Thank you so much for visiting the Wintertur Weddings Blog. We got the idea to start a blog after attending a hospitality event and hearing from a wedding photographer about how much his clients liked to read his blog and learn what he specializes in. Since so many of you have asked our opinions on various topics we thought we would try to bring you information on a weekly basis to keep you informed of what is happening, not only with the weddings we have here at Winterthur but also in our personal lives.

My colleague, Rachel Cowit, and I will both be blogging. Rachel is the Assistant Catering Manager here with me and she has been here since graduating from UD in 2006. In the time that she has been here Rachel has worked on over 40 weddings on the estate. Rachel is currently helping her college roommate plan her wedding and is fast becoming an expert on local vendors.

I (Nicole Bailey) have been in catering since I got out of college in 1997 and over that time have worked on countless wedding receptions - 3 of which have been on TV which was a lot of fun. Most recently Winterthur was featured on an episode of “Whose Wedding is it Anyway”, which still airs in reruns. I am currently planning my sisters wedding as well as helping 2 different friends plan parts of theirs.

We are both constantly looking for new and innovative ideas that we can either recommend to clients when meeting with them or to use as our friends and family are going through the planning processes. We plan on letting you all know the best practices we see here and to create an open forum to share ideas.

If there are any topics you would like us to discuss please email us and we will try to fit it in. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you!

Heather and Chris are so extremely happy right now. They ended up with a HOT but beautiful night for their wedding. The forecast at the beginning of the week looked a bit iffy, but it turned into a nice night. Heather did not want to worry about a thing on her wedding day so she decided to get a tent adjacent to the patio for her ceremony and cocktail hour just in case. Although there was no rain, I think the tent helped with the heat as well-it kept the sun out! Tent

They are such a happy couple and had some wonderful ideas! For example, Heather’s Grandfather has a 1931 Sedan that dropped Heather off right in front of the Visitor’s Center. They got some great pictures with the old car. Also, they had a wonderful idea for the lobby as well. They strung pictures from home made flower vases of themselves and family. Take a look and see. Strung Pictures ,  Pictures 2 , Picture 3 Theyhad a beautiful cake with ribbon to tie the whole color theme together. Cake

 It ended up being a wonderful night and another great wedding at Winterthur!

I will say I am not sure if Jacob and Kristin know there is a nasty thunderstorm outside right now as they look at one another - they have their priorities in the right order - each other!

Tonight was a tough start - a beautiful (if warm) day and plentiful sunshine. At 5:00pm I got a call from some friends and family just a few miles away that knew we had an outside wedding, warning me to get everybody inside safely and check out the radar (which was flashing with red warnings).  At that time my banquet captain at the pool called and heard thunder. I called Joan so she could talk with the bride and we started to pack up the bar from the pool.

Making these decisions is almost as tough on Joan and I as it is on the bride to be and the people around her that are involved. We love the spaces we have and we want all of you to have the wedding you dream of here with us. When thunder and lighting start it is then a safety issue for the guests as well as my staff and a rain plan has to go into action. Ugh.

The Visitor Center always looks so cool in the rain, especially with those lanterns - Townsend VC from Outside, Townsend - Rain

 On the high note - Kristin and Jacob look so happy and Kristin was simply elegant and glowing! And the flowers are so cool tonight. Theresa Florals did them (yes the same ones from the shower 2 weekends ago) and yes, I got pictures tonight. Townsend Flowers 1, Townsend Flowers 2, Townsend Flowers 3, Back of Bridal Chair

A small sprig of rosemary and some chocolate favors are special touches for the guests - Rosemary

My favorite thing tonight - look at the card holder - I think I want that for my mailbox at my house!!Card Holder

And the cake looks like it was made to be here at Winterthur - Townsend Cake

And the placecard table, not a table to be ignored - Placecards - Grass, Townsend Placecard Table

 Joe from Tom Barrett DJ is here tonight and he is a lot of fun - we are working with him tomorrow night as well and can’t wait. Rachel and I will be checking in tomorrow night - we will “talk” to you then.

So, while Nicole was here by herself for 3 weddings this weekend, I was playing the part of bride’s maid number 4 in my cousin’s wedding. Christy is from Upstate NY right around the Rochester area. It is certainly a different world up there! She asked me to be a bride’s maid earlier this year and I gladly accepted. With all my wedding knowledge I thought I could be helpful!

