Weddings take time.
So it is that one year before opening the doors, bookings have started for weddings at the Encore Boston Harbor resort casino, and the first person to book a wedding celebration at the luxury resort has deep roots in Charlestown.
Caitlin Ellis – who is originally from Everett but has Townie roots with her grandmother Irene Keane and late grandfather Neil Keene – and her fiancee Brendan Costin plan to have a traditional church wedding at St. Francis de Sales Church on Oct. 26, 2019. Then, after the wedding, they will hold their cocktail hour and wedding reception at the Encore. The booking makes them the first couple to book a wedding at the resort’s function space – which opens in June 2019.
“Living in Everett, I’ve been following the casino for a long time and keeping my fingers crossed because we knew it would be the perfect place for our wedding,” said Ellis, who attended St. Francis Catholic School as a girl. “I had been to Wynn Encore in Las Vegas and knew what it would be like. I’ve been following the casino for years now and when we got engaged in December, we agreed to try to see if we could get it. I reached out to John Tocco and he got me in touch with the right department. I explained to them I grew up in Everett and then moved back after college and that having our wedding there would be perfect. Kassi Weist in the booking department made it happen. I thought it was a long shot.”
Ellis grew up in Everett, but attended St. Francis Catholic School in Charlestown – where her family has deep roots – until it closed down. She went on to attend Everett middle schools and was very active in hockey. She played with the boys all the time as a girl and was the official Water Girl for the storied girls’ varsity hockey teams Everett High fielded some years ago.
After moving to Billerica for high school, and attending UMass-Amherst – where she met Costin (also a hockey player) while playing hockey – Ellis returned to the family home in Everett where she has lived since.
Costin works for a software company in Assembly Row Somerville, and Ellis is an attorney for Athena Health.
She said, growing up around Everett and Charlestown, she could never have imagined having a luxury wedding without having to leave the area.
“I told Kassi that, growing up, I could have never imagined getting married in Everett,” she said. “The only place to have a gathering back then was at the Rec Center where we had our middle school dances. The location is perfect. Downtown is just too tough. We have our grandparents coming, including my grandmother Irene from Charlestown, and it will be much easier for them to go from the church to Encore rather than go downtown. We are still shocked that this happened. This area was a great place to grow up, and now it will be a great place to get married too. We’re very excited.”
Ellis is the daughter of John and Theresa Ellis. Her grandmother Irene Keane, and late grandfather Neil Keane (former Boston Firefighter), are lifelong Charlestown residents. Costin was raised by his grandmother, Joan Costin, and is the son of the late Michael Costin. The couple has a lovely Labrador retriever named Oshie.