More Wedding Details

 
 
 
 
These are some more photos of the Clickstein/Palm wedding from 10 days ago. They chose to have a bagpiper 'pipe' their guests in the front door -- a touch that was enjoyed by many guests and passers-by as well.

The flowers were lovely, and I thought you might like to see those too. The arrangements were created by a friend of the family.

Juli

A Daytime Wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel

 
 
 
 

Last Saturday Amy and Mark Bucelewicz had their wedding reception in the Hawthorne Hotel Ballroom. They chose to have a daytime wedding, and the elements of sunny lemon-yellow flowers, gold ballroom chairs, and a classic tiered and elevated wedding cake all came together beautifully to compliment the sunshiny-day!

Aren't they a lovely couple?

We hope that we have the opportunity to help you celebrate one of the most special occasions in your life, right here at the Hawthorne Hotel. Let one of our talented and experienced wedding consultants help you plan your special day! 978-825-4358.

Juli

First Dance Video

A wedding couple whose event was profiled here on our blog not long ago submitted the link to the video of their first dance. Be sure to watch it at least half of the way through, even though it is a bit long. Things really heat up at the end -- it is a fun video to watch!

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From a recent email we received:

Soooo.... We had a really good time with our first dance - Hopefully, you will enjoy watching it just as much!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ojykpUyueA
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Katie & Ryan, you two ROCK!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Juli

More fan mail. . . for Hawthorne Catering

This email thank you for a wedding we catered at the Peabody Essex Museum came in recently, and we thought you might like to see it. Hawthorne Catering is the preferred caterer at PEM.

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Hi Lindsay,

Haven't talked to you since our wedding, but I wanted to check in about a
few things.

First: the wedding was amazing! We were so happy with the way everything
turned out and we are still getting comments like "that was the best wedding
I've ever been to" from our friends and family. Most importantly, Nate and
I had a blast.

Everyone raved about the staff and the food. Everything was delicious, but
the sea bass was especially amazing. The room also looked so gorgeous. I'll be sure to send you some photos when I get the back from the photographer.

Second: My mother in law would like a copy of the bar invoice but I left it
in Massachusetts. (Nate and I are back in CT now.) Could you email her a
copy?

Thanks again for everything! I cannot tell you enough how happy we
all were with absolutely EVERY detail.

My parents have been pestering me to thank you and I finally got around to
it. Please pass my thanks on to Natalia as well. My mom said, and I quote,
"Lindsay and Natalia were EXCELLENT! You are so lucky you had such wonderful professionals running your wedding."

Best, Lauren

A Beautiful Ballroom Wedding

This wedding was so beautiful, we just had to blog the photos. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

I especially love seeing the mix of high and low floral centerpieces, as it adds such dimension to the room.

Doesn't the cake look delicious?!?

Juli
 
 
 
 

A very lovely thank you note

To see a larger version, simply click on the image.

We love learning when are guests have such terrific experiences with us, and hope you like reading about them as well.

Juli

Gift Cards and a Gift from Dad

When Howie Clickstein, the father of the bride, learned that his daughter was looking on the Internet for a gift card basket or box, and when he saw what was available, he decided to offer his services. He said "I can build one" and he did, and here are some photos of his handiwork.

Howie put about 40 hours of time into this labor of love for his daughter. The card that was placed on top explains his sentiment.

Howie is a builder who got involved making some custom furniture pieces for some of his clients several years ago, so he was well-equipped to make something like this. It is certainly a special piece, one that can hold mementos of this special day for years to come.

Not only is this a practical and beautiful item, but it is also a very personal gift that will always be a touchstone between father and daughter. Those are the kinds of stories that really make me smile.

 
The special box, with Howie Clickstein, builder and father of the bride.
 
 
 

I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more of the 'rest of the story' of a wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

A New Thank You Letter for an Event Two Years Ago!

To make this image larger, just click on it.

Now this is what I call loyalty -- when someone sends you a glowing thank-you letter two years after their wedding! Definitely made my day!!!

Juli

The Personal Touch at Our Wedding Tasting

In the photo above, you see Michael O'Riordan and Kathryn Murphy who will be married this fall, and are planning to have their wedding reception here at the Hawthorne Hotel. They were speaking to our Executive Chef, Steve Nelson, and during the course of the conversation they asked him some questions about his chef's hat.

