Ballroom setup with Dance Floor at the Parking Lot End

 
 
 
 

The Grand Ballroom is set up here for 150 persons.

Usually we set up the Ballroom with the dance floor in the middle of the room, with the DJ or band right next to the kitchen doors. That particular set-up does have its advantages.

From time to time we get requests for this alternative style of set-up, with the dance floor and DJ or band at the end near the parking lot. I shot some photos of this alternative setting just for the wedding blog, so that you could see it. The majority of the other shots on this blog have the dance floor in the location near the kitchen doors.

Additionally, this set-up had chair covers with black sashes, something we don't see very often. So the photos serve a dual purpose.

By the way, the yellow-tinged photos were shot using a tripod and existing light, and the other less-yellow photo was shot with a flash and digitally lightened. Neither are great photos, but they were the best I could get with the little digital camera we keep here for this purpose. Makes me think I should look for a better camera!

Juli

An Unusual Christmas Wedding Theme

 
 
 
 

This wedding took place in our Nathaniel's and Sophia's Rooms on the second weekend in December. The couple chose a Christmas Theme, and carried it out with centerpieces that looked like presents, a wedding cake in the same theme, and Christmas Trees for the placecard holders. The favors were Christmas 'crackers' of course.

What made this wedding even more unique was that the couple chose to use family photos representing special milestone events, such as when they met, their parents' anniversaries, when Roxanne was born, when Rich was born and other special dates in their lives as the table numbers. We thought you would enjoy seeing this unique slice of wedding life here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Here is the outcome of all that planning

 

A few days ago we wrote about Betsy and her planning organization. Today we receive a lovely thank you card, which read:

Dear Christine, Kelly, and Liz,

From start to finish you all helped provide Kate and Andrew with a wonderful wedding. Thank you so very much. I cannot believe how quickly the evening went by -- good thing other people were in charge!

We have received many compliments on how beautiful the ballroom looked, how delicious the food was, and how smoothly everything went -- All due to the three of you and the rest of the Hawthorne staff. Thank you.

Betsy

We thought you would like to see the snapshots that she sent us from that wedding, so we scanned them in to our computer so we could share them with you.

The photo of the bride and groom are Kate and Andrew. Kate is Betsy's daughter. The photo of the bridesmaids shows, left to right, Kate's twin sister, Kristi, as well as Meg and Kaela.

I hope you enjoy getting to see a slice of wedding life here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Here is a DIFFERENT view of a Hawthorne Hotel bride

 

We found this photo on a roll of pictures, and are not sure of who this is, nor when it was taken. However, we do think every bride should get familiar with this kind of scene, because it may happen to them.

This is called 'bustling' the wedding dress, and it is just one more thing that your wedding coordinator will make sure that your mother or attendants know how to do for you. Here at the Hawthorne Hotel we are experts in all of the fine details that are important to be sure your wedding is perfect.

Juli

Organization is the Key to a Great Wedding

 

Here you can see Christine Turner, on the left, posing with Betsy, a mother of the bride, on our stairs in the lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel. The mother had to be the 'person on the ground' while the bride planned her wedding long-distance from Australia!

When Betsy came to meet with Christine she had a folder full of things, which she spread out on the conference room table. When our ultra-organized Christine 'strongly suggested' that Betsy get a binder, to make her life easier, and more organized, Betsy went right out and got one, and put everything in it. At their next meeting Betsy was happy and proud to show off this binder to Christine, and they both thought this would make a nice story for our wedding blog.

So, a word to the wise -- get your binder BEFORE you come to meet with Christine, and you will get off on exactly the right start with her.

Juli

The Winter Holidays are a Great Time for a Wedding

 
 
 
 

You can see from these photos how nicely the winter holidays and atmosphere here at the Hawthorne Hotel can be carried ofer into your personal decor elements.

Juli

DJ and Wedding Coordinator Share a Special Story

 

Several months ago we had two weddings here at the Hawthorne Hotel - a Day Wedding and a Night Wedding. The DJ, and the Hawthorne Hotel Wedding Coordinator, both worked both weddings. The DJ said that in 25 years of being a DJ he had never done back-to-back weddings in the SAME LOCATION before, and this was a first for him. Don't they look fresh and ready to rock and roll! This was taken after the first wedding, and before the second one.

Juli

Wedding Ceremony Line-Up on the Stairs

Here is a VIDEO of the wedding party from Friday night's wedding in the Ballroom. This bride had many attendants, so it took awhile for everyone to make their way into the room, and it took the wedding coordinator's ultimate attention to make sure everyone knew where to go, and how to get there.

I hope you enjoy seeing another slice of wedding life here at the Hawthorne Hotel.
Just double click on the arrow button to see this video that I shot.

Juli

A Very Unique Groom's Cake

Tonight's wedding features a groom's cake. Now that in itself is still a bit unusual. But this one is even more unusual, because it is made in the shape of a controller for an electronic game. Can you guess what this groom enjoys doing in his spare time?

Also in these photos you can see the floral centerpieces for tonight's wedding in the Ballroom. I thought they were so pretty, that you might like to see them. They were created by Peter Barter Florist, although they were a bit of an upgrade to the standard flower package, due to the quantity and specificity of the flowers used.

Juli

 
 
 

Daughter and Dad Dance

 
 

This might appear to be a couple that just got married, but you would be only half right if that was your supposition. This is a special dance to "What a Feeling" which is a song they used to dance to when Kristin would dance on Dad Robert's feet as a little girl. It was a very upbeat little vignette from this wedding that we thought you might enjoy seeing.

