Golden Glow in the Grand Ballroom

Last night's wedding in the Grand Ballroom was so lovely, I had to take these photos to share with you.

 This morning I had a chance to speak to the bride and groom, to tell them how beautiful the room looked, and I learned that the bride did virtually all of these details herself, even to creating the beautiful centerpieces -- which were created because she had a number of guests who were allergic to fresh flowers.

 How the room glowed and sparkled! It was another perfect winter wedding, this time with a completely different look, yet still stunning in its excellence. The colors of the accessories she chose went perfectly with the room!

Taking a panoramic photo changes the look of the Ballroom, but also allows you to see how the head table along the Common side of the room looked.

The gold chargers with the snowflakes on them, along with the beautiful gold clothes and satin damask overlays.

Having a matching gold cloth for the cake table really adds a nice touch to the room.

I hope you enjoy taking a peek at another wedding in the Grand Ballroom of the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Our Mail

We recently received this lovely thank you note, and thought you might enjoy reading over our shoulder.  To enlarge the images, simply click on them.

Considering Hawthorne Catering For Your Event?

This review posted recently on The Knot should be helpful to you.  Enough said!

Juli

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coco5584

Wedding: 9/29/2012
Member Since: 9/5/2011

We could not have asked for any more!!!    posted 12/18/2012

We held our wedding reception at the Peabody Essex Museum and after meeting with Lindsay and Natalia we decided to go with the Hawthorne Catering/Event Planning service. Right from the onset Lindsay's team was nothing short of amazing. From the seating arrangements to the menu selection, everything was perfect and they made the entire planning process stress-free (god bless them). Leading up to the actual day Lindsay continued to check-in and ensure we had everything we wanted. If we forgot something, she was right there to lend a hand. Finally, when the day came we felt like there were ZERO moments of uncertainty. Lindsay and Natalia were there the entire time helping make what should have been an extremely hectic evening, relaxing and stress-free. Thanks to their excellent event management skills we were able to enjoy our wedding day. We will be forever thankful to the Hawthorne and Peabody Essex Museum for making our day picture perfect. PS. I almost forgot to talk about the food. We opted for a Chilean Sea Bass with Lobster Risotto and the Hawthorne Chicken. Now, I don't know how they pulled this off, but they cooked meals for 150+ people and I heard back from numerous guests that their meal tasted like it was cooked just for them. We agreed completely. Our fish was cooked to perfection and they even managed to keep the green beans crispy. How do you do that when you're cooking for such a large crowd??? Well, I don't know, but they pulled it off. To this day people still tell us how good the food was at our wedding. If you are considering the Hawthorne for your wedding, you can not go wrong. The only difficult decision will be what amazing meal to offer for dinner! We LOVE the Hawthorne!

Here Comes the Bride

On 12-12-12 we had a tiny wedding here at the Hawthorne Hotel.  The couple actually selected our hotel as a destination based on their research that they did on-line, and backed up by a site visit last March. They traveled all the way from Florida to Salem, MA to be married, and chose our hotel over all others because of its historic charm.

While the wedding party was small, the bride was beautiful, and the details of the wedding matched that of any  perfect event.  A total of 12 guests attended the event that took place at 6 pm on 12-12-12.  How perfect is that!?!

I was able to snap these photos as this radiant bride entered Sophia's where the wedding and the reception took place.

I hope you can see by this quick post that the Hawthorne Hotel is happy to help you with your wedding, whether it be for 120 or 12 guests.  While we love posting about these kinds of auspicious date events, your wedding can be on any date you choose.

We hope to see you here.

Juli

Thank You

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  We cannot hear those words too much.

Here is yet another lovely thank you note from a satisfied wedding client.

I hope you enjoy sharing in our mail today.

Juli

A More Contemporary Wedding in Our Grand Ballroom

What could be more contemporary than providing a basket full of high-style flip-flops for sore dancing feet?  This wedding took place in mid-November on the same weekend as the previous blog post, where the couple chose a more old-fashioned motif.