In this photo you see Kathryn and our Director of Catering, Karen Cotton, sharing a laugh. In the foreground of the photo you may notice a chef's hat, which was a gift from the Chef to Kathyrn, as a memento of her evening with us at the wedding tasting.

Both Chef Steve and Karen were delighted to be able to make the evening special for Kathyrn and Michael, and their parents who were also in attendance. The wedding tasting events that we do enable our couples to enjoy a multitude of selections of foods, so that when they have their detail appointments with our catering staff, they will be able to really know just how tasty and delicious our food will be for their wedding.

I hope we can help you plan your perfect wedding here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere. . . at the Wedding Tasting

Flowers by Peter Barter


Flowers by Darlene


This beautiful upgraded overlay has flowers embroidered on it, so I felt like that qualified as part of the "Flowers" blog.

Flowers by Peter Barter

Flowers by Darlene

Flowers by Darlene

Flowers by Peter Barter

Flowers by Peter Barter

Flowers by Peter Barter

Flowers by Darlene

In addition to tasting food and wine, our wedding couples are able to see many other aspects of their choices that they may make for their wedding reception.

I hope we have an opportunity to help you with your wedding.

Juli

Here are photos of all of the flowers that were there on view. A lucky person at each table was awarded their arrangement at the end of the evening.

We Welcome Rainbow Weddings

See our post on our Hawthorne Hotel Blog. Go to www.Hawthornehotel.blogspot.com

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Favors

Fortune-tellers.

This couple created some unique wedding favors, and graciously allowed us to share photos of them with you. I hope you enjoy getting some more ideas from our Hawthorne Hotel wedding blog. To better see these images, simply click on them.

Juli

Customized chocolate bars.

A Special "Guest Book"

Instead of a guest book, Tony and Tammie invited their friends and family to sign their photo. It was a very special photo, indeed, because it was made up of over 500 individual photos of them, in super-miniature size. I took some close-ups of the detail, so that you could see for yourself. This will certainly be a fabulous memento for them in the years to come.


We love sharing our guests special ideas with you, fair wedding blog reader, and hope you enjoy seeing them as well.

We hope to see you here soon.

Juli

Cake Knives, Guest Books, Place Cards

On the left is the set that is pearl white, and on the right is the set with ivory-colored handles. The distinction was very difficult to capture in a photograph, but we wanted you to be able to see the cake knife and server set that is included as part of your wedding package.


Above is the ivory-colored guest book and pen set, and stand-alone pen which you may use as part of your wedding package. This photo above also shows the placecards which we provide to you to use for your placecard seating, should you choose. They are all included.

This is the white guest book and pen, in case your linen choice lends itself more towards pure white accessories, rather than the ivory.

These are all part of our wedding package, here at the Hawthorne Hotel

I hope this post of photos is helpful to you.

Juli

Paisley Table Runners, a Classic Wedding Cake, and Unusual Table Numbers

A Classic Wedding Cake -- Simply beautiful!


A cake knife and server are included in your wedding package here at the Hawthorne Hotel; however, not the ones shown in the photo above. I will blog ours separately, along with the guest book and place cards that we do provide as part of your package.


The sweetheart table and cake table, and the dining tables, all had paisley runners which were made for the bride by her aunt.

She even made a souvenir 'holder' for one of the invitations.

Instead of place card seating, the bride and groom wrote to a number of their favorite celebrities, requesting autographed photos, and those became the table numbers, with this handy chart telling the guests at which table they were to be seated.

Wow, this wedding had a lot of things for us to blog about. If you want us to blog YOUR wedding, simply let your wedding coordinator know. We will be happy to oblige.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Review from Martha Stewart Weddings On Line Site

Here is the most recent review from this website. It is actually called www.weddingwire.com in case you want to see the entire site. In any case, we thought you might like to see this post.

KatieOlive Wedding: 05/01/2009
Reviews: 4

5.0 out of 5.0
Quality of Service:
(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:
(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:
(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:
(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:
(5.0/5.0)

All of the staff at the Hawthorne were extremely professional and helpful. I didn't worry about a thing from the moment I booked with them. Everything they needed from me to make the wedding a success was clear and in writing for me. they have packages that provide you with everything from flowers to linens to the limo. all very good pricing for MA. They were excellent from start to finish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Juli

Hair Styles for Your Special Day

With compliments of Egala.com, here is an interesting link for brides who are interested in learning more about hair styles for that special day:

http://www.elegala.com/go/ideas_advice/for/wedding_hairstyles_-_8_tips_for_your_wedding_day_tresses/

I hope this information might be of help to you.

