Evening all. Great weather again this evening. I love this time of year as it gets dark now for the dinner and dancing but you still have the sun and the sunset during the ceremonies and cocktail hour.

Ben and Sarah (yes - you made the Blog!!) just got married at the Pool and are now having a great time in the Visitor Center. We turned the ceremony and faced East today so that the beautiful white blooms would be the backdrop. Sarah was able to walk threw the arch with her dad - what a stunning picture.

White Flower Back Drop at the Pool

Sarah and Ben had a vision for the Visitor Center and it looks great!! Of course I think everyone knows we love the black and white in the Visitor Center. Eventions did the lighting and the draping for them, linens by Special Occasions set the tone for an upscale garden wedding.

Visitor Center Entranceway

Blue Lighting on White Drapes

Mood Lighting on the Seating Tables

White Cake, White Dance Floor

I hope you found some great inspirations with the pictures from this weekend. Looking forward to next week and more pictures and stories for you!

Hey everybody! I hope you are all reading this from the beach with this great weather!! I can not wait for a few more hours to pass and then I am going to open up all of the doors in the Visitor Center and let the cool night air blow in. All of these couples must have great karma for us to get this amazing weather for the whole weekend.

We have 2 weddings this evening, one more tomorrow as well. I will update again tomorrow to include Sarah and Ben and their cool lighting and draping they have happening. Tonight is Brian and Beth and over 200 of their closest friends at the Visitor Center with the ceremony on the patio and Jessica and Aaron in the Gallery with 50 of their friends and family.

Beth and Brian have been so much fun for me to work with. They travel a lot with their work so I really got to know her parents as well and I think I am going to miss all of the emails Michael Hunter took care of the ceremony music - strings for the ceremony and a great jazz trio playing during cocktail hour and dinner. Another week, another photo booth - again - nobody doesn’t love a photo booth - including the bride and groom when they get a copy of all of the ridiculous pictures! And did I mention the cake - I think this is so personal and so much fun.

They like scrabble

They REALLY like scrabble

Ceremony on the Patio

Arbor - florist decorated, bride and groom supplied

Photo Booth!

Michael Hunter with Jazz Trio

Okay - more tomorrow - enjoy the weather!!

Good morning

Last night was an interesting one - don’t know where all of you were but we had a really bad thunderstorm come through Winterthur right about 6:40 - so you know what that means - a rainy ceremony, well sort of!

As luck would have it we got word that a bad storm was coming in about 15 minutes and the we let the guests know we need them to be seated right away. The Reverend led the gentlemen in, the ladies all walked quickly and to the same song, the Reverend asked them for their readings - Larry and JoAnn both looked at her and in unison said “Skip it” - and they were kissing and laughing as the rain drops started to fall. The recessional was more like a mass exodus from the pool and everyone made it into the Gallery with not a second to spare - whew! I can tell you that I heard so many great comments abut the wedding and I know it is one the bride, groom and their guests will not soon forget.

Since i had some other things happening I did not get to take too many pictures. I did get a good one of the cake -those are sugared blueberries which went with navy blue dresses the girls wore and the signature cocktail - a blueberry Bellini as guests entered the pool.

Sugared Blueberries

Also - the flowers at the pool are all in full bloom so this was the gorgeous backdrop -

Flowers, lower level reflecting pool, July

Meredith and Jeff tonight - stay tuned for more pictures and hopefully less of a story to tell!

I started my morning off looking at the weather and thinking we would not get in the ceremony of Emily and Tim here at Winterthur. I watched the weather all day and saw big chances of thunderstorms right around 6:00PM when we were supposed to start.

Emily’s one wish was that if she was not going to get married outside at the Reflecting Pool, that she would at least be able to take photos outside. She ended up getting the best of both worlds. Just to be safe we did the ceremony outside and cocktail inside. The rain held off until after the guests were inside for dinner.

Emily and Tim ended up with a really beautiful evening. The Azaleas at the Reflecting Pool are in full bloom and are absolutely perfect. Besides having a wonderful outside experience, the Visitors Center where the group was having dinner and dancing looked great too. Emily picked out some great toppers for her tables and of course the cake looked good too!

Overall it was a great evening, the Bride and Groom could not be happier and we truly beat out Mother Nature for the night!

Holt Ceremony

Beauty at Winterthur

Reflecting Pool

Flowers by Yukie did a great natural spring job and lovely huppa which frames out the gardens so nicely.

