Tuesday, September 29, 2009

New England Bride Magazine Article About Hawthorne Hotel Wedding

Here is a link to an on-line page of New England Bride Magazine, featuring a wedding here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

http://www.newenglandbridemag-digital.com/newenglandbridemag/200909#pg22

This wedding also rated some posts on our blog, so scroll down or look in the archives to see more photos.

Juli

A Unique Ceremony Set-up in the Hawthorne Hotel Ballroom


This past weekend a couple had their wedding in our ballroom. That is hardly newsworthy. However, what is interesting and unique was the set-up which they requested for how the chairs were arranged in the room.

This set-up gave everyone a much better view of the ceremony, and would certainly make the couple feel surrounded by the love and friendship of their guests.

We are thinking about what to call this set-up. I think "Surrounded by Love" would be an appropriate name for it, but I would love to hear what you think, fair blog reader?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. If we get enough entries to make this seems like a contest, perhaps we will even award a nice prize to the winner!

Juli
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Monday, September 28, 2009

Beautiful details for a beautiful wedding


This is Marilyn Croteau, a cake maker and friend of the bride who was married here on Saturday night.

The flowers dripped sparkly chains, like chandeliers, and the chandelier theme was used throughout.

The chandelier theme was used on the table number cards and the placecards as well.

A kind of stylized tussy-mussy was used to reserve places mark the rows of seating, and made by a member of her family. Just beautiful.

Can you tell that this bride works as a caterer in another venue? She had every detail planned to the max, but she really wanted her wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel (and we know where she works, and it is a VERY nice place as well!)

It doesn't get much better than that, when a competitor chooses to get married in our hotel. Definitely made us smile!

Juli
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A Wedding of Historic Proportions


Alice "Nanna" Welenc and Elizabeth Welenc with Alice's wedding photo on the table to the right of Elizabeth. (You can see a larger version of it below.)



This was Alice's wedding bill for her wedding here at the Hawthorne Hotel. A wedding in 1948 certainly cost many fewer dollars than it does today. According to an inflation calculator, $330 in 1948 is worth about $3,000 today. Unfortunately, it seems that the rate of inflation for weddings has been much greater than inflation.

To get a better look at any of these photos, simply click on them.





Claire and Tom Welenc


Mother-of-the bride, Claire Welenc, had her wedding here as well, as you can see in the photo above. The tablecloth on the table in these photos was made from her wedding dress.




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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Attention: Georgetown Country Club Wedding Couples

If your wedding was scheduled at the Georgetown Country Club, and was cancelled, please contact us to see if we can assist you with a venue. Our very professional staff will kick it into high gear to make all of the details happen quickly and smoothly for you.

If that did happen to you, please mention that you saw this post, and we will give you a courtesy discount of $500 on your wedding of 90 persons or more booked here, as a token of our goodwill, and to help you make up for the deposits you may have lost there.

Call us at 978-825-4358.

We are very sad for you, but we know if you come here, we will make sure you have a wonderful event, without any hassles.

Juli

Friday, September 18, 2009

A Lovely Fall Wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel


Tonight I saw these charming guests waiting in the lobby and asked if I could take their photo for our blog. They happily agreed.

Later on, we were walking back into the hotel and caught these scenes on camera. They looked so casual and unposed, that we could not resist snapping these photos as well.


I hope you enjoy these photos of a wedding party getting ready for the big event.

Juli
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Looking for ideas for table numbers?

http://hawthornehotel.blogspot.com/search?q=where+else


Check out our post on our Hawthorne Hotel blog for a uniquely Salem idea. You can also type "favors" in the search window at the top of our blog to bring up more ideas.

Juli

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Thank You by EMail Makes Us All Very Happy

This lovely thank you email made our day today. It really says it all regarding our reputation as THE PLACE on the North Shore of Boston for a wedding reception.

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From: Kate B.
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 4:42 PM
To: Karen Cotton
Subject: Re: Our August 15th Wedding!!!

