Weddings at Devil's Hopyard in East Haddam, Connecticut
Connecticut Justice of the Peace
Ernest Adams — (860) 543-2334
Celebrating Your Day Your Way!
Connecticut Justice of the Peace
Ernest Adams — (860) 543-2334
Celebrating Your Day Your Way!
There are no admission fees or charges for parking. There are several parking lots with picnic tables by the water's edge, miles of trails, and reserved camping spots. Parking at Devil's Hopyard is easy, and there is seldom a crowd.
Chapman Falls and a spacious parking lot are very near the junction of Hopyard Road and Foxtown Road. The trail runs from the road above the waterfall beside the flowing water to the rocks down to the pool and river. It is an easy walk from the parking lot to the rocks, where Chapman Falls makes the perfect backdrop.
Katie and Brandon's waterfall wedding took place on a overcast day, but the rain held off for them. An overcast day often makes for better wedding pictures because the light is diffused. (And it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day!)
Katie and Brandon know what they want in life, have planned well, and are full of love. It was an honor and a pleasure to help them take one more step on their chosen path.
In the photo, the gentleman who took the picture caught me asking "Do you who witness these vows, ...?" Some people have said that it looks as if I'm blowing a kiss to everyone.
Katie and Brandon plus the rest of us (including the two canine witnesses) could all fit comfortably on the rocky path. The gentleman in the orange shirt took pictures for me during the wedding (thank you!), and after the ceremony we found out that the lady in the white sweater and he had just became engaged. Congratulations and best wishes!
A covered bridge wedding in the Devil's Hopyard State Park would be a great symbolic way to begin your journey of marriage together. It is also a wonderful place for photographs of you as a happy newly-married couple. If you'd like to get married under a covered bridge in Connecticut, Devil's Hopyard may be the perfect place.
Each season brings different colors to Devil's Hopyard: Crocus and other colorful flowers for your spring wedding, bright greens for your summer wedding, brilliant foliage for your autumn wedding, and earth tones for your winter wedding.
There's a shelter nearby in case of rain or for an al fresco reception after your marriage on the covered bridge. The shelter, sometimes called a pavilion, is available for rent so that you would have exclusive use of it.
Don't want to get married on the covered bridge? Get married by the river that flows under the covered bridge instead. Your ceremony at Devil's Hopyard will be memorable no matter where you decide to have it.
Devil's Hopyard State Park is divided by the Eight Mile River as it flows into the pond, cascades from the top of the falls into pools, passes under the covered bridge, and burbles through rapids. You may even see trout! There are several picnic spots and grassy clearings along the river, all suitable for an outdoor wedding.
Whether you have your wedding by the falls, on the covered bridge, or beside the gently-flowing river, Devil's Hopyard State Park offers several scenic backdrops for your outdoor wedding. These few pictures don't begin to show the natural beauty of Devil's Hopyard! You can find a DEP photo of the Park, but a Google search will find far better ones!
You can use your GPS to find Chapman Falls near 358 Hopyard Road and 195 Foxtown Road, East Haddam, CT 06423.
You can find a map in PDF format at www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/devilshopyard.pdf. The map is very well marked! It shows trails, roads, Chapman Falls, and the covered bridge, as well as other points of interest.
The Park is open Monday through Sunday, from 8 AM through sunset. You can visit the Connecticut DEP's Devil's Hopyard Web Site for more information, or call Devil's Hopyard staff at (860) 526-2336.
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Near Devil's Hopyard State Park is the Fox Hopyard Golf Club, a beautiful, well-maintained golf course. "On The Rocks" is the restaurant and lounge attached to the Fox Hopyard Golf Club.
There is a covered walkway between "On The Rocks" restaurant itself and the outside patio. You could plan your outdoor wedding on the patio, get dressed inside, and Connecticut's changeable weather would not dampen your plans.
As a fallback plan for an indoor wedding in case of bad weather, a possible restaurant for your rehearsal dinner, and a nice place to hold your reception, "On The Rocks" is well worth considering. Having had lunch there, I can recommend it for a leisurely lunch before or after you visit Devil's Hopyard, or to see whether you would like your wedding and reception there.
The Fox Hopyard street address is 1 Hopyard Road, East Haddam, CT 06423. Hopyard Road is off of CT Route 82, a little way west of the end of CT Route 11, near Salem, CT. Please call (800) 943-1903 or (860) 434-6644 before you go; "On The Rocks" is sometimes hosting a New England wedding. You can visit the Fox Hopyard Web Site at WWW.GolfTheFox.Com/hopyard.
While you are in East Haddam, you and your guests might like to visit Gillette Castle State Park. Please see my Gillette Castle Weddings Page for pictures.