Kristin and Robert, you definitely make a great dancing couple!

Congratulations all around.

Juli

Lighting the Candles

Did you know that whenever you are using candles for an entertainment, that as the host it is incumbent on you to have the candles lit when your guests arrive. Also, that even if you have candles out on display, say during the day, that the wicks must be burnt and not left untouched by the match? A little etiquette for entertaining lesson, courtesy of the Hawthorne Hotel.

Here is a video of Mike O'Meara lighting the candles in the Grand Ballroom

Juli

A Lovely Wedding Cake with Lilies of the Valley

Here is a 360 degree view of a wedding cake in our ballroom. We usually set the cake up on a cake table stationed on the dancefloor until the dancing begins, so that everyone can get a good look. So you can simply pretend you got a sneak peak.

Juli

Throwing the Bridal Bouquet from the Grandmother Window

The second story windows overlooking our Grand Ballroom are affectionately known as the Grandmother Windows because the grandmothers used to chaperon the dances in the Ballroom back 'in the day' when young ladies could not go out without a chaperon, and dances were a very common entertainment.

Today they are often utilized by brides to throw their bridal bouquet to the unmarried women in the room. Here you can see that tradition carried out.

Please excuse the beginning of the video. I am still learning and was not entirely ready when this event occurred.

Juli

Wedding Day Love Letters -- Such a Sweet Gesture

 
 
 

Being in the wedding 'business' makes some of us incurable romantics at times. That was the case with this past Saturday's wedding of Jeff and Melanie. We found out on Saturday morning that Jeff was planning to, and did, write eight (8) love letters to Melanie, and secretly gave them to people she would be seeing during the day as she got ready for her wedding. The letters were handed to her during the day, and it just makes us all teary-eyed even thinking about something so romantic.

In these photos you see Jeff as he writes one of his letters to his bride, right in the lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel. In the last photo you see the two of them as they stand for a pose in front of their limousine for the evening.

We thought you might enjoy being in on this couple's romantic wedding day.

Juli

Waiting on the Grand Staircase

Here is a video of a wedding party lined up and waiting to be introduced into the Ballroom by the DJ of this wedding. You will also see the introductions occurring. We get to see a scene very similar to this several times each weekend. In addition, a number of locals also may stop by to check out the wedding finery of the wedding party of the moment. This video will just give you an idea of what it looks like from our perspective. Juli

We always get to see the room when it is pristine

and I thought you might like to as well.

Juli

A Bride's Arrival at the Reception Starts at the Front Door

Here you see a lovely bride arriving at the front doors of the Hawthorne Hotel and being escorted up to the private photo room just prior to the reception. Lindsay Otis is the wedding coordinator that you see here.

Juli

Grace Church in Salem

This is an Episcopalian Church, located on Essex Street in Salem, across from the Public Library. It is a lovely old building, and if you are an Episcopalian, or wanting to become one, it is a great location for a wedding.

Juli

We're all about the service

If you have ever attended a banquet anywhere other than the Hawthorne Hotel, you will probably expect very impersonal service from the banquet staff. They carry out the food and put it down in front of you and then dash off to deliver the next tray. They don't take special orders, don't explain how anything is being prepared, and in general you usually cannot even ask a questions.

That is not the case at the Hawthorne Hotel, as you can see in this candid video that I shot at a wedding last month. Here you will see Robert (aka Bobby) Celentano, checking in with the guests to be sure that he is aware of any special requests before the food is served.

It is just one small part of what makes a wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel very special.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Thank you in any language is appreciated!

This week, the mother of the bride (Sarah) who had the African-themed wedding here last week came by with thank you gifts for Christine Turner, Lindsay Otis, and some other members of our staff here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

These gifts had special meaning, and were unusual enough, that we wanted to share these photos with you.

The first was a bag of Ethiopian coffee. The second, and even more unusual gift, was a letter opener, hand carved in Ethiopia, with a hippopotamus as the handle. It was presented in a lovely envelope, with the word, "Amesegenalehu" printed on the outside. In the Ethiopian language, this word, amesegenalehu, means thank you.

In the world of what we do here at the Hawthorne Hotel, we are constantly receiving thanks from our guests, just for doing our jobs. Christine and Lindsay (in the last photo, left to right) wanted me to convey in this post, how grateful we are just to be able to share in so much happiness, and how much we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our guests.

As we posted previously, this wedding was arranged long distance, primarily via e-mail. It was so nice to have the actual people-to-people connections after all that time of the more impersonal Internet communications.

I hope you enjoy this little slice of wedding happiness here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

A Wedding Out of Africa

This wedding took place in our Ballroom on September 23. The bride and groom live in Africa, and wanted that to be the theme for their wedding.

They used various cities in Africa as the table names, and they utilized the rich colors of Africa as the decor. The tablecloths were windowpane pintuck chocolate brown, and the sashes on the chairs were matching organza.

Even the cake had a unique look that carried their theme.

One of the unusual aspects of this wedding is that the bride and groom , Sarah and Robert, planned the whole thing from their home in Africa, utilizing primarily e-mail with our staff to accomplish all of this.

I hope you enjoy this unique wedding.

Juli

Two Generations of Weddings, Same Fireplace

Here you see two generations of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gallant. On the left, is the Gallant couple who married today at the Hawthorne Hotel.

On the right you see the Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gallant who were married here on May 19, 1968. They are both posed in front of the fireplace in the Pickman Room.

The final photo is of the senior couple, as they looked at todays wedding.

I hope you enjoy this slice of married life here at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli