What a Wonderful Review!!!

Just like anyone else, really, we love hearing when we have succeeded in "wowing" our guests. That is certainly the case with this on-line review posted on the wedding site called The Knot. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we all did. They definitely say it all in a great way!

Amazing Wedding/Amazing Memories   posted 2014-12-22

I cannot rave enough about the wedding I had on 12/13/14 at Hawthorne Hotel. I will break it down: Winter Wedding package- GREAT value, I opted for more expensive chairs, ceremony there, and open bar entire time, which is why my cost was a little higher, but the package is a GREAT deal. Center pieces and cake included in package, as well as a ton of other stuff! Food- Awesome. Great choices, cocktail hour food choices are extensive! Decor: I chose a winter wedding. Hotel was FABULOUS! Decked out for the holidays with poinsettia tree and Christmas trees, and white lights and huge wreaths outside. Killed it! Staff: Easy, friendly, knowledgeable, and go out of their way to make you happy. Cool add ons: Super old hotel with that cool charming feel, not a "hotel ballroom" feel. Cocktail hour space is awesome with fun couches and decor, and above ballroom there is a cute little window to look down on reception space--GREAT for pics! I don't know what else to say, other than this place was magical. They MADE my wedding day. We cannot wait to stay another weekend next year for our anniversary....

Here are some snapshots that Brynn Zaniboni, our evening manager, took for us so we could post them up on our Blog.  It was a wonderful magical winter wedding, for sure!

And of course, I hope to see you here. 

Juli

Juli Lederhaus

General Manager

A Rainy-Day Wedding Filled with Happiness

One of the things that many people do not know about "us" is that we do off-premise catering for weddings, in addition to catering weddings here in the Hawthorne Hotel. Our VERY CENTRAL location means that so much is literally within one block of the Hotel, which makes utilizing differing venues to suit your needs quite simple.

That was the case for Cassie and Greg's wedding -- they stayed here, got ready here, got married at St. Peter's Church located just one block away, and then had their reception at PEM (the Peabody Essex Museum) which is just one block from the Church and one block from the Hotel.  

Here are some photos that we loved from the album created for Cassie and Greg by their photographer, Sweet Lady Jane Photography.  This photographer did an awesome job -- she clearly has a creative "eye" and puts it to use in her work.

 Darling use of this "bicycle built for two" image with their rings.

 A unique shot of part of the Hawthorne Hotel showing our pineapple, the symbol of hospitality.

 The rainy weather seemed to actually enhance the photos, making the surfaces shiny and fresh looking.

 We love these photos of the bouquets lined up on the window sill in her suite.  Again, the grey day outside actually softened the photo and made the colors look like a water color.

 Great use of the antique mirror in this suite, as Cassie gets ready.

 We recently added these wall hooks placed up high in each suite, specifically so brides would have a place to show off their gowns for the camera, and to make a nice hanging space for them as well.

 We love this look at a beautiful bride in our historic hallways, which were recently re-carpeted and have new wallpaper and paint.

In front of the doors at St. Peter's Church

 Here are Cassie and Greg being introduced into the East India Marine Hall at PEM.

 Walking in the rain can seem so romantic!

 At Salem Common, right next to the Hawthorne Hotel, the lights twinkled and the pavers had a gloss to them because of the rain.

 Such a romantic shot!

 Don't you love how everything is all aglow because of the rain?

The circular staircase at PEM makes for such dramatic photos.

Here is the "copy and paste" version of Cassie and Greg's review of our services, as posted on WeddingWire.com --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5.0/5.0
    Quality of Service: 5.0
    Responsiveness: 5.0
    Professionalism: 5.0
    Value: 5.0
    Flexibility: 5.0
We used the Hawthorne hotel for catering for our wedding at the PEM as well as for a brunch the following day. Lindsay and her staff were excellent. Leading up to the wedding they always responded immediately and made the planning process effortless. The day of my wedding Jessica was the coordinator and she was wonderful. We had the perfect day and everything went as planned. Thank you!
    Wedding: 12/06/2014
Services Used: Catering
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoy seeing these photos, and reading this review, as much as we did!

And of course, I hope to see you here.

Juli

Looking Back ~ Stephanie & Greg -- And a Bargain Ahead

Something we love about being a historic hotel is that people who have created memories here always come back to create more--whether a year later or fifty years later! In 2009-2010, we had a Hawthorne bride, Stephanie, who was so excited about our blog and our Twitter feed that she let us follow her through the process of planning her wedding at the Hotel.

Steph contacted us via FaceBook a few weeks ago to let us know that she and Greg were coming to their "first" Santa Brunch, with their new little one, to continue to create family memories here.  Seeing them a few years later with their son reminded us of how fun it was being there for the start of their life together. We thought you may enjoy a "look back," too!

You can click through Stephanie and Greg's wedding story with each of the posts below:

• December 24, 2009 ~ Stephanie is Planning Her Wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel
• July 29, 2010 ~ The ALL-IMPORTANT Detail Meeting
• July 30, 2010 ~ The Wedding Rehearsal
• July 31, 2010 ~ Steph & Greg Are Married
• August 15, 2010 ~ Another very thoughtful THANK YOU email!
• September 2, 2010 ~ Great Photos of Steph & Greg's Wedding

If you are searching for the perfect place to hold your wedding, please contact us today for more information about our packages and to arrange a private tour ~ 978-825-4358 or cmadigan@hawthornehotel.com.

One more little thing -- while we were looking for these posts, we came across this post as well.
Wedding-in-a-Week, which reminded us that spending six months to a year planning a wedding is not really all that necessary when you work with a team of wedding specialists that we have here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

This  last post certainly demonstrates that we can super-charge your planning process if need be.  So if you are a procrastinator, we can help.

