A Princess Has Her Wish at Rhode Island's Point Pleasant Inn
A few years ago, a man knocked at the back service door at Point Pleasant Inn, Bristol, Rhode Island. He was dressed as a worker and Innkeepers Trish and Gunter Hafer expected him to offer his services. But, instead he asked if he could speak with the innkeepers.
They invited him in and he asked if he could just sit in the kitchen and tell them a story? They said yes, but thought it was odd he wouldn't accept their invitation to a more comfortable room.
This is his story:
"For 20 years I came to this house in the winter on my snowmobile and brought Mrs. McDonald heating oil, when the snow was so deep the truck couldn't get here. Many times, I brought my little daughter, Louisa. She always said she felt like a princess in this house and she always asked me, "can I get married here someday?" I would sigh and promise that I would do my best, knowing that I could never afford to give my little princess that kind of wedding.
But, my life changed and I started buying a franchise of doughnut shops. As I could, I bought additional ones and then I bought one for my daughter, Louisa and my son too.
Well, I can now give my daughter the wedding she has dreamed of and I came to ask if she can have it here at Point Pleasant Inn?"
Innkeepers Trish and Gunter thought it would be simple and small, not really believing he could not put on an extravagant affair.
They were wrong. Louisa and Michael had over 500 guests in a silk lined tent with crystal chandeliers and flowers everywhere. They had two cigar rollers in a private tent with fine Persian rugs, the finest cognac and museum quality furnishings.
Innkeepers Trish and Gunter Hafer. They are Winners of RI Tourism Award for Employees and Inn Keepers for three consecutive years.
After the event, way past midnight, the father came to the innkeepers with a case of the wine he had chosen for one of the food courses and a box of cigars.
He said, "I would like to put these in your wine cellar so every year on the anniversary of my daughter's wedding, I can come over have a glass of my wine, smoke my cigar, and remember every detail. And most importantly what a miracle it was for me to be able to give my princess the wedding she always dreamt of, in the exact place she always wanted it!"
Every year he returns, lets himself in the employee entrance, goes to the cellar and gets a bottle of wine and a cigar, sits out on the lawn, never really speaking to anyone and drinks his wine, cries a little and just says thank you as he leaves.
And, the couple return every year for two nights at the Inn for their anniversary.
Rhode Island, East Bay, Bristol
Point Pleasant Inn & Resort
We found Point Pleasant Farm in 2000 and opened it in 2001 as Point Pleasant Inn & Resort. We fell in love with Bristol and then when we looked at the house fell in love with it. We have 7 guest rooms and many venues for weddings, parties, and conference events. The history of the house was all saved in a secret drawer and much of the furnishings have been refabricated from the blueprints and swatches. It is rich in history and engrained with the love of three previous families. Point Pleasant Inn & Resort is open year around by appointment and operates May to November 24/7.