Juli

A Wedding with Special Memories

This past weekend we were fortunate to be able to host a very special and unique wedding. The bride's mother made all of the flower arrangements, including the bridal bouquet shown in these photos here. It was wrapped with a piece of the bride's mother's bridal veil, and had miniature photos in little tiny photo frames pinned to it -- a keepsake to make others pale in comparison.


This stack of boxes was the gift card basket, complete with more memories and mementos.

The table numbers were photos, one from each year of the bride and groom's lives, showing their fun-filled times growing up.

We just loved all the sentiment and thought put into all of these details. They show that the things that can make a wedding memorable don't need to be expensive, when they are filled with this kind of thought and love.

I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as these very nice people enjoyed sharing them by allowing us to photograph and blog them.

Juli

A BEAUTIFUL Wedding

Flowers by Darlene.


Some of the lighting effects.



The view from the 'grandmother' windows.

The seating cards on a tree, and a parasol filled with M & M's that have sweet sayings on them.

Rebecca and George, the radiant bride and handsome groom, pose on the dance floor for our camera.

Dedicating some of your 'favor' money to a charity is a nice touch.

These tall flower arrangements work so nicely in our Grand Ballroom, emphasizing the two story ceilings and Palladium windows.

These final three shots show the full effect of the lighting company's work to add mood changes by changing the lighting as the evening progressed.



We think every wedding that happens at our hotel is beautiful, but some are really very special indeed, and this weekend's wedding was one of those. Here are some photos so you can see for yourself.

If you want your wedding to appear on our blog, be sure to let your Hawthorne Hotel catering manager know. She will certainly make it happen for you.

Juli

Wedding Place Card "Tree" a Different and Unusual Idea

Rebecca, who is getting married this weekend, took an usual approach to displaying the place cards for seating at her wedding, and hung them in a 'tree' that sparkles and shines. They are arranged in alphabetical order, and the tree is going to be sitting on a turntable to make them easy to access.

If you have unusual touches that you would like to share with our blog-readership, please let us know. We love to put the spotlight on your creativity.

Juli
 
 

A Satisfied Couple Sends Thank You and Photos

We just received this nice thank you letter and photos to share with you on our wedding blog. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Juli

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April 22, 2009


Christine Turner
Hawthorne Hotel
18 Washington Square West
Salem, MA 01970

Dear Christine & Hawthorne Staff:

Please accept our apologies for the tardiness of this note; however Dan and I wanted to take a moment to thank you and your staff for making our January 3rd wedding day at the Hawthorne Hotel the perfect day for us. We enjoyed every minute from the initial planning stages to celebrating our special day!

The hotel was decorated with class and elegance that made our winter wedding cozy and warm. From the beautiful ballroom, the professional staff, amazing service and the phenomenal food that our guests proclaimed was “the best food I have ever had at a wedding”. Everything was so well coordinated, running like clockwork. Dan and I were able to enjoy our wedding and guests, without a care, confident every last detail of our day were taken care of. We have attached a few photos to share on your wedding blog.

Thank you again for all your hard work and dedication that made our day more than memorable. We plan on celebrating our anniversary at the beautiful Hawthorne in the years to come.

Sincerely,

Michelle & Dan Corcoran

Trends in Wedding Cakes

We thought you might be interested in this recent article, talking about trends in wedding cakes.

http://www.elegala.com/go/ideas_advice/for/weddings_cakes_trends/

Juli

What a Nice Wedding and a Great Couple!

We recently received these snapshots from a happy couple who had their wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel, along with the kind words in their email below, and are pleased to be able to share all of this with you.

Hi Karen,

I just wanted to thank all those involved in making our wedding spectacular!

I don't know what I would have done without Liz! Everything was accomplished so smoothly and efficiently,I had absolutely no stress or worries just my own wedding jitters to deal with. When Liz said,"your in our hands now,don't worry about a thing we'll take care of everything" It was absolutely true.

