So…you and your SO (“significant other”) have decided to tie the knot? Congrats! Now you’re juggling new wedding trends, expert tips and (let’s not forget) lots of unsolicited advice. Enter our wedding pros to save your sanity with these tried-and-true tips.
1. Ditch Long-Term Planning: Remember that there is such a thing as over-planning. At Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, Director of Catering Amanda Grover finds couples are shortening their engagements, moving from the traditional 18-24 months to 4-11. To help speed things up, Amanda created a menu of four wedding packages that bundle everything you need for a fully planned ceremony, even including your officiant and wedding playlists. Confidently hand over the reins to the hotel so you can focus on the fun stuff, like honeymoon planning.
Hotels with unique indoor-outdoor spaces, like the Hotel Marlowe, allow for flexibility, creativity and killer photo ops.
2. Have the Best of Both Worlds: Don’t be at the mercy of Mother Nature. Try weaving in outdoor elements to enhance a classic ballroom-only setting by choosing a venue that allows you to have the best of both worlds. At the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, MA, Director of Catering Nicola Dresser recommends hosting your cocktail reception outdoors, changing up the scenery for your guests and showing off a unique city location before taking things back inside for the reception. If you’re outside the city, take advantage of the jaw-dropping scenery at a location like the Trillium Ballroom and adjacent outdoor patio and lawn at Taconic, which offer panoramic views of the Taconic Range and Green Mountains without sacrificing elegant linens and fancy china.
Patio luxury at the Taconic Hotel.
3. Let ‘Em Eat Donuts: The classic wedding cake is a tradition that’s tres old-school. According to the Hotel Vintage Portland’s Director of Catering Stephanie Brindley, what’s become increasingly popular is his-and-hers desserts that reflect both the bride and the groom. If you can’t decide on one, why not have both? A recent wedding had local favorite, Blue Star Donuts, for the groom, and the bride had her favorite mini bundt cakes in multiple flavors. Talk about customized.
4. Best. Brunch. Ever: A packed, late-night dance floor is one sign of a successful wedding. And it’s also foreshadowing for some much-needed “hair of the dog” the following morning. At Kimpton RiverPlace in Portland, post-wedding brunches are taken very seriously. The hotel’s director of catering, Josh Tart, works with Executive Chef Lauro Romero at Three Degrees Restaurant to create customized brunch menus for you and your guests including the popular make-your-own biscuit sandwich bar and a Bloody Mary bar with all the fixings.
Three Degree’s classic Bloody Mary is always an essential part of wedding festivities.