Ceremony

Something new we tested out this evening - our Phantom I Rolls Royce. We had it parked right off from the Visitor Center and guests were able to take a look, ask questions, and have their picture taken with it as well. Isn’t it beautful. It is such a great enhancement for only $500 for the evening - and th pictures in there are mesmerizing.

Rolls Royce

So we are off and running. May is very busy for us and we have some really different and unique weddings coming up that I can not wait to share with you. I won’t be posting next week as I am walking in a charity walk for my favorite charity, the Delaware Humane Association. But don’t worry - I will have plenty to share with you in just a few weeks.

Good afternoon everyone! There is some exciting news on the Winterthur estate today - the museum has received the amazing gift of this car from the Beals estate. This Rolls-Royce adds a new dimension to our visitor’s experience as we interpret this era of Winterthur as an American country estate. It truly represents the luxury vehicles that the guests of Henry Francis and Ruth Wales duPont traveled in when visiting Winterthur in the early 1930’s. Other owners of a Phantom I Rolls-Royce include such names as JP Morgan, Vanderbilt, Goodyear, Rockefeller, and of course, various duPonts!

Want to know why I am letting you know all of this information?

I am trying to find out from all of you how many of you would be interested in having the Rolls-Royce outside of your wedding venue here at Winterthur to enhance your day? Imagine your guests pulling up and seeing the Rolls-Royce in front of the Visitor Center or outside of the Reflecting Pool or Gallery. It is such the perfect addition to the ambiance of your wedding. And think about what the pictures next to it and inside of it could look like!

The car would be moved from its designated location by one of our specially trained drivers and would be positioned next to your ceremony or reception area before and after (weather and light dependant). We are thinking the charge would be approximately $500 for this service. What do you think ? Respond to me and let me know your thoughts and ideas and help me with this fantastic new feature we are so lucky to have!

Good morning everyone. I love Winter at Winterthur -the snow covered grounds would be the perfect back drop for wedding pictures right now!

I am going to write today about the passes that guests are able to partake of at Winterthur during the wedding weekend (thank you to one of our fabulous mothers of the bride for the idea!).

First there are two separate things between the Associate Level Membership and the passes that come with that and then the wedding passes for guests the weekend of. Passes are available to all of your guests the day before, of, and after the wedding (assuming our business hours). Guests do not need to show anything - they simply let the staff at the front desk know which wedding they are attending for the weekend and they will be given a wrist band which allows for the following: Tram Tours (weather permitting), Garden Access, Gallery Access, Intro Film Access, and access to the bookstore, gift shop, and restaurant.

I think we get asked before every wedding for the best way to let guests know about this exciting opportunity. I love adding it to your wedding website if you have one. That is such a great way to share all of the information with everybody quickly and it is environmentally friendly as well as it reduces the need for more paper and brochures.

Should you not be doing a wedding website, there is another idea that I have stolen from one of our couples a few years back. Request brochures from Winterthur through me about a week prior to the wedding. Get yourself some large mailing labels and add the following lines”See the estate where we are to be married. Winterthur offers free pass no the following dates —— for our guests. Simply mention our wedding —– and you are in!”. You can then take the brochures and put them in the welcome baskets at the hotel.

What about the guests not staying in the hotel? Truthfully - most of the guests around town are not going to partake - they may be busy working or doing things around their home. Word of mouth is always great and making an announcement at the rehearsal dinner works as well.

Associate Level Members will also receive guests passes that may be used year round as friends and family come into town - a great perk with membership.

Good morning everyone! Well Rachel and I are starting to wind down with the holiday parties. Since last we “spoke” we hosted Barclays bank for 675 people in the Gallery with great tents, Marin, Marvel, Bradley, and Anderson on Friday, Neudesic on Saturday, and a group from John Hopkins on Sunday. This morning it was my pleasure to host Winterthur’s security team for breakfast.

We start with wedding tastings again this week - we just could not fit any in last week!

I am working on some new things for weddings that I am hoping to have posted before Christmas. We have just gotten a classic car on property and we are working out the parameters for its use (picture opportunities!! and maybe more) as well as looking at some more spaces off the beaten path that we might be able to use for day-time weddings - an option I don’t have at this point and I know a lot of people would like.

 With the holidays next week (and my birthday!!), Rachel and I are looking at our days off and alternating so that one of us is here almost every day so we can handle tours and client meetings and all of your questions while you are home with your families thinking of things and starting to plan.

I need to go check on that breakfast again. I will be blogging again next week and look forward to chatting with you all then!

Hi Everyone

Whew! - Busy week here at Winterthur. We have had at least one party every night - and sometimes 2 or 3. Friday we hosted St. Andrews alumni for a tour and their chorale scholars treated us all with a beautiful rendition of some great Christmas songs.

