City asked to ease process for couples who want to marry in Rotary Park

LACONIA — For nearly 150 years the Belknap Mill clattered and hummed with the sound of weaving and knitting machines, but now rings with wedding bells on spring and summer weekends.

Each year dozens of couples celebrate their union at the mill. The program director of the Belknap Mill Society, Beth San Soucie, said that she has already booked more than two dozen 2015 weddings on the some 30 weekends of the peak season between late April and early October. "There are still a few open dates," she noted.

"We get requests from everywhere," San Soucie continued, recalling that last year couples from California, Florida, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New York and the New England states, many with some ties to Laconia or New Hampshire, tied the knot at the mill. She said that the mill touts itself as a wedding venue on the Internet at websites like "The Wedding Wire" and "The Knot".

For weddings the third floor Rose Chertok Gallery is rented for the day — from 9 a.m. until midnight — for $850, which includes the room, tables, chairs and layout. San Soucie said that she hopes to work with local businesses to create what she called "wedding packages" that would expand what the society could offer.

Frequently, the wedding ceremony itself is held in the gazebo at the adjacent Rotary Park, then the couple, family and guests retire to the Rose Chertok Gallery for the reception.

This week the process for using city-owned Rotary Park brought San Soucie to the Parks and Recreation Commission, which approves requests to hold events in the city parks.

Those seeking to use the parks must make a formal request to the commission, accompanied by proof of liability coverage indemnifying the city in the amount of $1 million. The request is placed on the agenda of next meeting of the commission, which the applicant or a representative must attend to address any issues raised by the commissioners.

San Soucie told the commission that for some applicants, particularly those residing in other states, the requirement to attend the meeting poses a challenge. "I asked if there was some way for the applicant to be virtually present without being physically present," she said.

Kevin Dunleavy, director of Parks and Recreation, said yesterday that the commissioners were "a little uncomfortable" with the suggestion of a virtual presence, either by telephone or Skype, but were eager to cooperate with the Belknap Mill Society in promoting the venue. He said that the commission asked him to draft a policy authorizing the director to approve routine requests for weddings in Rotary Park, which would eliminate the need for applicants to appear before the commission. The commission, Dunleavy said, "is acting in the spirit of cooperation with the mill to make their operation successful. He noted that the policy would apply solely to weddings and other requests to use Rotary Park would still require the approval of the commission.