We have had so many wonderful comments from our guests but the best one was "this is the best wedding I have been to in a long time." Everyone truly enjoyed the food,the ambiance,the dancing and the comfort of the hotel.

Great job everyone!! I'm attaching some photos friends have taken we haven't gotten the professional ones yet. Feel free to use any of them.

Thanks again, we'll stop by the next time we come in for a meal and say hello to you.

Deb and Nate Barrett

Wedding Details to Share

We post your event on our reader board according to your wishes.


This flower girl was so cute, I had to snap a quick photo.



Bottle stoppers were the favor at this wedding.


Their childhood photos on display, along with a 'platter' guest book.


This cocktail reception was in the ballroom.

A lovely dotted Swiss wedding cake with red accents.

Cool Gift Bags . . . designed and organized by someone you wouldn't expect

This past weekend we had a group of wedding guests staying with us, and when they checked in they were greeted by gift bags designed and put together as a surprise for the bride by the Father of the Bride, John "Jack" Beck.

They were so cool, we just had to ask his permission to 'blog' them on this wedding blog.

They were recycled shopping bags that had been personalized with the bride and groom's name and their special date.

There were filled with all kinds of goodies, from Boston Red Sox earrings, to umbrellas, cheddar popcorn, bottled water, mini flashlights, and all kinds of unique things. They also included a complete agenda for the weekend so everyone got all the details right from the start, and a folder filled with brochures of things to do and places to go.

Way to go, "Dad" -- you are certainly awesome in our eyes.

I hope you enjoy this insiders look at the Hawthorne Hotel

A Few More Wedding Details

This past Saturday I noticed these items on the entry table to the Grand Ballroom during a wedding. It occurred to me that I had never blogged about these kinds of details, so I thought I would now.


Detail #1 -- The brides Toss Bouquet. Rather than tossing her beautiful bouquet, many brides elect to honor the tradition by having a smaller 'toss bouquet' made for this tradition. Here is one for you to see. In addition, I thought you might be interested in this webpost about some other 'toss bouquet' ideas that are less traditional: http://ezinearticles.com/?Six-Alternative-Bridal-Bouquet-Toss-Ideas&id=122526


Detail #2 -- why were there extra boutonnieres left over at this wedding? Because the groom didn't realize that the members of the wedding party who were in military uniform were not allowed to wear them. Save yourself a few dollars if you will have members of the armed services in uniform in your wedding party, and don't order flowers for them.

Detail #3 -- An engraved platter 'guest book'. A different touch, guests were asked to write with a special pen on this engraved platter which will become a permanent keepsake for this couple. Unique and different, but make sure someone is there to really have the guests press down on the pen so you can really read their writing.



Detail #4 -- Photos of parents and grandparents in their wedding poses. This adds a really sweet, family feel to the event, connecting generations together.

I hope you enjoy seeing these ideas, and learning a bit for your wedding.

Juli

Photos from a wedding here at the Hawthorne Hotel

We recently received this link to a photographer's blog.

http://heatherbarrphoto.blogspot.com/2009/03/sara-joel-hawthorne-hotel-salem.html

All of the photos there right now are of a wedding that took place here a the Hawthorne Hotel. I think they are lovely photos, and thought you might enjoy seeing them as well. They certainly give you a good sense of what a wedding here at the Hawthorne might be.

I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Juli

A Family Celebrates

Nine years ago today, Lauren and Victor were married here at the Hawthorne Hotel. They have been coming back every year to celebrate, and this is the first year that they were able to bring their children, William who is three, and Caroline, who is nearly five.

As they were sitting in Nathaniel's to have dinner tonight, they saw Claire Kallelis, who was their wedding coordinator that night. We asked Claire to pose for this photo with them, as a remembrance of that special night. Evidently they were VERY pleased with how Claire ran their wedding for them.

We are so happy to have our guests come back again and again -- thanks Lauren, Victor, William and Caroline, for celebrating your milestone at the Hawthorne Hotel.

We hope to see you again soon.

Juli

P.S. One of the extra-nice things about being married in an historic hotel is that you know there is a dedication to preservation inherent in the business, and you can be pretty certain that the hotel will be around for years to come, for just such events as the celebration of an anniversary. You can't be sure the same thing is going to happen when you get married in a wedding hall, because those buildings are only built for a single purpose, and when someone finds a different use for that parcel of land, the building could be gone just as quickly as it was put up.