Saturday night was the Lazopoulos wedding and I don’t even know where to start on that one. This family has been so great to work with and Liz and Rob are so full of energy and so caring and considerate of their friends and family. I worked with a photographer new to us - Tom Feehly - GREAT! I have chatted with him this week and he is going to send some pictures my way and I will post a whole separate blog talking about the beauty and great ideas from this event. Did I mention the perfect snowfall…..

Sunday was busy yet great. UD alumni (other then Rachel and myself) were here for brunch and a lecture and gallery walk. We had a concert mid-day and the Port Royal Society had a private reception in the cottage. Bentley Systems was here for an appreciation day and combined great food, libations, and house tours for a really nice evening.

Monday we hosted three of the area Convention Visitor Bureaus here for a combined holiday party. Turn out was great - 335 people. Jason made those great mini creme brulees and those were a big hit. We made some new contacts - got to see other colleagues in the industry and had a fantastic evening.

Last night Winterthur was open late. one more time to catch us at night - next week the 16th. Winterthur is only open after hours to the public at this time of year and it is so much fun to see Winterthur after dark and fully decked out for the holidays.

Tonight we have a New Members Reception and we are getting ready for Barclays Bank tomorrow for almost 700 people. one of us will check back in soon. Hope everyone is have a great December and gearing up for the holidays! 

Good morning everyone. I hope everyone is out of their turkey stupor and had a great holiday weekend!

It is a quite morning so far here at Winterthur today but that is not going to last for long. We have an exciting few weeks ahead of us with some really great holiday events including St. Andrews School on the 5th, Bentley Systems Appreciation Party on the 7th, the Convention and Visitor Bureau Holiday Mixer on the 8th, the New Members Reception in conjunction with our feeding desire exhibit on the 19th, Barclay’s Bank on the 11th, Marin, Marvel, Bradley, and Anderson on the 12th, Neudesic on the 13th and more and more!

We have 2 exciting weddings this month as well - we have the Lazopoulos wedding this Saturday - which promises to be exciting with a new designer out of New York that we have never worked with before - I can’t wait to see Michael’s work and the Lazopoulos family is so much fun.

We also have a New Years eve wedding this year for the Walkers. Her theme may best be described as Bling - she has so many great little touches and I can’t wait to see it all come together and ring in the New Year with such a great group of people.

 My sisters bachelorette party was this weekend in AC. Not sure who says the casinos are not doing well - you could not move in Caesars or the Borgata - they were all packed! And no, I did not win big! If you are looking for a restful spa you have to try QUA in Caesars. It is great and the staff there was so nice and friendly. Late night Mur. Mur was the hot spot. Beautiful people and great music to dance to.

OK - I need to get prepared for the next few weeks. As soon as I get a minute I will post some great pics from the wedding this Saturday!!

Thea and Mike were married at the Visitors Center at Winterthur this past Saturday night. Thea’s grandmother used to work here and brought the idea of holding their wedding here to couple’s attention. It was very meaningful in that way and special to both Thea and her Grandmother!

The ceremony took place inside the Visitors Center overlooking the Japanese Maple tree that was all lit up. Cocktail hour took place in the lobby and then reception of course in our main room. Thea wanted to incorporate her colors of burgundy and ivory where she could. Table 1, Table 2, Place Cards She used tables runners and other colored linens on her accent tables to bring everything together. Despite the cold, rainy weather outside, the wedding was beautiful and they both seemed incredibly happy!

Hi Everybody - welcome back! I feel that I have not been on and talked to you guys in weeks. Lest you think I have been goofing off please let me share with you what has been happening here and in my life.

The weekend of the 18th we were blessed enough to be able to do one of my favorite events - SHINE. Shine raises money for the Chester County Hospital Cancer Center and it is such a great cause and such a hardworking group of ladies that put on the event.

The last weekend in October was somehow not booked here at Winterthur! I had some of my college roommates fly in and we were off to Princeton New Jersey for a surprise wedding shower. Last weekend I was at a wedding on Saturday night which is always fun and yet hard to relax and not try to pay too much attention to what is happening behind the scenes!

 Tonight we have the great wedding, Emily and Nick. Emily looked pretty nervous when we met earlier this week but she is glowing now and practically skipping around. It is great to see how happy Nick and her are right now and that they have relaxed and are really enjoying their wedding reception. I always try to tell people that when you keep smiling - everyone around you is smiling and it really is true - the guests are so cued in to the bride and the grooms vibe - it is unreal and when it comes together like it has tonight - it is great!