Wine bottles with the table numbers were a unique way to guide guests to their tables.

A crisp flat-fold napkin encloses the menus for each guest.

I hope you enjoy seeing yet another wedding's details here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Happy Clients

Karen O'Kane, our Director of Catering, recently received a lovely thank you note.  She shared it with me, so I could share it with you, and here it is:

Dear Karen,

Since the first day we visited the Hawthorne Hotel, we knew there was nowhere else to look.  Your positive and cheerful attitude helped guide us to create our dream-day, even though we were working with a short engagement.  Our wedding was enchanting from the Venue to the food, service and accommodations.

Our guests raved.  We have new memories for a lifetime.  We can't wait to come visit for our 1st year anniversary!

Love,

Holly and Sean D

Photos of a Lovely Victorian-style Wedding

Last month we hosted some lovely weddings here at the Hawthorne Hotel and we thought you might enjoy seeing some photos. Here is one of them.

Darling receptacle to receive the gift cards with vintage bride and groom on the table in front of it.

All the flowers were placed on Victorian-look risers of differing heights, adding additional charm to the room.

 The centerpieces were used to decorate the Grand Ballroom windowsills during the ceremony.

I love how everything looks with the holiday lights on the Common all glowing outside our Ballroom windows.

Are you planning a winter wedding?  The Hawthorne Hotel is just THE place for you to have your reception and your ceremony, too, if you wish.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

A New Wedding Brochure

Here is a link to our new Wedding Brochure.  I hope you enjoy it.
Hawthorne Hotel Weddings

We hope to see you here,

Juli

Beautiful Bride, Beautiful Mom, Beautiful Attendants

. . . all in our beautiful hotel.  I hope you enjoy this look at things as the bride and her mom, and her attendants all wait to go "on" for the big event.  This was our Saturday night wedding, December 1, 2012.

The bride and her attendants, along with her gorgeous mother.

The grand staircase waits for our beautiful bride to descend to the Grand Ballroom for her weddingl

To the left the bride and her attendants wait for their cue.  In the center is the placecard table with family photos.  So sweet!

Is she making a wish?  Whatever she is doing, she is gorgeous!  In the background our wedding coordinator/banquet manager, Liz Dube goes over details with the officiant for the ceremony.

I hope you enjoy seeing a few of these shots that I snapped with my trusty iPhone last night.

Juli

We Love Being Thanked

This says it all.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Nice Follow Up Testimonial on an Earlier Wedding Post

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

Awesome Wedding With Darling Details

REVIEW on the knot:

October Wedding    posted 11/5/2012

In planning a wedding unless you have been to the vendor you take a chance a follow your heart. Our daughter chose the Hawthorne Hotel from an online search. She loved Salem as a child and wanted her fiance and his family to experience New England there. From the moment we met L. Otis we knew it would be perfect. We were very upfront and told them our budget and time constraints and we were told, " no problem, we can help you and work in your budget". How often have you heard those words when planning a wedding. They kept to their promise and our wedding was perfect and within our budget. Katelyn wanted different. Fall elements with crystal trees. Pictures beforehand called first look. Purple and orange for colors. Lindsay gave me the list of vendors. Darlene was magnificent from Flowers by Darlene. She had to work via email and meetings and it was great. She did trees and we had 25 crystals hanging off of them with alternating tables with fall decorations in pumpkins. Everyone raved over them. David LaChappell the photographer did every picture the bride and groom wanted. He was creative, kind, professional and the pics are more than we hoped for. The Hawthorne Hotel itself was incredible. Our guest were from across the country. They were wonderful with all the accomadation needs. But the wedding is where they excelled. Liz told me not to worry on the day of the wedding and I didn't. Everything was in place. everything went as planned. There is not ONE thing they could have done better. The food was so incredible and plentiful. When was the last time you went to an event and walked away shaking your head going WOW well that is what our guests did. It is now three weeks later and people are still sending us notes raving about the event. Most of our nieces and nephews have been married within the last 10 years. Even their parents have been moved by our wedding. If you are reading this and have any questions my email is at the end. Feel free to use it and ask me anything. My advice, stay true to yourselves and your budget. Work it out before you go so they can work with you. We did not have one surprise charge as I hear some people do. They keep you up to date, you pay over time in the months beforehand and the stress is just not there. Weddings should be once in a lifetime. Hawthorne Hotel made our daughters dream a reality and I am sure they can do it for you as well. Congrats on your upcoming event. Cheryl cheryl.baxter3@gmail.com