The other nice thing is just what you see happening here -- a couple who CAN come back every year to celebrate, because our hotel has two restaurants where you can celebrate these kinds of family events without having to book the entire function hall. When you have your reception in a reception hall, there is no place there to come as an individual, as there is in a hotel.

Even having a reception at just any hotel does not mean that that hotel will be around for your 25th anniversary -- many purpose built hotels are often torn down by the time they reach even the 15 or 20 year mark, because it is cheaper to build a new building, then to renovate a cheaply built structure.

There are many things to think about when choosing a place to hold your wedding reception. This is a small thing, but it could be important to you down the road.

I hope you enjoy this different look at the Hawthorne Hotel as a place for such an important event.

Juli

What do these three objects have in common?

They are all from an exciting couple, Marla and Angel Martinez, who had their wedding here in January this year. What you are seeing are their wedding favor (a charming album of their favorite songs), a thank you note to their catering manager, Karen Cotton (which you can read in more detail below -- click on the image to enlarge it), and most fun of all, a "Bridezilla Voodoo Doll" that was an after-the-fact gift to Karen from a bride who had a great sense of humor.


We hope you enjoy this slice of (wedding) life here at the Hawthorne Hotel, and we hope we can help you plan the perfect wedding, too.

Juli

A Lovely Bride and Charming Groom Share Their Photos with Us

. . . to share with you. I hope you enjoy this peek at yet another wonderful wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Suzanne and Justin were married here on January 24, and really enjoyed their special day, and were thrilled with the idea that we would like to share their photos with our blog readers.

If you are planning a wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel, and wish to be a subject for this blog, please let your wedding consultant know. We will do our very best to make that happen for you.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Juli

A Thank You from a Different Source

This was a nice thank you note from an officiant who served to join two guests in marriage, here at the Hawthorne Hotel recently.

If you need referrals for your wedding, simply ask your catering manager here at the Hawthorne Hotel. They have resources for virtually everything you may need to make your wedding perfect.

Juli
(P.S. Simply click on the image to make it larger)

The Details Make a Difference

Ellen's father, Christopher Greene, designed a logo of Ellen and Alex's initials, and they used it to personalize a number of the aspects of their wedding, such as the place cards, the program, and even the M & M's they used as their favors.

This book, called the Perfect 10, was filled with photos of Ellen and Alex growing up and meeting, and their friends and family. It was printed in hardbound, complete with a dust jacket.

More photos were displayed at the reception in the Essex Room, by the use of digital picture frames.

Who were the "Men in Black"? Two of the grooms best friends outfitted themselves with faux security-like earphones and dark glasses, and surprised the groom right before the ceremony. They certainly added a bit of levity to the proceedings, which we were able to capture on film.

When the company that 'printed' the M & M's received the logo from Ellen and Alex, they expressed concern that it might be a copyrighted symbol. They assured the candy-printing company that it was not, but that shows you the level of professionalism that these details had for this unique couple.

We loved the details that this couple (Alex and Ellen) utilized to make their wedding special. Are you doing something different and special? Be sure to let your catering manager know if you want your details blogged. We are happy to do this for you.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

A Rehearsal at the Hawthorne Hotel

If you look at our daily diary blog, at www.HawthorneHotel.blogspot.com you will see quite a few more photos and information about this wedding rehearsal here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Special Dietary Request Wedding Reception

Recently we were asked to do an all-vegetarian wedding reception event. For us that is simply no problem! We did it, and our client was thrilled.



We are very happy to honor virtually any special request when it comes to providing just exactly what our clients want when they host a special event.



Vegan, Lacto-Ova Vegetarian, Pescetarian, or whatever -- our chefs are very happy to oblige these kinds of special requests when they are presented by the event planners.



When you see our packages, please understand that the menus are basic guidelines, but are no means the only items we can prepare as part of a package. Talk to us and we will make sure you receive exactly what you need to make your event special. This kind of attention to detail is what sets our catering team apart for most others.



To learn more, simply call us at 978-825-4358.



I hope to see you here.



Juli

Bride and Groom in Front of the Hotel at Night

We just received this lovely photo from a couple (Suzanne and Justin) who had their wedding reception here at the Hawthorne Hotel in January. It is such a great photo, I thought you would enjoy seeing it.

Juli