As a matter of fact, just for reading this blog post, and mentioning it when you book your wedding here -- if you choose one of our *Special Opportunity wedding dates in January, February or March of 2015, I will add in a one-night's stay in a suite gift certificate for you or anyone you choose -- you can use it for your wedding weekend, or on another date, as you see fit.

Here are the January, February  and March dates:

 Friday evenings:

January 9, 16, 23, 30 

February 13, 27
March 13

Saturday evenings:

February 14, 21, 28 
March 7

Sunday -- name your time:

January 4, 11, 25 

February 1, 15 
March 1, 8, 15, 22 or 29

So do not forget to mention this blog post when you book!

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Juli Lederhaus

General Manager

Affordable AND Hawthorne Hotel -- How Can That Be?!!

With all of the elegant photos of weddings at the Hawthorne Hotel that one might see, whether here, or on our website, or on FaceBook, or on brochures or on The Knot, it is no wonder that many people think that a wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel will be expensive and out of their price range.

However, that is simply not the case.  Our weddings are VERY AFFORDABLE, especially when compared to weddings at a similarly elegant venue in the Boston area.

Beyond that fact, we also offer packages which are even more specially priced, and they are available on our opportunity dates.

While we know that so many couples are set on having their wedding on a Saturday night, especially in the months of May through November, choosing an alternate date can afford you a dream wedding at a GREAT PRICE!

As of right now, the date of this blog post, these are the "opportunity dates" that we have available for your consideration in 2015:

Friday evenings:

January 9, 16, 23, 30 

February 13, 27

March 13 

April 3, 17 

May 1, 8, 22

Saturday evenings:

February 14, 21, 28 

March 7

Sunday -- name your time:

January 4, 11, 25 

February 1, 15 

March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

April 12, 19 

May 3, 10, 17, 31 

More details about our specially discounted "opportunity date" wedding packages. Click here.

In addition to these great special dates, we also offer a Weekend Jazz Brunch Wedding Package which is completely creative and includes live music in the form of a  Jazz ensemble for anyone seeking something just a bit on the different side.  Get up early, get married, and have an early party -- great for anyone who loves mornings, and wants to change things up for their wedding.  Just think -- Eggs Benedict, Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers -- what fun!

For more information about all that we can do for your special day, call us at 978-825-4358 or fill out an on-line inquiry form right here:  On-Line Inquiry Form

We all hope to see you here.

Juli

Juli Lederhaus

General Manager

We LOVE Our Wedding Couples

. . . especially the ones who really WANT to be on our blog.

That was the case of Marcy Smolow and Jesse Freeman who were married here on February 16 of 2013. (Yes, you are reading that date correctly -- we just didn't get their photos until this fall.)

Marcy and Jesse had a winter wedding with a vintage theme (just a week after the blizzard so there was plenty of pretty snow).  Their vendors included: Rabbi Dawn Rose, Flowers by Darlene, DJ Emelita from Entertainment Specialists, and Alicia Schneider Photography.  Their wedding cake was made by Montilio's. All the photos you see in this blog were taken by Alicia Schneider and her husband.  In lieu of favors, they opted to make a donation to the M.S.P.C.A. and created a collage to honor our friends' and families' pets, many of whom were rescue animals.

Here are some quotes from emails Marcy sent to us about her experience with the Hawthorne Hotel and Hawthorne Catering.  This first one is about the elements of our "package" wedding that she purchased:  

"I was so pleased with that cake...both the design and taste.  I was also pleasantly surprised that I could get something that beautiful as part of my wedding package....it was great that Montilio's allowed some customizations to be made without charging a bunch of extra fees.  It was an example of how the wedding packages offered weren't just a value, but a value without compromise (something important to many brides)."

"I was going to mention too that back in August, my husband's cousin (Zach Freeman) had stayed at the Hawthorne hotel with guests when they had their wedding at the Peabody Essex Museum.  In addition to the wedding, we attended the brunch the following day at the hotel.  I believe the catering for the wedding at the Museum was also done by Hawthorne.  Zach and his now-wife Emma had attended Jesse's & my wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel and we had recommended they consider it when they got engaged.  While they didn't have their wedding there, I was glad to learn that they had still incorporated the hotel into their wedding weekend."

 
These are such a great testimonials that we want to shout them from the rooftops.  Thank you so much, Marcy!

I hope you enjoy these photos:

The Ceremony in the Grand Ballroom

As the light begins to fade, with snow still on the Common and the twinkling lights on the trees.

Gorgeous cake by Montilio's

Centerpieces

Looking out of the "Grandmother" windows onto the Grand Ballroom

 

Lovely sweet couple

I hope you enjoy this blog post as much as we did creating it.  As we said in the heading, we LOVE our wedding couples!

Will we see you here?

Juli

Juli Lederhaus
General Manager

A Lovely Thank You Note for a PEM Wedding

Sometimes our guests just say it "all" for us.  What a great testimonial to both the staff of Hawthorne Catering, and the leadership of Lindsay Otis.

I hope you enjoy reading our mail today.

Juli Lederhaus
General Manager

Beautiful Fall Wedding -- In Perfect "Fall" Location

Certainly Salem has its very own season, and that season is the Fall.  A wedding that took place here on September 26 optimized that wonderful seasonal feel, using fresh, vibrant colors of orange and purple as accents.   Here are a few photos that I snapped with my iPhone of the Grand Ballroom all set up to receive our guests that evening:

Our lovely couple,  Sarah and Adam, so enjoyed their time with us that they sent us photos for our blog very quickly.   These photos were by Amore Photography, David LaChapelle, who does such a nice job for our clients.  We hope you enjoy them:

 

I hope to see you here.

Juli