Wedding Blog
Moments after leaving the nonsucky bridal show held at the historic Towers in Narragansett, Mr. Potato Head and I held an in-depth summit in which we listed, mulled over, and debated the merits versus disadvantages of potentially holding our wedding at the aforementioned venue:
Me: Should we just like… have the wedding here?
Him: Um, yeah!
And so it was! Who said wedding planning was difficult (har har har)? The space had everything we could dream of: sweeping views of and easy access to the beach, a cozy interior, ample dance floor, a nearby bar for the after party… plus we fell in love with the history of the venue.
From the website:
The famous Towers remains Narragansett’s strong link to its past. The bold span, which crosses the town’s scenic Ocean Road, is a reminder of Narragansett’s Gilded Age—that opulent period around the turn of the century when “Narragansett Pier” rivaled a then even-more-prominent Newport in terms of sumptuousness and social prestige.
Fancy! Having done a bit of scholarly research on hobnobber novelist and scenester Henry James, I immediately tried to ascertain whether he’d ever visited the Towers (results are inconclusive, so I’m going to assume yes). Ditto Edith Wharton. Oh, be still be my nerdy heart!
Because it is a town-owned, historic building, there are ongoing renovations, including a brand new courtyard in which we may be able to hold our cocktail hour, town permits permitting.
My mom: Are they going to power-wash the outside??
Me: Mooo-oom! It’s a historic building! It’s supposed to be old and algae-y, it’s part of the charm!
Tables are set up over the bridge span and have great views of the ocean. The narrow-ish span opens up into a round dance floor (with access to a balcony). During events, fairy lights installed in the rafters are turned on. Instant ambiance, fo’ free!
This photo’s a bit more festive:
We quickly arranged an “official” tour of the place. Two weeks later we were back to get all the info and sign on the dotted line. Next up: finding a church!
What was your reception venue search like? Easy peasy, or grueling and fraught with difficult choices?
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Share this post: Our Reception Venue (Non)search
wow, what a great venue. i like that picture of it all dressed up. and you really lucked out of having an easy venue search!
ahh! My friend’s sister got married there this summer. I love that stretch of the road! Our venue search was pretty easy too- we looked at 2 place. One of them my family has had other functions at, and it is very affordable. The other was more of the ‘dream venue.’ that was it!
we had decided to get married in NH…he has a big family all in the area…after a few weeks of searching online for venues…we only went to see one (the only one that was interesting really) and that was it! easier than i thought!
such an amazing building! reminds me of Château de Chenonceau in France, which also has a hall like this that spans a river.
*btw why is your bag of chips sometimes blue and sometimes red??
That’s gorgeous. I wish venues like that existed in my location - oh wait they do, they just don’t book small weddings. grumble.
Great find though!
Awesome venue find! Will you be doing the long tables like in your sample pic, or smaller rounds?
what an amazing venue!! it was fairly easy for us…we looked at about 6 places..the place we are gonna get married in was the first..which we fell in love with…don’t know why we even looked at the others
Beautiful venue! That bridge span is just perfect for long, decorated tables like in your picture!
Oh, I love it!! You picked an amazing venue. I can’t wait to see it with all your decorations!
We only went to one place too. Our search was so easy! We went the day after my fi proposed we walked in and had a pretty similar conversation to you and your fi. It was the only place we looked at, but it worked.
I’ve heard so much about the Towers, but I’ve never seen it, it’s pretty awesome. The outdoor reception sounds fun, hopefulyl crazy ri permits won’t prevent it!
I loved how the placed looked with the table and all. A really beautiful venue!!
OMG! Those last two pictures look like totally different places! It’s gorgeous 
Our venue search was really easy - we picked the first one we visited! I think FI just wanted it to be over. 
I am in love with your venue!! It’s so difficult to find a space with all hardwood floors where I live - which was a #1 requirement. Also, the indoor/outdoor space is awesome. Our venue search was long, and I dragged FI to a bunch of places, but we finally have a deposit on the one we love
was your potato chip bag always blue? I thought it was red? Sorry - I really like your venue too!
I grew up just blocks away from your venue until 7th grade and then moved to the next town over. The building is a special place to me, something so magical about it. There are some great black and white images for sale around town. Some dating back quite far. Just in case you wanted a little memory of your special day. I have one of said photos hanging in my house and I sigh a happy sigh whenever I look at it.
That’s my venue as well. You are able to have your cocktail hour outside. The town passed it. It’s $225.00 extra.
How lucky that you got to go to a great bridal show and find vedors plus a venue in one shot! It’s fate I tell ya!
That is awesome! CONGRATS!! Finding the venue was our hardest part of the wedding planning (so far, hahaha, fingers crossed). Your mom is hilarious! My mom would totally say the same thing!!
Yay! 1 down, 1 to go!
We had an issue with our first venue, but since booking our new mountain top venue I haven’t looked back! The views of the ocean/mountains & city make up for the tears shed over my previous venue/caterer.
That place is gorgeous. And Edith Wharton possibly having been there adds one thousand times the charm it already has to me!Congrats on an easy venue search - hopefully mine will just come like that, too!
Ooooh, perdy! Finding our venue was pretty much that easy for us, too. When you know, you know. You know?
My wedding was there last fall! I wish you were blogging 2 years ago– I am so thrilled to see another RI wedding here. Great choice– you’ll love the Towers.
FUN! The FI and I are big fans of the exposed beam look. It’s warm and cozy and rusticky. Love!
We don’t actually any exposed beams at our party site, though. We do have an original town meeting house with a balcony, though, which is pretty cool.
And it was the first place we looked
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Ms. Potato Chips, Boston/Narragansett RI
Age and Occupation: 29, PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Personal Trainer/Business Owner/Physical Therapy Assistant
Engagement Date: January 1, 2009
Wedding Date: June 2010
Venue: The Narragansett Towers
About Me: A semi-professional bookworm, if I could be a literary character I’d be a cross between Jo March and Jane Eyre, only better accessorized and much lazier. My hobbies include sleeping in, seasonal brews, running, Trader Joe’s, and watching Unwrapped and Good Eats with Mr. Potato Chips. I harbor an irrational fear of tulle, crafts, things that are fussy, and overuse of the phrase "Your Special Day". After a year or seven together, down the aisle we go, slouching toward adulthood and planning a Rhodie party with equal parts whimsy, cheer, and pizza.
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