Emily and Nick got a tent this evening on the patio so we had cocktail hour there. Guests moved into the Visitor Center for dinner and (a lot of) dancing. We put up the Asian Lanterns for them and Emily got some great fall flowers. Click on the blue words to see pictures - Pierce Entryway, Pierce Candles, Pierce Tables

We wish Emily and Nick the best of luck and I will be back and blogging next week!

Ann and Greg were married here at Winterthur this past Saturday right on our Visitors Center Patio, under a tent. Ann made the decision on Tuesday about getting a tent just in case the weather was bad. A bunch of people have made the tent decision and are overall happy they did. It lets them relax and not have to worry about the weather that for the big day!

Ann and Greg had about 120 people attend the wedding so we decided on the smaller tent. It is a 40×40 tent and was able to accommodate the ceremony nicely and the cocktail hour. Tented Ceremony Since we did not get any rain as we were supposed to, we were able to put cocktail tables outside the tent as well to give more space. I really like the tent option, and I know a lot of people think about it but cannot imagine it, so hopefully some of these pictures will help you out! Tent 1, Tent 2, Tent 3 We also have a larger tent that accommodate about 200 people or more for a ceremony and cocktail hour, and that tent takes up more of the Patio.

Ann and Greg had a really cute idea and she told me she found it right online. She had her ceremony programs on fans for her guests. I liked them a lot! Fan Programs, Fans .

And since we like to show as many pictures of the Visitors Center as we can, take a look at their room set up with a rented dance floor. Visitors Center

 I think Ann and Greg had a wonderful evening and it seemed to be a great night.

Night number two of this three day wedding weekend was perfect as well. The weather was wonderful for Lee and Erika’s Tuscan themed wedding. Their ceremony took place at the Reflecting Pool and with a smaller amount of people, their reception was inside the Gallery Reception Area. Just under 80 guests fit well in that space!

I thought everything came together for them as well. They had passed Limoncello Martinis as their signature drink, homemade Limoncello as their favors, and more lemons everywhere. They put their place-card table outside the Gallery which is just beautiful right now with the trees in bloom. Place Cards, Patio at Gallery They opted for a different seating arrangement than we usually do here, along with rental Chivary Chairs, and I think it worked out well. Seating, Seating 2 I also thought there cake looked amazing and exactly what they wanted! Cake

Overall, it was another good night here at Winterthur!

Friday night was absolutely gorgeous here at Winterthur. Man Yee and Samson could have not had better weather for their ceremony and reception here. With the sun shining and a nice breeze it didn’t even feel like August!!

 Man Yee and Samson had a beautiful wedding with some fun added extras. One thing that we have seen a couple people do is provide a sign in the parking lot for their wedding guests. It helps them know where the ceremony and receotion take place. Sign They were so put together and everything matched perfectly. They had everything from a photo booth for their guests to a traditional Lions Dance to an added dessert station of chocolate goodness. They had an Asian theme which works well inside the Visitors Center. Their place-cards were river rocks and fit in well. River Rocks They also has menu cards and tea fortes as their favors which all went together. Table Layout , Favors One of my favorite things was their cake topper. It was custom made and looks exactly like them!! Cake Topper

 It ended up being a really nice night and I think they were really happy with everything!

OK - I know - I am cheating. I was simply too tired on Saturday evening to update you all and write!

 Looking back at the wedding this weekend it was so very Sarah Savini. After working with the Savini family for over a year I feel that I really got to know Sarah really well and her touches were apparent everywhere.

 Beautiful Blooms did the flowers and they were so creative - as always! Savini Flowers, Savini Flowers 2, Savini Sweetheart Table

 The placecards were very zen - Savini Placecards, Savini Placecards 2

And everything was coordinated just so with the help of “Two Paper Dolls” - Savini Menu Cards, Savini Tablecards

 I know I have mentioned before how much I love the idea of using one of the Winterthur Books from the bookstore as a guests book that you can keep on your coffee table - Savini Sign In Book

 Linens are from Special Occasions and I think the room and the tables look great - Savini Set-up,

 We also worked with Sarah to create a lounge after 9pm in the lobby area, complete with a Bellini Bar - Savini Lounge set-up started, Savini Lounge

The cocktail tables on the patio added character - Savini Bug Jars

And how about this cake? - Savini Cake

 Marie Labbancz was their photographer and I am looking forward to sharing some more photos with you when I get a copy of some of the professional ones from Marie!!

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!

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.

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.