Hi Karen,

I first want to thank you for being so great and accommodating to work with over the past year, it was truly a wonderful experience!

All the wedding day details were perfect, and the food was FABULOUS ( our family and friends are still talking about it and have written us thank you notes)!!!!

The ambiance of the room was perfect and all the little details I fixated on were carried out beautifully.

I don't have Liz's email and I know I thanked her that night after the wedding, but she too was a pleasure to work with. She made the wedding day events complete and everything was smooth and picture perfect.

I have to say that I now understand why the Hawthorne is such a reputable venue, and I could not have been more happy with my experience. One of our guests who already chose her wedding venue decided to have her rehearsal dinner their because of how wonderful the food and room were on our wedding night!

Again, I cannot thank you enough for making our special day into the fairly tale wedding that I have always dreamed about!!!

Sincerely,

Katie B.

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If you want to speak with one of our terrific catering managers, just call us directly at 978-825-4358. I hope to see you here.

Juli

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Snapshots of the Hart/Johnson Wedding


Let's run away together!

First dance!

Tossing the bouquet from the grandmother window.


We do!
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Wow!!! What a Terrific Thank You Letter for a Hawthorne Hotel Wedding

From: nst*****
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 7:07 PM
To: Christine Turner
Subject: Thank You from the Harts & Johnsons

August 31, 2009

Dear Christine…

Meaghan & Matt have been married exactly one month today…and there is no better time for our family and the newest branch of the Hart family to thank you and the entire staff at the Hawthorne for providing a beautiful setting for the wedding and making it a great party! From the moment Meaghan & Matt chose the Hawthorne, couples married one year or 50 years would tell them about their Hawthorne wedding, saying they wouldn’t change a thing! Even family and friends from out of state remembered weddings they’d attended at the Hawthorne over the years. So to say that you had a reputation to uphold is not an understatement. You not only lived up to these high expectations, you exceeded them!

The hotel’s location and atmosphere were perfect. We had lots of out of town guests, and there was so much for them to see and do between wedding events. Many of them especially enjoyed taking the Salem Ferry into Boston. And, there wasn’t a single time we came down into the hotel lobby or restaurant and didn’t find a group visiting or sharing a meal or a drink.

The wedding package was elegant, beautifully done, and allowed Meaghan & Matt to choose so many things (from the food to the décor) that were a reflection of their preferences and taste. They were even able to incorporate the Red Sox theme in the table names and on the favor table! The package included so much that you coordinated (the wedding cake, limo, the bridal suite, the table flowers) that it really reduced the number of things this busy couple had to think about. Can’t tell you how many times we said, “This is almost too easy!” And the cost, compared to other locations and based upon the value of what was provided…very reasonable.

Finally, we cannot say enough about the stellar customer service. The communication with Meaghan & Matt and with us was wonderful. Your guidance, expertise, sense of humor, calmness, and flexibility made us very comfortable and reassured us that everything really was under control! This was especially important when we had to move the ceremony inside at the last moment because of the weather. Everything went so smoothly that it was impossible to tell that the ceremony was not planned for that space!

To you, Christine, for making the whole planning process fun and easy, to Jessica at the front desk (who carried Beth's clothes upstairs and hung them in our room when she saw Beth juggling her luggage), to the servers in the restaurant and at the reception, and to Lindsay Otis, the coordinator who made sure that the night went perfectly…thanks for going WAY above and beyond! In a time when great customer service often seems like a lost art, the Hawthorne does it right. We noticed and our guests are still talking about the graciousness and attentiveness shown by all of the staff.

The biggest compliment we can pay you is that we hope that our younger daughter, who was Meaghan & Matt’s maid of honor, will have a Hawthorne wedding!

Please feel free to share any/all of this email and the pictures in your blog.

Meaghan & Matt Hart Beth & Tim Johnson
The Bride & Groom The Parents of the Bride