I wanted to go up for the whole weekend to help my cousin with any last minute things she needed since I was unable to attend her bridal shower.  I met up with her at the Reception Hall the night before and her vision all came together for me. Her favorite color is red, and so red was certainly everywhere! I kept asking her what I can do and what she needed help with. She is such a calm person and told me not too worry about anything and it was all taken care of.

Since I am not used to doing nothing when it comes to weddings, I jumped in and helped her finish decorating the room. When we got back to her house the night before the wedding I realized not everything was taken care of. We had place-cards to do, and other things to still get ready. That is where all the bride’s maid work came into play.  My cousin is unlike many brides in the way that she is so relaxed, and not a care in the world. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself–I felt lost without my check list of things that still needed to be done.

So, the ceremony was under a gazebo right at the location.  We took pictures following the ceremony and were not allowed into the reception room until we were announced after cocktail hour. At this point I was starving and looking for something to drink. Boy–I wished we had a shadow that day! I had to ask my mother to run into the room and get me a cocktail. The food was okay, and I still have not gone a weekend without wedding cake in about 3 months.  The night was complete with a fireworks show. All in all it was a really nice time with family that I do not get to see often, and it was nice to see what all the brides and maids go through!

Karen and Matt look great tonight and we are enjoying our third wedding this weekend here at Winterthur.

 Nerves were out this afternoon with a 50% chance of severe weather. Joan and I were very conscious of what could happen having just gone through the worst case scenario last week.  Karen asked our opinion and we both felt that the best scenario was to press her luck and have the ceremony outside, cocktail hour inside the gallery and then back to the VC for dinner. The weather has held out so far but guests are loving the gallery option and taking advantage of being inside and seeing the history and antiques.

Karen loves blue and pink and her florist did these great tea pots to go with the overall theme of the wedding. Enjoy the pics - Gordon Teapot 1, Gordon Teapot 2, Gordon Cake, Gordon Placecards 1, Gordon Placecards 2

Kristin and Steve were married at St. Anthony’s this afternoon and are having their cocktail hour in the Gallery and dinner and dancing in the VC. We don’t get too many people that do this but it is a great way to show off Winterthur to all of your guests.

Kristin is surprising Steve with a cigar bar that has sentimental value on another front - her father, who has passed away, collected old cigar boxes so we have filled them with the cigars Kristin has provided as a treat to her new husband and the guests. Casey Cigars 1, Casey Cigars 2, Casey Cigars 3

There is a 40 x 60 tent on the patio tonight that Yukie and her team came in and added the wow factor to - check it out -  Casey Tent 1,  Casey Tent 2 And who does not love a sofa at the end of the night to kick back on; I guarantee you it will be packed all night! Casey Sofa 1, Casey Sofa 2

And since I have been remiss with the pics the past 2 weeks here are a few more for you Casey Flowers, Casey Room, Casey Cake

I will be posting again tomorrow night and I am crossing my fingers the rain moves in quickly this evening and out before the afternoon tomorrow evening!

So last night was the perfect weather and I think it has to be the reason so many people aim to get married in June here at Winterthur.

Melissa and Steve were married last night on the patio at the VC, surrounded by the lush green canopy, under a beautiful arbor, with family and friends. The night was magical and you all know I don’t throw that word around. The weather can make my job so easy on a night like that!

Sweet Pea did the flowers and they were great, very professional. Once again I was moving around and never got pics (I am going to get pics of tonight as soon as I am done this!) but the arbor was great and they had these metal baskets of hydrangeas with lush satin ribbon tying them to the aisle chairs - very nice in the garden.

We had one small hiccup - the bridal party and some family headed over to the pool during cocktail hour to take pics and they ran a bit over time. The guests got a little restless when the bar closed for a while but I think seeing how happy the bride and groom were when they were introduced meant all was forgiven. One idea I have seen working really well even for couples that don’t want to see each other before they get married is to get the some of the bride and bridesmaids shots done beforehand. With enough time add some family and then you won’t have quite so many shots to get in the short amount of time of cocktail hour.

Saturday we held the surprise shower for Ms. Sara Savini - one of our fabulous brides who is getting married here at Winterthur in August. The food looked great - the bride to be looked shocked - and the bridesmaids and guests looked happy. I think the standout - other then this super fun cocktail bar we had set up - was the flowers. These flowers were done by Theresa Clower of Theresa Florals. Theresa and I have worked together for years and I so excited that she has decided to devote her time to florals full time. I wish I had some pictures for you but I was kind of running around a lot that day and never got a chance to snap any. They were all tall and filled with different colored water with these balls of flowers hanging - very cool and very whimsical. I think Sara’s favorite part may have been the buffet centerpiece that the vase was full of flip-flops - a nod to Sara’s rumored 300 pairs!

This past Friday happened to be Friday the 13th. Brandi and John’s wedding did not suffer from the bad luck date. They ran into a couple problems earlier in the week, but the weather was wonderful and the wedding was beautiful.

Their theme was Vera Wang and Brandi had everything from candle holders to the cake knife and server, to picture frames and wine flutes. The flowers were done by Yuki and were beautiful colors. It was overall a very nice evening.

Just to prove that Friday the 13th is not a bad day for a wedding!

Sweet and Simple

Evening everyone

Well it happened - we got rained out during the cocktail hour this evening. Poor Traci and Scott- they saw a 30% chance of rain and went for it. They got through their ceremony and then they had this great idea for a group picture, which they also got through. About 10 minutes into cocktail hour I saw lightening and Joan had them moving to the shuttles. In case you are not familiar with the reflecting pool set-up, once we are set-up over there and it starts to rain - the hors d’oeuvres are kaput! We have the same access into the pool area as you and the guests so there is no way to wheel carts out - the food stays under the overhangs by the bath houses until it ends or we take it out and it gets wet and thrown out. Traci and Scott handled it in stride which enabled their guests to take it in stride.

Black linens tonight - you all know how much I love this look with our great chairs. See for yourself - Kloss - Tables, Kloss - room, Kloss - Cake

Very cool guest book idea - Kloss Guest Book

Favors look familiar? - Kloss - Favors

And I think I found a great band to recommend - CTO - Tribeca. Band Leader - Andrea. Really flexible and great to work with!

3 more next week, end and Rachel is in a wedding so she will have some personal stories and my fingers are going to hurt from so much typing. Talk with you soon!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of working with a well known wedding planner, Mark Kingsdorf from Queens of Hearts Wedding Consultants. Mark was very  helpful and worked with me to make the event run smoothly.

 We did a Rehearsal Dinner in the Visitors Center of Winterthur this past Friday night, that actually resembled a wedding. The guests count was 130 people of the 190 people that were invited to the wedding. It is not too often, we get a rehearsal dinner in of that size. John and Beth wanted an upscale BBQ dinner with food inside and out, and ending it all with a make your own ice cream bar. 

 Mark was their planner for both the rehearsal dinner as well as their wedding which took place on Saturday in Delaware. The couple was from New York and it made it a bit hard to get in contact with them at times. Mark was very helpful in this situation. He was always a step ahead and helped convey all the appropriate information to the family about the dinner.

 The day of the event, Mark was the first one there and worked with me through the evening. The family had very few concerns throughout the night, but if they needed anything, Mark and myself were there to help them.

 Even though wedding planners are not always needed to have a beautiful smooth wedding, they certainly can help with all the details and may make the night that much better. Mark was a big help and I hope to work with him again in the future.

As the temperature approaches 100 degrees today, everyone being comfortable is my top concern. I chatted with the groom and we are going to be passing glasses of water as guests arrive at the pool off of the shuttle to help with the hydration factor. Funny - the bride and groom look totally comfortable!

 Corrine is a florist by trade and she and her team put everything together for the wedding and it looks great. Take a peak - Sebesta Flowers, Sebesta Flowers - Short, Sebesta Placecards. Too bad she lives in Michigan, huh!

 Corrine was hoping for a cake that was a little more fun - look what Kimberly put together for her - Sebesta Cake

Off and running - 2 more weddings next week to chat about!

This past Saturday we were supposed to have a wedding ceremony out by the Reflecting Pool. The incliment weather kept us from using the beautiful Pool. The rain plan was to use the Gallery Reception Area for ceremony and cocktail hour. This does not happen too often, but when it does it is best to be prepared. The Gallery is a beautiful place to hold events. There are some pictures below as to how the Gallery can be transformed into a ceremony site and then also used for cocktail hour. A suggestion might be to let your florist know about the back-up plan as well so they have some extra flowers to really dress up the room. We always a plan B in mind just in case, and we want it to be just as memorable for you whether it is rain or shine!!

Gallery Ceremony,  Plan B

Hi Everyone - Beautiful night, beautiful weather, beautiful bride, beautiful Winterthur last Saturday!

 So much I know you will want to take a peak at so let me get started…When I toured Marvin and Christina around the Pool she made this little laugh and Marvin turned to me and said - “she is happy”. Well she laughed a lot on Saturday night and it was all thanks to a top notch team of vendors working together to make her vision come to life. First lets start with the flowers - welcome Beautiful Blooms! What true professionals and great artists. An absolute pleasure to work with and the flowers were stunning - but see for yourself - Blooms 1, Blooms 2, Blooms 3, Blooms 4

 Draping - second week in a row! Christina did not like the folding wooden walls in the Visitor Center and so she worked with Eventions Lighting to light the place up and drape the walls, take a look - Drape 1, Drape 2, Drape 3, Outside view, Lighting, Lit Ceiling,  Drape Cake (didn’t Kimberly do a great job with this design Christina picked out?) Drape Sweetheart and we even rented cloths to drape the entire front desk - Draped Desk

 Christina and Marvin are really into wine and they had some great accents to go along with that theme - Advice 1, Table Names, Pictures/Advice, and they also worked in a cherry blossom motif - Cherry Blossom Cake, Favor, Favor Table

 And I knew I was in capable hands but I was psyched to find out the event planner was such a delight to work with - Beka Nave. Beka has a great disposition and kept everything flowing and everybody calm all night long. She was a delight and so on her toes. Beka is working on more weddings this summer as well as her own - we wish her all the luck and hope to see her more here!

As always if you would like more information please let me know by clicking here.

This weekend we held a beautiful wedding with amazing weather. The ceremony and reception all took place at the Visitors Center, which is not all that common here at Winterthur. Usually, if we have an outdoor ceremony, the majority of people will want to use our Reflecting Pool. Most people do not realize how nice it is to use the Visitors Center. The patio holds a perfect place for up to 300 guests for a ceremony and cocktail hour. Paula and John’s wedding was Memorial Day Sunday and they loved getting married outside in this area. Please look at some of our pictures to see how amazing this space can be.

 Visitors Center, Outside Ceremony

Hi everyone

Tonight we had a great wedding - Emily and Nelson. Great weather out by the pool and the guests were raving about the rhododendrons that are in full bloom. She went with Periwinkle which compliments those so well.

 Two things in particular that I want to tell you about. Flowers by Yukie was here this evening. I love the flowers, the whole room smells like lilacs and I can smell it through my allergies! The flowers are so full of the lilacs, hydrangea, and peonies they are unbelievable - see for your yourself - Dickson Flowers - Tall, Dickson Flowers - Perfect Season, Dickson Flowers - Short. Look how great they went with the Periwinkle silk cloths from Special Occasions Linens - Periwinkle Bar, Periwinkle Placecards

I know some of you really dislike the pillars that are in the VC and Yukie unveiled something tonight to cover them, some white draping. This is her first time using this and it could only work on a smaller wedding right now as this takes up a lot of space. The staff and I feel after looking at them all night that they attract more attention rather then hide the spots but take a look for yourself and let me know your feedback - Pillar Covers, Pillar Covers 2, Pillar Covers 3, Pillar Covers 4, Pillar Covers - Room View

But I would say if you ask anybody that was here what the best part was - they would say FIREWORKS!! We have one vendor that is allowed to do them here on the property - Dennis O’Regan from Fireworks Concepts. I am happy to answer any questions you have about them or to put you in touch with Dennis who is a great guy to work with.

Alright - I am off to get some sleep. We have 2 more weddings next weekend that Rachel and I will put up for you.

