Hotel Giraffe: Perfect for your Wedding (or Honeymoon Stay!)
IIn my opinion, one of the bonuses of European travel is the generous selection of small, lovely hotels that dot the landscape of cities like Paris, London, Rome, and beyond. I think of such boutique hotels as “homes away from home.” These accommodations focus on the basics of hospitality (commonly overlooked by the gigantic corporate hotel chains) including well-appointed rooms, comfortable common areas, extremely attentive staff members, and those “little extras” (complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, etc.) that provide pleasant surprises after a long day of site-seeing. To replicate this experience, a New York tourist—or destination wedding couple—would be well-advised to visit one of the small hotels run by the HKH Corporation. The constellation of hotels, including the Library, Hotel Giraffe, The Casablanca Hotel, and Hotel Elysse, are part of a family-owned company—and it shows. The Library and Hotel Giraffe provide services for weddings (including reserving hotel room blocks), but all are fine places to stay in NYC.
My first experience with an HK Hotel was last winter when I officiated the marriage of Gordon and Anne, a fabulous couple from Scotland. The wedding was held on their top floor terrace area, and couldn’t have been any sweeter. At the time the event coordinator for the Library was Jayla Hughes. I was impressed by professionalism and warm personality, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that she had received a promotion to serve as the Director of Sales at the Hotel Giraffe, another HK Hotel. The Hotel Giraffe is a stylized, chic spot at 365 Park Avenue (at 26th street). The art deco inspired hotel is a stone’s throw away from many NYC attractions including the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, Macy’s at Herald Square, and New York’s famous “boulevards” including Park, Madison and Fifth Avenues. It is in close proximity to cultural stops ranging from the fashionable Gramercy Park, the NY Public Library, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), and the International Center for Photography. Finally, the Hotel Giraffe is a stone’s throw from many of New York’s excellent restaurants such as Eleven Madison, Tabla, Union Square Café, and Gramercy Tavern. The list goes on and on.
This hotel will gladly host your wedding ceremony, rehearsal dinner, or guest accommodations. Hotel Giraffe has put together affordable wedding packages that offer space for a NYC wedding (along with set up and breakdown), a well-appointed reception, and guest stays in the hotel. Site selections include their roof-top garden and the piano suite penthouse. If you are looking for a place for your wedding or simply a wonderful place to stay on your visit to The Big Apple—or maybe just a nice spot to enjoy a cocktail, head to the Hotel Giraffe and wait to pleasantly surprised….again and again!
Interested in learning more? Contact Emily White, Sales Manager at the Hotel Giraffe at 212.894.0494 or by email at emily@hotelgiraffe.com. Enjoy!
Celebrate Your Wedding with Three Words
NYC Insider’s Tip: Where to Marry
Couples coming to New York to marry face an embarrassment of riches in choosing a spot for their nuptials. Even those who know they want to marry in Central Park must choose from dozens of popular spots for the wedding from the Cop Cot Gazebo and Gapstow bridge on the southern end of the park to the Ladies’ Pavilion, Shakespeare Garden, Bethesda Foundation,and Belvedere Castle to the west to the Conservatory Garden on the north end. Each, of course, has its own unique characteristics, histories, and charms.
Of course, in a city of 7 million, there are other iconic spots for a ceremony including the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Rockefeller Center Promenade, Battery Park, and the Staten Island Ferry!
To assist my couples traveling from another American state or abroad, I have created a fun blog to provide a bit of history and “insider’s information” about their potential as a small wedding venue. I have added slide shows that include photos of some of my couples who have married in the park. I am eager to provide clear, concise, and visually appealing information, in one easy location. Please visit it—and often, as I am continually updating it with innovative “NYC Wedding Spots.”
The blog can be found right here!
The Significance of Place
There are so many factors influencing a couple when they select a wedding venue….the basics like time, location, price and “that knowing” that this is place to celebrate a once in a lifetime moment. While the place of the ceremony is obviously not a key element of the marriage ceremony, I do think there are interesting, small ways to include a few words about the significance and symbolism of the location as one of many themes in a rich script.
Consider a few examples from recent ceremonies:
The Brooklyn Bridge: Since its creation, the Brooklyn Bridge has been a proud symbol of American creativity, commitment, hard work, and the promise of the possibilities of the United States. It is a powerful symbol for more young couples that you might imagine. Likewise, among those who study ritual, the bridge is a potent reminder of transitioning from one stage of life to another—from being two single people to a married couple. Last November I married two young Russian immigrants, the Bridge was an important reminder of all they had been through to come to the U.S. and all that was to come. During their ceremony, the groom started on the Manhattan side, with the bride opposite on the Brooklyn side. It was easy to pick up on both of these points. Wording I used included the following:
“There are few vistas that are more intimately connected with all of the wonder and hope and grandeur that is New York. This bridge embodies the possibility of human ingenuity, artistic vision, cooperation, and dedication—all elements of successful lives and marriages. Moreover, the bridge is a palpable reminder of connections and transitions, between your lives, your original homeland, your families, and your future. This day and place is a threshold whereby you are passing from two individuals who are deeply in love to become a married couple and a new family.”
Wainwright House: At first glance, the Wainwright House is “just another” stunning venue in Westchester county, situated on the water, with a beautiful main venue for dinners and receptions and a sprawling lawn, perfect for an outdoor summer ceremony. But after a little investigation, the Wainwright house is a very special place described by the original donor of the house Fonrose Wainwright Condict, “This is a sacred house. Because it is sacred, it should be consecrated to the development of human potential, in healing and growing forms, to serve in the advancement of humankind through spiritual, philosophical and ecological paths.” Contemporary programs include seminars on the healing arts, meditation, yoga instruction, programs in contemplative medicine, and the creative arts, among others. Where else would you find a meditation room at a beautiful space holding weddings!? As part of the introductory remarks of the wedding, I included a few words about the intentions of the couple and the principles and goals they valued as individuals and a couple. I believe that holding a ceremony in a place with this purpose sets an unusually purposeful setting for life-changing vows.
Cop Cot Gazebo: This little spot, on the south side of Central Park, is a favorite spot for small weddings. Cop Cot is a Scottish name, translated means “little house on the crest of the hill.” The little Gazebo, which is an open air, large rustic word structure, is a recent replica of the original structure build in the ante-bellum era. In the summer, the black locust trees all about will bloom and fill the air. For those of Jewish ancestry, the Gazebo will be akin to a Chuppah. Otherwise, I often connect the structure to the home that the bride and groom are making as a new family.
