timeforvacation

We will be getting married in Mystic in July and we are trying to find a location for our rehearsal dinner. A small beach party has been suggested. Does anyone know of any beaches in the Stonington/Mystic area with a grill set up and preferrably something with a pavilion in order to set up food? Thanks!

Sweens

The only beach I know of is Stonington Town Beach. It is quite small, though, and I don't recall whether there are any grills. You could perhaps try the following nearby places, though: Eastern Point Beach in Groton; Ocean Beach in New London; Harkness State Park (beautiful!, though remote) in Waterford; or the very nice Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, which I know has grills on a nice lawn area at the beach. I live walking distance to it, and we had a birthday party there for our kids. First come first served, so someone would have to sit on a spot during the rehearsal. Where do you live? - I take it somewhere nearby.

The only other thought I had regarding Mystic is that the Seamen's Inne has a very nice outdoor lawn area where they cater parties, but it could be a budget buster. I attended one years ago and it was very nice. (Personally, I'm more to your grill-on-the-beach liking.)

timeforvacation

thank you for your reply...we are actually from the hartford area...I would think that Seamen's Inne would be a great location for a rehearsal dinner too if it wasn't for the fact that the wedding reception is there the next day! do you happen to know if any of the beaches are not the type to close at dusk? we will probably be fairly late into the evening so I need to take that into consideration.

AHaugeto

Hola Time...Sweens has listed all the ones I could think of, and as for times I suspect they all close at dusk, which in July will be fairly late. At Eastern Point Beach there are two waterfront houses owned by the City of Groton which you can rent out (useful for kitchens and a place to hide in case of questionable weather). The Rocky NEck PArk has a nice, rustic stone fort-like house that can also be rented which overlooks the water as well, but perhaps your best, but prob. most expensive(?), bet would be to look into the Branford House at UConn Avery Point, which has a gorgeous lawn right down to the water (right next to Eastern Point Beach in Groton). Try www.branford.uconn.edu.
Failing those ideas, try contacting the Mystic Coast and Country people online or 1-800-MyCoast. Alternatives to beachside could be two local wineries - Stonington Vineyards and Jonathan Edwards winery...
Good Luck! I had my rehearsal dinner at the Seamans' Inne (upstairs room) a few years ago and they did a great job.

timeforvacation

thank you for the suggestions...the wineries may actually be a great solution as we love to go and it is close! I am also going to check with Branford House and City of Groton. I am nervous to go too far from Mystic as we will need to ensure that we have designated drivers for everyone. Too far of a distance makes it more difficult to collect everyone!