Hello everyone

 Last night we had the wedding reception for Swathi and Michael ( I had written about their tasting a few months ago) and it was spectacular. The weather finally caught up with us and we had the cocktail hour in the lobby as opposed to the VC Patio as was planned. Take a look at some of the shots I took of the lobby once we had worked our magic and cleared everything out and before the guests had arrived - Lobby as Bar, Lobby Cleared

They worked with Flowers by Yukie - one of our preferred vendors. Yukie hung the Asian lanterns but this time she used the colored ones - Colored Lanterns, Colored Lanterns 2

The cake was rather different last night as well. Swathi brought tin her invitation and asked us to use it as the inspiration for the cake. Kimberly did a great job and I think this was right on in comparison - Swathi Cake 1, Swathi Cake 2, Swathi Cake 3

The Indian Station was a huge success, as was the Taste of Italy. I definitely made time to eat last night! We got rave reviews on the food and Jason is really proud of the job his kitchen team did. It always feels great when you can make ethnic food and the guests feel that it is authentic.

 Finally I thought I would share with you what Swathi did for her favors. Her mom had bought these great little satchels and they showed them to Yukie and turned them into the centerpieces. Super cute idea. See for yourself - Favors - View of Table, Favors - Overhead View, Favors - Sweetheart Table. I think if there had been just a few more lanterns and they hung just a little lower the overall impact of color would have been more powerful.

From the guests standpoint it was a really great wedding to attend!

Good morning all!

Sorry - I don’t have any pics -we were so busy!

 So we got lucky to a point about the weather. Meredith and Derek were able to get married at the pool and keep cocktail hour there as well with no rain. The first few shuttles of guests did complain about being cold - in hindsight I would encourage anybody else in that same situation (under 70 degrees) to look into renting the tall semi-portable heaters (I can get those from my supplier).

Partying crowd! Guests were cutting loose on the dance floor all night. Maybe they were having a little too much fun as there were a few broken glasses on the dance floor and some gals thought dancing barefoot was a good idea - ouch! So I love the idea of providing your guests with flip-flops even more then I already did.

Lastly - flowers. Please keep in mind that if you are using a florist that is not a recommended vendor that you do let them know they can have access to the VC after 5:00pm and they must come back for anything that is theirs at the end of the party. We were setting up for 600 plus for Mother’s Day on Saturday night after the wedding and the florist had been unaware she needed to come back. Unfortunately we just don’t have the space to hold anything, even for a few days.

2 weddings this weekend - let’s hope this weather clears some!

Hi everyone. The other day I was out setting for an event and we had a few extra minutes before guests came in so I decided to go up a path I had never been on (I am sure there is a life lesson in there somewhere..). I came across what I perceive as some more great photo spots that are a little more away from guests and not the ones I typically have on the site. If any of these appeal to you let me know and I will be sure to let you know where they are.

Icewell Terrace, Secret Path, Little Nook, Wide Expanse, Prince Charming?

I know - why am I posting this on the wedding site? Well it just looks so nice!

 Take a look at some of these pics from last Tuesday evenings dinner for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 65 people at the pool. Rented extra lighting. Anybody getting ideas for a rehearsal dinner?

BBH 1, BBH 2, BBH 3

Linens are Special Occasions - sage pintuck - I was going for balance at the pool letting the flowers show off. Flowers were done in house by the Winterthur Floral Dept (they can only do small events for us as of right now).

Hi Everyone. Great to know everyone is reading the blog.

So this was our busiest weekend so far this year- a rehearsal dinner on Friday, Wedding on Saturday, and Point to Point on Sunday. And the weather was our friend which is always great.

 We had a beautiful rehearsal dinner on Friday. The event was held in the Visitor Center and we used only the front portion. During cocktail hour, guests were able to spread outside as all of the glass doors were open along the front. As the sun went down there was a great breeze and the guests asked us to keep the doors open. It was such a beautiful event with live plants and orange crush clothes and the perfect day as a backdrop.

 Saturday we kicked off with our first wedding at the pool this season. Again - great weather. The pool is blooming early thanks to the warm and dry April and guests were in awe.

Sunday Rachel and I were all over the Point to Point field with multiple hospitality tents, carts, and picnic baskets for our antique car group and the antique carriage parade members. Great weather really makes our lives easier - though Rachel is a little sunburned (and she was under the tents!).

This week does not stop. I am off and running now to a corporate event and we have one every night this week. Wedding this coming Saturday and Mother’s Day on Sunday. Sorry if you are waiting on emails from Rachel and I - we are trying to keep up. More pics next weekend when we can breathe. Talk to you all then!