FI and I walked all around Wickham Park in Manchester today just to enjoy the weather. They have 2 outdoor ceremony spaces that are just amazing. I'm so mad I didn't know about this place when we were looking at venues!
One of the spaces is in the English Garden. It has a stone path through a rose garden and it leads up to this raised platform with a little gazebo area. The whole thing is surrounded by bushes. SO pretty.
The other one is right next to the Cabin, which is where you could have a reception. It also has a stone walkway leading from a flower garden to an arch overlooking a panoramic view of hartford in the background. This space also has benches already in place for ceremony seating. The Cabin looks pretty small, so probably couldn't take on a wedding more than 75-100 people.
The best part is that it's a privately operated park, so you can set up decorations and close off your area from the public. It's also just a great park to go visit for a day! It has picnic tables, grills, tons of trails, many different themed gardens, playgrounds, sports facilities, ice cream, nature center, and an aviary! They take in injured birds that cannot be rehabilitated for release back in the wild. We've lived in Manchester for over 2 years and just found this hidden gem today! There is a charge for parking ($5 on weekends).
Just thought I'd let everyone know that it's here, because I live here and didn't even know about it!