
A Lord Thompson Manor Wedding Weekend
Sound good so far? Let’s take a look at what a Lord Thompson Manor wedding weekend looks like and all of the amazing things the team does to make your wedding weekend unforgettable.
Pre-Wedding Events
Your wedding experience at Lord Thompson Manor begins long before your wedding day. You get to start your wedding weekend by choosing the perfect accommodations for you and some of your guests.
The manor itself has 6 different rooms, and there’s also the dreamy Cottage House, which is less than a mile away from the manor. Here, you will not only find the KISS spa, where you can get ready on your wedding day but there are an additional 7 guest rooms.
While this is most likely not going to accommodate all of the guests attending your wedding, you and your wedding parties can stay at Lord Thompson Manor to make for a stress-free and enjoyable weekend together!
Your rehearsal dinner officially kicks off your wedding festivities. During the warmer months, you can head outside and host dinner on the stone patio, with its cozy fire pit. For colder days, the conservatory makes for the perfect spot to gather and celebrate the journey you are about to embark on together.
Not only is the food absolutely delicious here, but they also have themes for their rehearsal dinners to make them even more fun (like a Tuscan escape or a southern BBQ). While all of your guests likely won’t attend your rehearsal dinner, they don’t have to be left out of the fun. You could consider hosting a late-night event where more of your guests can join you and your partner for drinks or desserts before your big day!
Getting Ready
On the morning of your wedding, you and your partner can choose between the KISS Spa and the billiards room for your getting-ready space. The KISS Spa is such an amazing space and creates the perfect, calm environment for you and your wedding party to relax and experience the joy of pre-wedding pampering.
Located just down the road in the Cottage House, the spa gets SO much natural light and has plenty of space, so you and your wedding party can relax and get ready in style. If you’ve opted for complimentary outfits, consider taking photos on the front porch of The Cottage; not only is its wraparound white porch beautiful, but also offers flawless framing for pre-wedding photos.
The secondary getting-ready space, the billiard room, has a much more moody vibe to it while also giving everyone tons of room to get ready. This space offers a pool table, bar, and the most perfect dramatic lighting as you add the final touches to your wedding day outfit. After getting dressed, the billiard room is the perfect location for a toast before it’s time to walk down the aisle.
The Ceremony
Just like the rehearsal dinner, you can choose between an outdoor ceremony on the lawn, with the Manor’s exquisitely curated plantings surrounding you, or head inside to the Conservatory to say “I do.” The great thing about Lord Thompson Manor is that either option gives you a stunning backdrop for your ceremony.
Having amazing indoor and outdoor options also gives you and your partner some flexibility juuuust in case the weather throws you a curveball on your wedding day (I mean, it is New England, right?). If you do opt for an outdoor ceremony, though, you’ll walk out from the manor to a beautiful, intentionally designed garden that makes you feel like you are in a fairytale!
After you tie the knot, you and your guests can celebrate with a champagne toast together before your cocktail hour officially begins. In the winter, these are hosted in the Manor’s spectacular parlor, near its stunning fireplace, but in warmer months, your speech-giver will stand on a balcony just above your guests, which makes for beautiful photos of your speeches!
Speaking of which, one of my favorite photographic opportunities at this venue is for our team to get up on that same balcony in order to capture a picture of you with ALL of your guests once you’ve walked down the aisle! This is ordinarily a very challenging thing to accomplish at most wedding venues, but at Lord Thompson Manor, you’ll find that there’s thoughtful attention to every single aspect of your event – including your wedding photography.
Cocktail Hour
Instead of just filing into one small area for a cocktail hour, you and your guests are encouraged to explore the property, and food and drinks are served all across the property, which gives you and your guests an amazing opportunity to mingle all while experiencing a level of service and culinary excellence that is simply unparalleled.
This is an experience that your guests will remember forever, as the grounds here are absolutely stunning. Whether it is the gardens, the manor itself, or just enjoying the view from the patio, every single spot is a spectacular place to experience craft cocktails and delectable passed hors d’oeuvres.
Reception
The night is far from over after the cocktail hour; it’s actually just beginning! Receptions kick off with a sit-down dinner curated by the chefs at the manor. The incredible menus are just one of the many touches that make the Lord Thompson Manor experience feel so elevated. Your entire menu is customized by their chefs to create an experience that’s truly unforgettable (and I can personally attest to this, having experienced the most amazing filet at Sarah and Alex’s stunning winter wedding).
Once you and your guests have enjoyed dinner, you can continue with the rest of the festivities, like your first dances, cake cutting, and more. The Lord Thompson Manor wedding team really makes all of this seamless and perfect for you and your guests.
Since you are able to use so many different areas around the manor, they are able to guide you and your guests with natural flows for different times of the night and work to coordinate all of the events for the perfect timeline.
After all of the festivities, you and your guests get to dance the night away under the lights of the manor and celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime moment to officially begin your life together.
After Party
While most wedding nights end with the reception, Lord Thompson Manor encourages you to keep the party going with an on-site after-party. You can use the grounds or the stunning parlor with its beautiful roaring fireplace (in the cold months) to hang out with your guests and soak in every minute of the day.
The team doesn’t leave you hanging during this time, either. Along with a bar service, you can choose from snacks like 5-foot sub sandwiches, a hot dog stand, and more. Plus, what wedding night is complete without freshly roasted s’mores over the fire pit?
Post-Wedding
Not only does the Lord Thompson Manor wedding venue kick off your wedding weekend with a beautiful rehearsal dinner, give you a wedding that is unforgettable, and let you keep the party going after with even more snacks and drinks – they even help send you off in style the day after your wedding.
Their culinary team provides one last, perfectly prepared meal with a farewell breakfast. This is the perfect way to wrap up the weekend and start your honeymoon off on a high note. Plus, all of the food they create is so delicious that we promise you’ll love having one more taste before heading out!
Final Thoughts on a Wedding at Lord Thompson Manor
So, if a weekend escape is what you are looking for at your wedding, then a Lord Thompson Manor wedding may be just what you are looking for. Whether you live right around the corner, are coming in from a surrounding area, or are looking for a destination wedding, the manor gives you a full-scale experience.
Now that you have the perfect wedding venue for your special day, all you need is the perfect photographer to capture every moment of your celebration. I’m super local to this venue – less than ten minutes away! – and we offer weekend wedding coverage for Lord Thompson Manor weddings. If you are still looking for that person, I’d love to chat with you!
Being a part of such a special moment in your and your partner’s life is one of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer, and I love capturing this day for you to cherish forever. You can click here to learn all about my wedding photography services, or you can head over here to get in touch!
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