Nifty New Year's Eve Wedding at PEM

Here is another "better late than not at all" blog post from a winter wedding this past year.  This wedding took place on New Year's Eve, and we catered it for this charming couple (see their photo at the end of this post) at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM).  These photos were snapped for us by Lindsay Otis who was our catering manager in charge of this event.

Here are some quotations from the survey we sent to this couple after their wedding:

"Lindsay was phenomenal! We really enjoyed working with her. She strove to ensure we were happy with everything and did anything she could to alleviate our concerns."

"She was always available and was clearly interested in making our occasion and any related details a priority."

Here are the photos.  We especially love the snowflakes on the wall of the Atrium where the ceremony took place, and the use of her family "cake topper" which is dated 1948.  

Having a wedding on New Year's Eve is such a smart thing to do.  Your family and friends will have a unique party to attend on that festive evening.  Clearly you will never forget your anniversary date, and you can always be at a party to celebrate on that special occasion.  And having it just one block from a unique historic hotel like the Hawthorne Hotel makes sure that folks can party and stay safe on this festive night of the year.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Sherry Vinegar Jus

Entrees served with Roasted Eggplant- and Goat Cheese-Mashed Potatoes, 

and Butternut Squash

Baby Spinach with Sliced Red Onions, Dried Cherries, Pistachios, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Apple Vinaigrette

Mushroom Stuffed Chicken and Sliced Sirloin with Gorgonzola Cream and Bearnaise Sauce

The cake topper was the Groom's grandparents from 66 years ago

I hope you enjoy this detailed look at this nifty New Year's Eve wedding.  We think it was worth the wait.

Juli 

Juli Lederhaus

General Manager

Beautiful Winter Wedding

While this post is a bit late, we wanted to put it up nonetheless.  These photos are of a beautiful winter wedding that took place on Saturday January 3.  I hope you enjoy them.

If you are planning a winter wedding we hope these photos are helpful to you.

Juli

Beautiful Bride. Handsome Groom. Lovely Note. Excellent Photos.

In today's mail we also found this thank you card regarding a recent wedding that we catered.  We thought you would enjoy reading it, and seeing it as much as we did.

If you have a chance to look at the slideshow you will see a lot of great photos.  I love the one of the entire group looking up at the "Grandmother Windows" here in the hotel -- the last shot of the show, so be sure to watch through to the end.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Excellent Testimonial

This wedding took place at the Hawthorne Hotel on December 27, 2014.  We received this "thank you" email today and thought you might enjoy reading it.  

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Lindsay,

I wanted to let you know that you and your staff did an excellent job all weekend long. The food was excellent and we have had many comments on how perfectly the food was cooked and delicious the appetizers were.  The point person Friday and Saturday nights did a fabulous job and a special thank you to the Friday night bartender (Pete, I think)...who was most cordial all evening and, with all the drinking going on, I think he remembered what everyone there was drinking each time they came to the bar.  I guess you can thank him for the $1,700 as he made ordering drinks a quick, pleasant experience.  

Brendan came up to me at the end of both nights as I waited for the elevator to my room and said everything was “perfect”. If it was perfect in their world, it was perfect in mine.  Please feel free to use me as a reference anytime in the future.

Please pass on our thanks to all involved.  Thanks...Bob

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It wasn't just the family of the groom who enjoyed the occasion. We also heard today from one of the wedding guests who returned her room key to us (thank you!) along with this lovely note:

If you are interesting in booking a "perfect" wedding, give us a call at 978-825-4358.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Juli Lederhaus
General Manager

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 --

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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
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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