Jennifer Lawrence, 29, will reportedlybe tying the knotwith art gallery director Cooke Maroney, 34, in Newport, Rhode Island, this weekend. Her rumored wedding venue,Belcourt of Newport, is a historic mansion with a shocking history.
The most famous of these Gilded Age mansions include The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms and Rosecliff — but Lawrence’s potential venue is a newcomer to the tourist circuit, with some far less savory periods in its history.
Elder Ordonez/SplashNews.com
The family owned it for decades according to a local source. Other residents weren’t thrilled with the Tinney’s unsophisticated, anachronistic decorating choices, the addition of an elaborate gate on the town’s showplace street, Bellevue Avenue, and the addition of “Castle” to Belcourt’s name.
Belcourt of Newport/Instagram. Inset: JD Images/Shutterstock
After the death of her husband, Ruth Tinney, then in her 80s, entered into an unusual relationship with the property’s plumber, Kevin Koellisch, fueling less-than-flattering public opinion. The plumber moved in and escorted Mrs. Tinney around town, to her son’s dismay, the local source says. She later legally adopted Koellisch, then in his 30s, according to theLos Angeles Times.
After receiving little care for decades, the derelict mansion leaned into its spooky state, offering ghost and murder mystery tours.
According to Rafaelian, those ghost tours may not have been entirely unfounded. In 2013, she told theTimes, “There were energies and entities, some not pleasant. I had a shaman perform ceremonies. We did a major cleansing, energy-wise. There was a lot of heaviness, but we took care of that. Now the house has a different vibration.”
In a 2017Forbesfeature she recalls the “before” state of the home: “It was, like, red velvet coverings and hoarder rooms,” she said. “It even smelled weird. But the house spoke to me. It was beautiful. It was historic. It had so much meaning. And there was a story to tell.”
It reopened for tours in 2018 and now also hosts special events.
If Lawrence and Mulroney do tie the knot at the storied property, it won’t offer much privacy. There are public streets on three sides of the suburban lot, including a stretch of Bellevue popular with tourists. The house does have a central courtyard and, inside, a horse stable turned ballroom, courtesy of Alva Vanderbilt. However, unlike other Newport mansions, the landlocked parcel doesn’t offer water views.
The chateau will host 150 guests over this upcoming weekend. Guests are expected to enjoy an extravagant menu complete with an array of hors d’oeuvres and plenty of dessert options, including s’mores,TMZreports.
The couple may already have tied the knot officially in New York City on September 17. They were photographed outside of the Manhattan marriage bureau, where Lawrence smiled as she stepped outside with Maroney holding what appeared to be a document.
Lawrence and Maroney’s union comes eight months after a rep for the actress confirmed with PEOPLE that the pairgot engagedin February, after less than a year of dating.
source: people.com
