Lighthouse Point Park/Carousel Pavillion in New Haven

Llikotdesserd · September 2013

My Fiance and I are strongly considering LPP for our venue, his concern is the Bathroom situation - with it being located in another building. Has anyone been to a function there, or had their Reception there have any reviews for me?

Thanks!

mmberry24 · February 2014

My fiance and I just booked our reception at LPP for May 2015. We are both very excited about the venue. Can anyone tell me if they blocked out rooms at a hotel by LPP?

Thanks!

sheslikeasunburn · February 2014

we blocked at the study at yale & the new haven hotel

sjazz · March 2014

hey there!! looking for any updates on this venue...looking to maybe get marrie there next year?

Concerns:

All the planning! Ahhhh!! How does it work getting music on the beach for a ceremony? Can a band set up there? I pictured myself doing a one-stop shop place but LPP seems too unique and dreamy to pass up!!!

Also concerned about pricing when all is said and done. Ok with having laid0back food ( for about 100 people) definitely want some alcohol options.

Also the heat! We potentially have August 29th saved. Also scary is that's labor day weekend should we expect a lot of traffic? Has anyone heard of a caterer doing a sundae bar?

Thank you!!!

Laur1031 · July 2014

Hi, I'm very excited about having our wedding at LPP next July! I'm looking into caterers right now and trying to find the best deal! I have contacted grant, fritz and Christine but haven't met with any of them yet! I've heard great things about all of them but I just want the best deal now. I'm on a very tight budget since we're paying for it ourselves too...

Llikotdesserd · July 2014

@sjazz - we're having a band there! Sabrina said it has actually been done several times!

@Laur1031 - We met with Fitzgeralds and Christine's - Christine's food was delicious (I'd give it a 10), very high quality - however it was far too expensive for our budget, and I had TERRIBLE communication with them. It took us 3 weeks to get our quote when it was promised in 24 hours. Also tried contacting them twice last year (once in August, once in Oct) just to get info and never heard back from them

Fitzgeralds on the other hand - STUPENDOUS communication, the food was pretty good (8.5/9), and the price was perfect. We ended up putting a deposit down with them.I feel completely comfortable with Nick at the reins. Everything is included in the price(linens - including colored linens!- dishes, serveware, they are servingthe alcohol that we are providing at no extra cost, they decorate their platters etc with fresh flowers - the perks go on and on, with no extra fees) and Nick is willing to make anything you want happen

Good Luck!

steelers203 · July 2014

cmacch · July 2014

I got married at LPP in June. We used Fitzgerald's and we were so so happy with everything Nick did, I would recommend him 100 times over and I'm already planning on having him cater my husband's surprise 30th birthday party next year

He's very experienced with the venue, pricing was reasonable, food was delicious, and as Llikotdesserd said, his communication is great, a super important trait in a wedding vendor.

sjazz · July 2014

Hi friends!!!

Only child with no experience with such large scale events lol. Any and all suggestions/feedback would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Strongly considering this venue. We envision our special day on water, laid back with a twist of fun while still being classy. Hoping to get out there Sunday to see it. My concerns are:

No A/c

The bathroom situation

and if we should have a coordinator?

It's also scary not really knowing up front what this might cost when all is said and done.

We live an hr and a half out and would probably have to book a Friday at this point so I feel TERRIBLE at the thought of making fam and friends travel and take off work. Any feedback on that?

Thank you!!!

cmacch · August 2014

sjazz - Our vision was pretty much the same as yours, and for us LPP was perfect. Sorry my response is so late but I figured I'd answer your questions anyway for anyone who looks at this thread in the future.

The weather that day was so awesome that the lack of A/C wasn't an issue, but they do have large windows that open and let in the breeze coming off the water. You could also rent fans if you were really concerned about it.

No one complained about the bathroom situation. I asked my mom her opinion and she said it was fine. They're absolutely not fancy but they're not horrible either, and they now have a ladies room that is for events only so you don't have to worry about the public.

If you have room in your budget for a coordinator, DEFINITELY get one. For some reason the park was closed on the day of our wedding (Sabrina never told me that was going to be the case) and there was no one at the gate to tell our guests where to go. It didn't end up being a major issue but it was pretty annoying. Sabrina was also nowhere to be found that day, maybe because it was a Friday, so she was not available to answer any questions. We were on our own for the most part and made it work, but a coordinator would have been super helpful. I have to give a huge shout out to Mary Pugh here, the justice of the peace, because she's done so many weddings there that she had a lot of answers for me.