Passed Hors d'Oeuvres

This past weekend we catered at wedding at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) and there was a decidedly fall theme to the event, so our chef, Rhiannon Nowak, created these food collages to decorate the passing trays keeping with that theme.

I hope you enjoy seeing the kind of attention to detail that we bring to our customers who choose HAWTHORNE CATERING for their events at PEM.

Don't forget, we also cater at the House of the Seven Gables and at Hamilton Hall.  To book a function at any of these sites call us at 978-825-4358.  

I hope to see you here, or there.

Juli

Awesome Wedding With Darling Details

At the Hawthorne Hotel we see so many weddings that there are times when you could say we have seen it all.  Then someone comes in with a vision for a wedding, and executes it in just that special way that makes us sit up and take note.

Last night's wedding was one such event.  It was both special and beautiful at the same time.  While it had a tiny touch of Halloween incorporated into it, there was nothing garish at all about it.  From the runner at the wedding ceremony, to the gorgeous centerpieces, and everything in between, it was done with great taste and attention to detail.

Katelyn and Daniel were so fun to work with, as was Katelyn's mother who was so creative.  Thanks so much for letting us photograph and share your ideas here on our Wedding Blog for the historic Hawthorne Hotel.

We hope you enjoy seeing these photos that I took last night.

Darling holder for gift card envelopes.  It was an off-the-shelf piece that was modified to accept the envelopes.
The "small detail" was in getting them out, but that is a story for another day.

Guests were asked to leave thumb prints in purple and orange on this lovely personalized tree.  

Place card holders are slices of birch tree, picking up on the Fall theme with the leaves very nicely.

Directions to guests regarding the thumbprint tree

Bridesmaid bouquet

Bride's bouquet

The beautiful bride and her attendant prepare to enter the ceremony in the Grand Ballroom

So lovely, waiting on the landing for her cue.

Liz Dube, Banquet Manager directing the flower girl and ring bearer into the room

With Dad

Liz closes the doors, waits for the right moment in the music and directs the bride and dad into the room.

The runner was exquisite, each edge covered with crystals and purple flower petals, all handmade by the bride's mother and aunt.

The room looked so beautiful for the ceremony

 

The bride, Katelyn, entered the room as a "Baxter"

And she became a "Musser" at the end of the runner.

The stationed hors d'oeuvres at the cocktail reception

 

These arrangements did double-duty.  They served as part of the decor for the wedding ceremony, and then became centerpieces for alternating tables at the dinner.

The program for the wedding

Alternating tables had ivory cloths with beautiful sheer scroll overlays.  Those tables had centerpieces made in pumpkins.

The alternating tables had aubergine tablecloths with the same scroll overlays, and they got the tall, branches with lights and crystals for their centers

The sweetheart table had an arrangement made in a white pumpkin.  The window sills had decorations too.

The wedding cake echoed the theme of Fall, and had a darling customized topper of him and her.

The table numbers were leaves.

The beautiful upgraded green water goblets really helped the room glow, and echoed the leaf theme.

The "guest book" tree with "leaf" thumbprints

The crystals in the centerpieces echoed the crystal chandeliers in the Grand Ballroom.

I hope you enjoy seeing all of these many photos of this extra-cool wedding here at the historic Hawthorne Hotel. Juli