A former church may get a new lease on life as a place where happy couples can begin their new lives together.
Efforts are underway to save Cape Breton’s historic Stone Church and convert it into the island’s only wedding chapel.
“I would absolutely get married here,” says Victoria Mines, N.S. resident Lori Westbury. “In fact, if this was an option, we would have definitely been married here.”
The former church is already a popular place for wedding photos, thanks to its unique gothic design and idyllic harbour views.
Melanie Sampson of the Stone Church Restoration Society says converting the abandoned church into a non-denominational wedding chapel would fill a void.
“So many people are getting married by a justice of the peace outdoors, but let’s face it, in Cape Breton can you really trust the weather? So why not come to a beautiful gothic wedding chapel,” says Sampson.
The nearly century-old structure needs extensive repairs, but Sampson and Westbury say money can’t buy the qualities it already possesses.
“Even without renovations, I think it has a really nice rustic charm to it, and I think people my age like venues that are a little bit different,” says Westbury.
But the church is facing the wrecking ball and the Stone Church Restoration Society is still trying to hammer out the details on the potential purchase and takeover of the building.
“I feel confident, very confident, about how it’s going,” says Sampson. “It’s just going to take a little bit of time and a lot of effort on our side.”
She says the future of the church depends on purchase negotiations with the Diocese of Antigonish and also on fundraising efforts.
“It may take five years to convert it, but hopefully maybe sooner too,” she says. “It just all depends on what government grants we can get.”
“I think everyone in the community would love to have the option to be married in the church,” says Westbury.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