One couple missed the wedding because of the Friday traffic, everyone else managed to make it there. There was an accident on I-95 and it took some people 3 hours to get to us and I definitely felt bad about it, but it is what it is. The people who really want to be there will not mind traveling or taking a day/half day off of work. The biggest plus for a Friday - it kept my guest list to a manageable number. A couple of vendors gave us a bit of a discount too.

Jessie42613 · August 2014

@sjazz,

I'm just a *little* biased but if you are thinking about getting a coordinator, DEFINITELY look into Jen Strunk. I used her for my wedding at the Branford House, and then my friend used her for her wedding at LPP (which is such a cool venue!), and she was seriously awesome. She took care of everything for me and my husband, my ceremony and reception were perfect, and I just felt so much better and more relaxed having her. My friend said the same thing. And her price is extremely reasonable. Good luck!

gingerbride26 · August 2014

Hi Ladies!

We're 61 days away from our LPP wedding. We decided to go with Catering by Christine - I do see what other brides have said about the communication being a little slow (just about had a heart attack when I called and the voicemail box was full) - BUT when we have worked with Paul he's been amazing, the food is absolutely FANTASTIC (and he understood my gluten issues), and although we re-did the budget to accommodate the cost - I think with the additional coordination/attention to detail they've said is included it will be worth it. He's also been completely understanding and flexible about payment schedules and really working with us to make this all work and is open to finding ways to making it work for our budget. We're meeting with him tomorrow night to finalize everything.

We just visited LPP again last weekend to refresh our memories and do some more planning. Someone even let me into the ranger station and private carousel bathroom to check them out. The new ladies room is fine - in a lot of ways no worse/better than some hotel bathrooms I've seen at weddings - it has a couple stalls and some sinks, looked clean, and had a table by the door perfect for one of those "emergency kits". There's also a few command hooks on the wall that you could hang bows or kissing balls on to pretty it up a little bit. My only concern is if it rains the day of since you have to walk outside to get to it - but we'll just bring some umbrellas just in case.

As for the coordinator - we are not going with a coordinator. I'm a program manager and juggle million dollar corporate projects every day - so I couldn't justify the cost of a coordinator for myself. Plus I think it was a matter of stubborn pride. I was interested in getting a day-of coordinator - because I want to actually enjoy my wedding day. Catering by Christine does the day-of coordination though - they include setting up and coordinating with the other vendors. The bride and groom also get a personal butler to fetch drinks and make sure they get a plate of hot apps - which we really loved the idea of.

And just a note on the Friday thing - we are doing a Sunday wedding - we had a lot of discussion on what day of the week and honestly if anyone has to come in from out of town or out of state there is no good day so don't sweat it. If it's Saturday people need to take off Friday to fly in (especially bridal party). If it's a Sunday, they have to take off Monday to fly out. Yea - we've gotten a couple snarky comments about it being a Sunday - but my feeling is in line with @cmacch - if it's that much of a problem, then I guess we will have to do without their company and it cuts down on our costs. You just can't make everyone happy.

katebradley13 · September 2014

Has anyone had a reception here towards the end of October? I have tentatively booked 10/23/15, but am concerned about the lack of heat in the building. Do people rent large space heaters? Any recommendations on where to get something like this, or an estimate on the cost?

Llikotdesserd · September 2014

Hi Kate,
If nobody responds in the next couple days, I suggest (what I like to call) friendly-stalking the carousel this October. My fiance and I are getting married there next June, and since it's a public park, it's easy to walk around outside the building (at a gentle distance) while an event is going on. I've stopped by countless times on Friday's or Saturday's this summer to get a feel for the venue, see how other people set it up, the weather etc later at night. It's proven to be very helpful, and it's always a thrill seeing it all lit up at night while the carousel is running.

gingerbride26 · October 2014

We're getting married there in 11 days - late October - so I'll let you know in 13 days or so :-P . Sabrina said it's usually high 60's. I opted not to get the heaters - figure 130 ppl in the room should heat it up well enough.

gingerbride26 · October 2014

Ok...so INSIDE the carrousel was absolutely the perfect temperature on 10/26.

Outside for the 3:30 ceremony it was in the low 60s - so not bad - until this horrible gusty wind came out of nowhere. We froze a little during pictures - and the guests were a little moody about outdoors in the cold - but INSIDE was beautiful.

Lighthouse Point Park/Carousel Pavillion in New Haven

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