Seeing white? There's a good reason for that—Bristol has become a magnet for brides. Every weekend from April through October, joyful celebrations, photography sessions, and catering trucks descend on venues across town from the grandest celebration under the tent on Blithewold's great lawn to a modest gathering in Colt Park.

Blithewold and Linden Place have been hosting weddings for many years, and Mount Hope Farm has experienced a resurgence of its wedding business since the Farm's reorganization several years ago.

Other popular venues include The Herreshoff Marine Museum, and The Bristol Yacht Club.

Mount Hope Farm enjoyed its busiest season ever in 2015, with about three weddings per weekend all season long. The farm has the ability to host two events simultaneously, one at the Barn, the other at Cove Cabin and the adjacent tent. In addition, the Farm can host weddings and other events through the winter season in the Barn (although the Cove Cabin site closes down seasonally.)

Blithewold also wraps up its wedding season in the fall, tucks the tent away, and closes the property while preparations are ongoing for Christmas at Blithewold. Linden Place, with an indoor venue available in their Ballroom, can host events year-round, although the winter tends to be quiet industry-wide.

Like Mount Hope Farm, Linden Place and Blithewold both had busy seasons, though both have found that a threshold of roughly 50 weddings a season strikes a good balance between turning a tidy profit and opening the properties to excessive wear and tear.

All three historic properties depend heavily on wedding revenue to balance their budget sheets, but all are clear that the historical integrity of the properties is of paramount importance.

"Weddings are just one thing we do to support the mission of the farm," says Jennifer Bristol, Executive Director of Mount Hope Farm. Susan Battle, Special Events Services Coordinator for Linden Place, agrees. "It's important to balance preservation and accessibility. Having 200-600 people on the property every weekend can be a concern. It's a balancing act, between events and our own programming. We want people to support our mission."

Blithewold recently made a major capital improvement to help enable that  balance. According to Executive Director Karen Binder, the new building, the Van Wickle Pavilion, was the result of a lengthy master plan process the board and staff undertook with the help of consultants. "We looked at the entire property and what things we could add to the site that would enhance the visitor and guest experience," said Binder.

"We named the new building the Van Wickle Pavilion in honor of the family that created Blithewold, Bessie and Augustus Van Wickle. It features a private bridal dressing room for the bride and her bridal party with a private bathroom, a storage area for us to store our tables and chairs, and handicapped accessible bathrooms for our wedding guests."

"Building on a historic site is tricky because you need function, form and design to all come together. We feel this was accomplished fully as the pavilion, especially the octagonal bridal suite, reflects many of the historic elements found on the property. We are confident it was built to the standards the family would have wanted and that its design will stand the test of time." While a significant investment, the structure has already paid dividends. Binder estimates the pavilion has been instrumental in securing several events that would have been lost to Newport venues.

Wedding revenues impact entire community

It's not just the venues that benefit from Bristol's attractiveness as a wedding destination. Restaurants, caterers, hotels and inns, and salons all feel the impact of the millions of dollars spent in the area each season. Unique among the venues, Mount Hope Farm has an exclusive arrangement with a caterer, Russell Morin. The benefit to the venue is an established relationship of trust with a highly-regarded vendor, but most of the other venues have resisted going that route because many brides are looking for freedom to choose their own service providers.

"The range of services the Bristol business community can and does provide is exceptional," says Binder.

One area where Bristol falls short is the fact that the town suffers from a real lack of beds for wedding guests—there are only roughly 60 available  on any given evening. There is really only one mid-sized inn, the Bristol Harbor Inn, and one wedding will book the entire property for a weekend. Both Binder and Battle agree they lose clients because there aren't enough rooms. Small bed & breakfast establishments and vacation rentals fill some of the void, but still fall short.

"It's a constant thorn in our side," says Battle. Our brides envision a seaside getaway, and you tell them they can have that, but they have to take a bus to Seekonk? It deflates them."

Plans have been in the works for a larger hotel on a Gooding Avenue site for some time. According to Diane Williamson, Bristol's Director of Community Development, the plans have been with the Department of Environmental Management as the developers seek a permit to alter the wetlands. The proposed building site sits on top of the Silver Creek watershed, which stretches from Tupelo Street to the Guiteras school. The plan should be going out for public comment in the very near future.

Still, successful or not, a chain hotel on Gooding Avenue is not likely to satisfy the "seaside getaway" demographic—but it will relieve much of the pressure and serve as an important cornerstone for both the wedding business and local tourism in general.

In the meantime, with a short season and only a handful of beds, brides who have their hearts set on a Bristol wedding would be wise to shore up their plans early. It's not unusual for venues and vendors to be fielding queries for dates as far out as summer 2017. Book your venue and rooms now, girls—the groom will follow.